TALLAHASSEE, Fla. --The Florida A&M men's basketball team fell to the Southern Jaguars 60-58 at home Monday on P.J. Byrd's game-winning shot with only two seconds left on the clock.
Noah Meren led the Rattlers (7-21, 5-12) with six points, eight rebounds and four steals. Jordan Tillmon also tacked on eight points, four assists and two steals and Dimingus Stevens chipped in as well with 16 points from the bench.
The Florida A&M offense made hay from deep, pouring in eight threes on 25 attempts. Stevens hit four treys for the Rattlers in the contest.
Florida A&M's defense held Southern to only 16.7 percent shooting from beyond the arc. The Jaguars did not have much luck cleaning up their misses on the offensive glass either, as they finished with six offensive rebounds and managed four second chance points while Florida A&M cleared 30 defensive rebounds.
How It Happened
After falling behind 4-2, Florida A&M went on an 8-0 run with 17:48 left in the first half, culminating in a three from Stevens, to take a 10-4 lead. The Rattlers then surrendered that lead and entered halftime down 32-30.
Florida A&M narrowed its deficit to 35-34 before going on an 8-0 run, finished off by Byron Smith's jumper, to seize a 42-35 lead with 14:30 to go in the contest. Southern re-asserted control, outscoring the Rattlers 25-16 the rest of the way to hand Florida A&M the 60-58 loss. Florida A&M capitalized on eight Southern turnovers in the period, collecting eight points off those turnovers.
Game Notes
» Florida A&M lost on a last-second shot by P.J. Byrd.
» Florida A&M found success from three point land, knocking down eight treys in the game.
» The Rattlers shared the ball well, recording an assist on 74 percent of made field goals.
» Florida A&M played solid perimeter defense, holding Southern to 17 percent from three point land on 18 attempts.
» The Florida A&M bench made an impact by adding 29 points to its scoring output.
» The Florida A&M defense forced 13 turnovers.
» Dimingus Stevens led the Rattlers with 16 points.
» Florida A&M got a team-high eight rebounds from Noah Meren.
