Florida A&M protected its home court, beating Grambling 91-84 in a high-scoring affair. The game was Patrick Crarey III's first time returning to Tallahassee since coaching the Rattlers last season. And, per Crarey, he thinks his emotions got the best of him as he prepared his team to win this season-defining game.
“The moment I got Tallahassee, it was tough. I wasn’t myself the whole weekend. I think I let my team down,” Crarey said to the loss in a quote obtained by the Tallahassee Democrat. “It’s 100 percent on me. They played much better than we played tonight. I think they were more prepared than we were. It was tough.”
The matchup was one of the most anticipated on the HBCU basketball calendar, given Crarey becoming Florida A&M's head coach last season and then Grambling State's. Crarey was hired by Tiffani Dawn-Sykes in April 2024 to lead the Rattlers' men's basketball team, a move that drew skepticism from the Florida A&M Board of Trustees.
Concerns surrounding Crarey’s initial dismissal of 16 players from the team and his compliance with NCAA policies led to considerable debates within the university’s leadership about his viability as a coach. Despite early doubts, Crarey formally assumed his role under a one-year, $150,000 contract that began in August, following a 6-2 majority vote by the Board of Trustees. And he led the Rattlers to one of their more successful seasons in years.
Florida A&M finished with a 13-15 record and a 10-8 record in conference in the 2024-2025 season. The team's record was a huge improvement over the 2023-2024 season, where Florida A&M finished 6-23 and 4-14 in conference. Florida A&M reportedly offered Crarey a two-year extension that would've kept him at the institution through 2027. But a domino effect caused by Donte Jackson leaving Grambling to coach Alabama A&M led Crarey to become Grambling's new head coach. The Rattlers pivoted to Florida State legend Charlie Ward as the successor to Crarey.
Although Crarey implies that his emotions left his team underprepared for the matchup, his Tigers did compete well. Jamil Muttilib finished the game with 22 points, three steals, and two three-pointers, and Derrius Ward clocked in 40 minutes and finished with 21 points, five rebounds, five assists, and one steal while knocking down two three-pointers and making seven of his eight free throws. Grambling also dialed up their scoring in the second half, scoring 48 points in the final 20 minutes to Florida A&M's 52.
Now, all eyes point to February 28th as Ward's Rattlers travel to Grambling for a rematch.
