DURHAM, N.C. (Feb. 2) – The FAMU Men's Basketball team dropped a tough Monday night road decision to defending MEAC champion North Carolina Central, 85-43 at the McDougald-McLendon Gym.

Cold shooting off the bat put the visiting Rattlers in a hole, as they shot 26.7 percent from the floor against a 54.2 percent floor shooting effort by the Eagles in the opening half, allowing NCCU to take a 42-20 halftime lead.

The second half, the Eagles continued their torrid shooting, hitting 54 percent of their shots, including five of eight from distance, to outscore the Rattlers, 43-23 in the final stanza.

Junior guard Jermaine Ruttley (Radcliffe, Ky.) led the way for the Rattlers with 19 points. Freshman Craig Bowman (St. Petersburg, Fla.) added seven points, with freshman Jorge Rosa (Miami, Fla.) and Emanuel Pellot (Miami, Fla.).  Pellotpulled down a team high seven rebounds for FAMU.

NCCU (17-6, 9-0 in MEAC) had five players score in double figures, led by Anthony McDonald with 21 points, including a five-of-nine three-point shooting night. Dante Holmes added 14 points and seven rebounds, while Jordan Parks had 10 points and 13 rebounds.

WHAT'S NEXT: The Rattlers (0-22, 0-9 in MEAC) get a few days off before heading north to Dover, Del., for a Monday night MEAC bout with the Delaware State Hornets, before returning to the Al Lawson Center for a MEAC doubleheader weekend, Saturday, Feb. 14 andf Monday, Feb. 16 against North Carolina A&M and NCCU.