HEADLINES
RATTLERS BOW OUT OF MEAC TOURNEY 64-53
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (March 9) - Arch rival Bethune-Cookman ended the Florida A&M University Men’s Basketball 2009-10 season as they defeated the Rattlers 64-53 in the opening round of the 2010 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Basketball Tournament, here Tuesday evening at the Lawrence Joel Veteran Memorial Coliseum.
“I thought when our guys took the floors, we were ready to play, but we had some untimely turnovers that dug ourselves in a hole and was never able to recover,” said third year Men’s Basketball Coach Eugene Harris.
Brandon Bryant was the high man for FAMU (9-22) as he scored a team high 11 points. Both Rasheem Jenkins and Christopher Wallace finished with 10 points each. The Rattlers were led on the boards by Larry Jackson with nine rebounds, while Jenkins dished out five assists.
B-CU (17-15) was paced by Clifford Reed, Jr., as he scored a game high 23 points and dished out five assists. Stanley Elliott added 12 points, while Kevin Dukes dropped in 10. The Wildcats were led on the boards by Elliott, who finished with a team high eight rebounds.
A Dukes three pointer gave the Wildcats a 26-18 lead at the 4:58 mark, capping a 14-5 run.
B-CU would go into the break with a 33-23 lead as Reed connected on a jumper as time expired to end the half.
The Rattlers finished the first half shooting 33.3 percent (7-of-21) from the floor, while the Wildcats shot 44.8 percent (13-of-29).
A Wallace layup would cut B-CU’s lead to 44-39 with 10:23 remaining in the second.
But the Wildcats would go on a 10-2 run to increase their lead to 54-41 with 5:33 remaining, capped off by a pair of Reed free throws.
B-CU would go the next five minutes without scoring a field goal as they scored their next 10 points from the free throw line. Alexander Starling would score the next Wildcat field goal on a dunk with three second left in the game, giving B-CU a 64-53 win.
The Rattlers finished the game shooting 39.6 percent (19-of-48) from the floor, while the Wildcats shot 37.7 percent (23-of-61).
With the win, B-CU advances to the quarterfinal round as they will take on number 2 seed
