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Coach Clemon Johnson's team performed much better than anybody expected, and went farther than any Rattler basketball team has since the 2007 team won the MEAC title. "We had a good game plan and a great scouting report. We were able to contain the player of the year, it's just that other people were able to get to the basket and we just came up short," Johnson said.
Amin Stevens was the games high scorer with 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting, including 2-of-3 from the three-point arc. He also grabbed 11 rebounds for a double-double. He was the only Rattler to score in double figures as eight other Rattlers were able to score. As a team, the Rattlers committed 19 turnovers.
MEAC Player of the Year, Kyle O'Quinn, scored 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting to lead the Spartans. He had to earn every point as FAMU's Yannick Crowder blocked five shots, including a couple from O'Quinn. Crowder dedicated his game to preventing O'Quinn from taking over the game and the plan had considerable success. The pressure from the duo of Crowder and Nate Drayton forced him to be a facilitator of the ball as there was virtually no place to go inside.
NSU's Rob Johnson scored 12 and Quasim Pugh scored 10 to constitute the trio of players to score in double figures. O'Quinn grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Spartans.
The season ended much different than it began. With a new coach and no respect in the MEAC, the Rattlers stumbled out of the gate. But, over the last week, virtually all of that was erased as the Rattlers grew as a team and showed that they were a group to be reckoned with. "We achieved what I thought we could achieve. We went above and beyond where people gave me credit and this team credit when I first arrived here. I was very heartbroken the day I went to the MEAC coaches meeting. As I heard them calling off the names of where they thought teams were going to finish, the Rattlers were picked to finish 13th...dead last. That stuck with me the entire year. Our coaches and team fought together and internally as we tried to gel during the season. We dropped three ballgames at home to end the season, but when we came here, we had a goal of letting everybody know we're Rattlers and we don't give in...and we didn't give in. Tonight we lost the ballgame but we fought, and it just wasn't good enough," Johnson concluded.
