from THE EDITOR Dwight Floyd: FAMU Men Need Strong Second Half

DWIGHT FLOYD
GAME REPORT

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- Reaching back to the years of Coach Mike Gillespie and beyond, FAMU men’s basketball saw this time of the year as a period when the team gained valuable experience against top Division 1 opponents while cashing in on away games. It is much like the football games played against the Miami Hurricanes and Ohio State Buckeyes except that in this case FAMU is in the same division as the away opponent. Down in the valley the FSU Seminoles would play powder puff teams to tune up and prepare for the serious conference play. What better way to tune up than to pad the win-loss record while practicing against lesser teams.

For the past two years a win, any win, was important. With a team of walk-ons and players under development, Coach Samuels’ Rattlers dared to be competitive, but could not hold weight against most other teams. They just didn’t have the talent. Playing against former SWAC Conference Champion Southern University on Saturday afternoon, the Rattlers weren’t just competitive, they almost won the game. They were right there in the first half and even gained the lead in the first minutes of the second half. With a foul here, a forced play there, and a financial drought, excuse me, poor shooting down the stretch, the Rattlers couldn’t maintain. That has been the case through the last four games this season.

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