FAMU basketball leaves Texas empty-handed, loses at Tarleton State, TCU

The state of Texas wasn’t nice to Florida A&M men’s basketball.

The Rattlers fell short in their two-game trip to the Lone Star State, with losses to Tarleton State on Friday, Dec. 19, and Texas Christian on Sunday, Dec. 21.

The Tarleton State Texans handled FAMU 78-54 at Stephensville’s EECU Center. The TCU Horned Frogs came back from a halftime deficit to trounce the Rattlers 80-56 at Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth.

FAMU couldn’t buy a basket versus Tarleton State, shooting 17-of-52 (33 percent) from the field and 5-of-22 from three (23 percent). Jordan Chatman led the Rattlers with 17 points, followed by Antonio Baker’s 16.

At TCU, the Rattlers built a 28-24 halftime lead, but were outscored 56-28 in the second half on the way to being blown out. Jaquan Sanders had a team-high 16 points for FAMU, and Tyler Shirley chipped in 13 points.

Led by first-year head coach Charlie Ward, the Rattlers are 3-7 heading into the Christmas holiday.

FAMU was previously on a three-game winning streak. It was the program’s first time in over two decades to string together a trio of non-conference triumphs in over two decades, according to FAMU’s sports information department.

The Rattlers return to the hardwood on Sunday, Dec. 28, when they visit Atlanta to face the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (8-4) at McCamish Pavilion at 2:30 p.m.

FAMU women's basketball can't get going vs West Georgia

FAMU women’s basketball’s struggles continued on Sunday, Dec. 21.

The Rattlers (0-10) hosted but lost to the West Georgia Wolves 72-57 in a non-conference game before 351 fans at the Al Lawson Jr. Multipurpose Center on FAMU’s Tallahassee campus.

FAMU shot 36 percent from the floor and made just four out of 22 three-point attempts. West Georgia also outrebounded the Rattlers 41-29.

Guard Camille Jackson led FAMU with 17 points and seven rebounds. Tahnyjia Purifoy scored 16 points.

The Rattlers will be back on the court when the Southeastern Fire (12-2) comes to town on Monday, Dec. 29, at 1 p.m.

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 [email protected] or on the app formerly known as Twitter @3peatgee.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FAMU basketball falls in non-conference games vs Tarleton State, TCU