TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (February 23, 2009) ? The Delaware State Men's Basketball Team (7-22, 5-9 MEAC) suffered a 63-61 overtime loss to the Florida A&M Rattlers (8-18, 6-8 MEAC) on Monday, Feb. 23 at Gaither Gymnasium. Trailing by three points with one second left in overtime, DSU's Terrence Parkes was unable to convert three-straight free-throw attempts as the Hornets fell for the third-straight time. Parkes, who finished the night with eight points and six rebounds, was sent to the line after being fouled on a game-tying 3-point attempt by FAMU's Joe Ballard.
Senior Donald Johnson sent the game into overtime, hitting a contested 3-pointer with five seconds left in regulation, 56-56. Johnson scored 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting in the contest. Prior to the game-tying trey, DSU trailed by five with 45 seconds left but, went on a 5-0 run to earn the team's second overtime game of the season.
"It was a good basketball game," said Head Coach Greg Jackson. "This game just epitomizes what our season has been like all year long. The kids showed a lot of character tonight. We battled and got ourselves into an overtime game. The ball just didn't bounce our way. We came up short. The kids on the floor for us during the last 15 minutes of the game, were the kids who have been in the program for the past two or three years. We've got a good foundation and we need to bring in some recruits to build off of that."
Delaware State finished the night shooting 51.5 percent from the floor (23-of-45) and 38.9 percent (7-of-18) from beyond the arc. The Hornets held a one-point leading heading into halftime after shooting 68.8 percent during the first 20 minutes of action. DSU shot just 66.7 percent from the free-throw line (8-of-12). Junior Fred Bouie led all Hornets with 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting (2-of-4 from 3-point land). The Orlando, Fla., native registered three rebounds during 29 minutes of action. Johnson was the only other Hornet to finish the night in double-figures (10 points), notching two rebounds and two steals versus the Rattlers. Frisco Sandidge led DSU in rebounding, grabbing seven boards and pouring in nine points. The Lynchburg, Va., native also tallied four assists and two steals in the contest.
Florida A&M shot 50.0 percent (24-of-48) from the floor and 33.3 percent (5-of-15) from 3-point land versus the Hornets. The Rattlers were led by Lamar Twitty (17 points) and Larry Jackson (16 points). Twitty shot 5-of-10 from the floor and grabbed seven rebounds. Jackson had five boards and shot 8-of-11 on the night.
DSU held a 30-26 edge in rebounding and forced 12 turnovers, resulting in 17 points. FAMU converted 21 point off of 16 Delaware State turnovers. There were 14 lead changes in the contest as the score was tied six times.
The game marked the final basketball contest at Gaither Gym and gave the Hornets their third-straight conference loss.
Delaware State will travel to Baltimore, Md., to take on the Morgan State Bears on Saturday, Feb. 28. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.
