TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – It was a rough night for the North Carolina A&T men's basketball team as it fell 57-50 to a winless Florida A&M team, Saturday evening at the Al Lawson Center in a MEAC game.
The Aggies (6-20, 3-8 MEAC) have lost six out of seven and lost to a Rattlers team (1-23, 1-10 MEAC) who was on a 24-game losing streak dating back to last season.
“We had no sense of urgency,” said head coach Cy Alexander. “We talked to the team about what we needed to do, we did it in practice but we got out here and we missed layups and a lot of baskets. We just couldn't make it happen tonight. I'm at a loss for words and I'm embarrassed for the team.”
Sophomore Denzel Keyes did make some things happen for the Aggies as he recorded his first career double-double with a team-leading 13 points and 12 rebounds. Keyes who registered most of his points off put backs, recorded nine offensive rebounds.
The Rattlers gained momentum early in the game when they shot out to a 13-0 lead with 15:26 in the half. The Aggies cut FAMU's lead to 21-17 at the 4:09 mark as the score remained the same until halftime as both teams struggled to score in the final minutes of the half.
Keyes gave A&T its first and only lead of the game with a layup from junior Ahmad Abdullah. Keyes was fouled on the play and connected at the line for the 3-point play to take a 28-27 with 13:52 left to play. The Rattlers regained the lead but it was Keyes again who sliced their advantage to 47-43 at the 3:32 mark with another layup.
Over the next few minutes the Rattlers continued to hit shots and went on a 10-4 run to push its lead to 57-47 with 37 seconds remaining.
Sophomore Khary Doby added nine points and 11 rebounds. The Aggies also finished with a 40-33 advantage on the glass. FAMU's Jermaine Ruttley led all scorers with 24 points and nine rebounds. Jorge Rosa tallied 22 points to round out the double-digit scorers for the Rattlers.
A&T will face Bethune-Cookman on Monday, Feb. 16 at 7:30 p.m., in Daytona Beach, Fla.
“I hope that this wakes them up and that they make a concerted effort to change things,” Alexander said. “All we can do is go back to work, starting with Bethune-Cookman.”
