Rattlers look to continue role as spoilers

Robert McCullum

By St. Clair Murraine
Outlook staff writer

FAMU’s basketball team can count at least one signature victory for all that it has endured on the way to a losing season.

 
If nothing else, the men’s team would be remembered for being spoilers in Robert McCullum’s first season at head coach – even before  knowing the outcome of the Rattlers’ final two games.

 
When the Rattlers defeated North Carolina A&T 83-77 this past Saturday night at Lawson Center, they shook up the MEAC standings quite a bit. The Aggies came into the game needing a win to break a first-place tie with Bethune-Cookman in the standings.

 
It turned out that the Aggies (17-14, 10-4) fell to the Wildcats on Sunday night. That left B-CU (17-12, 11-3) in sole position of first place, while the Aggies dropped to third place behind Hampton (16-14, 11-4).

 
All the Rattlers (6-23, 5-8) did was moved up a notch to ninth in the standing. Not much of a jump but coach Robert McCullum likes the momentum he’s seeing from the Rattlers.

 
Especially with the conference tournament being a week away.

 
“We are playing right now where we will go into Norfolk with some confidence,” he said. “We’ll have to keep dwelling on the same things we’ve been doing; making good decisions with the basketball.”

 
While it might have been the high from the stunning win over the Aggie, McCullum seemingly felt the Rattlers have a better-than-average chance to continue being spoilers.

 
“You go to the conference tournament and anybody could get hot,” he said. “You could string four games in a row.

 
“Every year there are teams that won the tournament that didn’t win the regular season title and it won’t change this year. If these guys get hot and start making threes anything can happen.”