Saturday, January 7, 2012

Florida A&M Rattlers Hold On For 62-60 Win Over NCCU Eagles

DURHAM, North Carolina - The Florida A&M Rattlers (3-13,1-1 MEAC), pulled off a big MEAC win today against the North Carolina Central Eagles (7-8, 1-1 MEAC) in the McDougald-McLendon Gym. The Rattlers used a tough defense and solid outside shooting to even their MEAC record at 1-1 for the season.

Reggie Lewis had the hot hand for the Rattlers as he hit 22 points on 8-16 shooting from the field, including 6-10 shooting Dfrom the three-point arch. Amin Stevens scored 15 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for a double-double. Yannick Crowder led the Rattlers on the boards with nine rebounds.

Coach Clemon Johnson was happy to get his first MEAC win since returning to his alma mater as head coach. "I'm totally ecstatic to come out of there with a win. I'm proud of the team. I'm very excited that I'm back here coaching the team and I think that the hard work we've been doing paid off for us today. We've taken some butt beatings down the road, but I think those helped us to grow up. I saw this team grow up today. We played sloppy at points in the first half, so I gave them some kind words at halftime, and it seemed to motivate them," Johnson said.

The Rattlers were down 31-26 at the half, but battled back with a press and clutch shooting from Lewis to pull even with the Aggies. The waning moments of the game were testy as the Rattlers entered the double-bonus in the half with 10 fouls, while the Eagles only had three team fouls at that point. The Rattlers would outscore the Eagles 36-29 in the second half to secure the victory.

Lewis felt the flow of the game dictated his scoring. "Coach saw that I had the hot hand and he started running plays for me and I was able to knock the shots down. It's real important to get this win. Coach (Johnson) said this game began our new season. We had the Bethune-Cookman game early, but we are looking at this game as the start of MEAC play and we're happy that we came out of here with a victory," Lewis said.

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By Florida A&M University Sports Information


MISSED OPPORTUNITIES RESULT IN FIRST HOME LOSS OF SEASON FOR NCCU

DURHAM, N.C. (NCCUEaglePride.com) – North Carolina Central University missed a golden opportunity to start 2-0 in the MEAC (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) when the Eagles could not connect on five free throws down the backstretch of the second half and allowed Amin Stevens to record his first double-double of the season, while Reggie Lewis scored a season-high 22 points, sparking Florida A&M University to the 62-60 win on Saturday afternoon inside McDougald-McLendon Gym.

With conference play underway, the intensity was taken to another level in this game as the teams combined for 11 ties and six lead changes in their sixth meeting all-time.

Neither team had a lead larger than five in the first half, as the Eagles led 11-9 with 11:42 left following a David Best (Raleigh, N.C.) put back, but the Rattlers responded with a 6-1 run of to grab a 15-12 lead with 9:31 remaining.

The rest of the first frame went back-and-forth, but the maroon and gray made the last move, breaking open a 26-all contest with a 5-0 spurt that was highlighted by a Jeremy Ingram (Charlotte, N.C.) three-pointer sending NCCU into the locker room with a 31-26 lead.

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