See Santa lead the Florida A&M Marching 100
Santa Claus joined the Florida A&M Marching 100 as they perform at the ground breaking ceremony for Charlie Ward’s Champion Ranch.
- The Florida A&M men’s basketball team lost to Jacksonville 85-82 in overtime, despite strong shooting percentages.
- Turnovers and fewer free-throw opportunities proved costly for the FAMU men’s team in their close loss.
- The FAMU women’s basketball team also fell to Jacksonville, 70-63, after losing a halftime lead.
- Both the men’s and women’s FAMU basketball teams remain winless for the season.
Florida A&M men’s basketball left its trip to Duval County empty-handed.
On Tuesday, Dec. 2, the Rattlers (0-5) lost 85-82 in overtime at the Jacksonville Dolphins (4-4) inside of Swisher Gymnasium before 862 fans.
The Rattlers’ loss came despite them shooting 59 percent from the field and going 13-for-21, 62 percent, from the three-point line.
In comparison, Jacksonville shot 43 percent from the field and 39 percent from beyond the arc at a 12-for-31 rate.
Turnovers proved costly for FAMU, as it committed 17 to Jacksonville’s nine.
The Rattlers also only shot six free throws, making three. The Dolphins went 13-for-19 from the charity stripe.
FAMU had four players score in double figures, led by guard Jaquan Sanders’ game-high 20 points. Forward Kaleb Washington had 16 points, and Antonio Baker and Tyler Shirley added 14 apiece.
Jacksonville’s leading scorer was Jaylen Jones, a guard who scored 16 points.
FAMU is still in search of its first victory under first-year head coach Charlie Ward as it enters the four-team inaugural ESPN HBCU Hoops Invitational in Orlando this Friday, Dec. 5, to Saturday, Dec. 6.
FAMU opens the tournament facing Barber-Scotia College on Friday at 5 p.m. at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex on the Walt Disney World campus. The other two teams competing are Florida Memorial and Tuskegee.
FAMU women’s basketball can’t hold lead in loss vs Jacksonville
FAMU women’s basketball (0-8) was in control of its home game versus Jacksonville (6-1), but couldn’t finish the deal.
After having a 34-25 lead, the Rattlers got outpaced by the Dolphins 45-29 en route to the 70-63 loss at the Al Lawson Center in front of 502 FAMU basketball fans on Tuesday, Dec. 2.
FAMU lost the turnover battle, committing 20 to Jacksonville’s 13. However, the Rattlers had a 29-26 rebound advantage over the Dolphins.
The Rattlers had three players score in double digits, with forward Miya Jones-Gill having 17 points and adding six rebounds. Guard Tahniyjia Purifoy had 15 points while fellow guard Shaniyah McCarthy scored 14.
Jacksonville’s top scorer was guard Mychal White, with 22.
FAMU women’s basketball returns to action in two weeks as it travels to Gainesville looking to get its first win of the season against the Florida Gators on Dec. 17.
Gerald Thomas, III is a multi-time award-winning journalist for his coverage of the Florida A&M Rattlers at the Tallahassee Democrat.
Follow his award-winning coverage on RattlerNews.com and contact him via email at GDThomas@Tallahassee.com or on the app formerly known as Twitter @3peatgee.