TALLAHASSEE, Fl. — The Florida A&M University men's basketball team played its first 13 games on the road, but there is no place like home for the Rattlers as FAMU celebrated its long-awaited home opener with a 77-68 victory over Morgan State in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) game on Saturday afternoon at the Al Lawson Center.
Both teams were sluggish in the first half as the Rattlers (3-11 overall, 1-2 MEAC) led, 28-24, at the break. In the second half, FAMU outscored Morgan State, 49-44, to pick up the win.
MJ Randolph led Florida A&M with 19 points, including 7-of-11 from the foul line, with four rebounds, three steals and a pair of assists. Evins Desir registered 14 points, three boards and two assists, while Brendon Myles came off the bench to provide 14 points, three rebounds and a pair of assists. DJ Jones tallied 11 points, a team-high six rebounds, one steal and one assist.
Stanley Davis paced Morgan State (8-10, 2-1) with 15 points, six rebounds and three steals. Isaiah Burke and Troy Baxter each recorded 10 points.
The Florida A&M University women's basketball team enjoyed a brief taste of success only to have it fade down the stretch as they dropped a 59-47 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) decision to visiting Morgan State at the Al Lawson Center Saturday afternoon.
Saturday's setback was the ninth in a row for FAMU (2-12 overall, 0-3 MEAC), which jumped out to a 20-11 lead late in the first period, before the Bears (6-10, 2-1 MEAC) closed to within five, 20-15 at the end of the period.
FAMU, which in recent years has been plagued by cold shooting and untimely scoring droughts, fell victim to that bugaboo again Saturday, scoring just four points in the second stanza on 11 percent (1-of-9) shooting, while Morgan took the lead with a 14-point surge, taking a 29-24 halftime edge.
The Bears came out of the locker room to shoot 58.3 percent (7-of-12), splashing 3-of-4 shots from distance, to outpace the Rattlers, 19-9, extending their advantage to 48-33.
In the final period, FAMU edged out Morgan State, 14-11, closing from a 20-plus point deficit to 10, 57-47 with two minutes left, but they could not get any closer.
