TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Feb. 9) – The FAMU Men’s Basketball was off kilter somewhat Saturday, as they dropped a 70-66 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference decision to visiting Howard University in the Al Lawson Center.
FAMU (10-15, 7-3 MEAC) had won five straight games coming into Saturday’s bout, but turnovers Howard’s clutch shooting and defensive rebound work all combined to keep victory just out of reach for the Rattlers.
The loss also dropped FAMU, which came into the afternoon in sole possession of second place in the MEAC, back to third place, with first place Norfolk State (8-1), which lost at Bethune-Cookman, due into Lawson for a Monday night game (7:00 p.m.) to be televised by ESPNU.
FAMU finished the day with 17 turnovers, which the visiting Bison (11-13, 5-4 MEAC) turned into 22 points. Howard also shot 52 percent (10 of 19) from three-point range, while missing just one foul shot in 11 tries, and they limited FAMU to just six offensive rebounds, which eld to nine second chance points for the home team Saturday.
The Rattlers shot 58n percent (14 of 24) from the floor, splashing four three pointers, while Howard knocked seven triples in the opening frame to keep the Rattlers close, 36-34 by halftime.
FAMU led by as much as five points early in the second half41-36 on a Kamron Reaves jumper with 18:16 left, but the Bison eventually gained the lead at 44-42 on Zion Cousins’ three-pointer with 14 minutes left, eventually expanding their edge to nine points, before the Rattlers struck back.
The Rattlers tied the score at 64-64 on a pair of foul shots by Reaves with 2:01 left, but the Bison pulled out to a four-point edge on jumpers by Charles Williams and RJ Cole for a 68-64 ege with 20 second left.
Tracy Hector’s jumper with 11 seconds left made in 68-66, but Kyle Foster’s two free thwos with six seconds left sealed the win for the Bison, earning them a split of the season series with FAMU.
Hector and Reaves each scored 14 points for FAMU, while Isaiah Martin finished with 12 points and eight rebounds. Justin Ravenel rounded out the FAMU scoring with 11 points, splashing a trio of three-pointers to boost his career total to 263, 16 behind the FAMU career record of 279, set by Terrence Woods.
RJ Cole led all scorers with 20 points for Howard, with Charles Williams adding 15 points.
WHAT’S NEXT: FAMU will host Norfolk State Monday in a nationally televised (ESPNU) contest tipping off at 7:00 p.m. from the Lawson Center.
