TALLAHASSEE, Fla. –– The Florida A&M men's basketball team went into halftime trailing Bethune-Cookman 37-26, rallied from the deficit to tie the game at 59-59 and force overtime, but fell to the Wildcats 67-66 at home Saturday.
The Rattlers (6-23, 4-14) had two players score in double figures, led by Keith Lamar, who had 17 points, six rebounds and three steals. Jalen Speer tacked on 16 points, five assists and two steals and Roderick Coffee III added nine points and four steals.
Florida A&M grabbed 39 rebounds in Saturday's game compared to Bethune-Cookman's 37, led by eight boards from Chase Barrs. The Rattlers also put in work on the offensive glass, turning 12 rebounds into 13 second chance points.
Florida A&M forced 17 Bethune-Cookman turnovers. The Rattlers turned those takeaways into 13 points on the offensive end of the floor. Coffee III's four steals led the way for Florida A&M.
How It Happened
Florida A&M struggled out of the gate, falling behind 37-26 heading into halftime.
Florida A&M narrowed its deficit to 51-44 before going on a 10-0 run, finished off by Speer's jumper, to seize a 54-51 lead with 3:55 to go in the contest. The Wildcats then fought back to even things up at 59-59 and send the game to overtime. Florida A&M shot well from three-point range in the half, hitting five shots from deep to score 15 of its 33 points.
Bethune-Cookman then snagged a 62-59 advantage with 3:24 left in the first overtime before Florida A&M responded by going on a 7-0 run, finished off by K'Jei Parker's jumper, to seize a 66-62 lead with 45 seconds to go in the period. Bethune-Cookman re-asserted control, outscoring the Rattlers 5-0 the rest of the way to hand Florida A&M the 67-66 loss.
Game Notes
» Florida A&M rallied from an 11-point 37-26 halftime deficit to force overtime before ultimately coming up short.
» Florida A&M lost despite a 39-37 rebounding advantage.
» The Florida A&M defense forced 17 turnovers.
» Florida A&M cleaned up on the offensive glass, collecting 12 offensive boards in the game.
» Keith Lamar led the Rattlers with 17 points.
» Florida A&M got a game-high eight rebounds from Chase Barrs.
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