PORTLAND, Ore. | Three Florida A&M University men's basketball players finished in double figures, but it wasn't enough to overcome a late Portland run as the Rattlers fell, 66-60, on Monday night at the Chiles Center.
 
Florida A&M (0-8) trailed by as many as 10 points early on and entered the break down by two. Despite holding a lead for most of the second half, the Rattlers could not overcome a late rally in dropping the road game.
 
Evins Desir paced the Florida A&M offense with 15 points, on 7-of-14 shooting, along with eight rebounds and one steal. Rod Melton, Jr. tallied 13 points, four boards, four assists and one steal, while MJ Randolph chipped in with 10 points, four assists, four rebounds and one steal.
 
Isaiah White led four Portland players in double figures with 19 points, on 8-of-16 shooting, along with four rebounds, two blocks and a pair of steals. Takiula Fahrensohn registered 15 points, including four 3-pointers, and five boards, while Chase Adams added 11 points, five assists, three rebounds and two steals. Jacob Tryon chipped in with 10 points, eight rebounds and a game-high five blocked shots.
 
How It Happened
With the score tied at 10 with 14:52 remaining in the opening half, Portland used a 9-2 run, capped by a Takiula Fahrensohn 3-pointers to give the Pilots a 19-12 advantage with 11:26 left.
 
Back came Florida A&M as the Rattlers used an 11-8 run over the next five minutes to close the gap to 27-23 after a bucket by DJ Jones with just over five minutes remaining.
 
The Pilots pushed the margin to 32-27 after a free throw by Tahirou Diabate with 2:54 left, but back-to-back baskets by Evins Desir forced Portland to call a timeout as FAMU trimmed the deficit to 32-31 with just over two minutes remaining in the half.
 
A free throw by Theo Akwuba was the difference going into the break as the Pilots headed to intermission with a 33-31 lead.
 
Florida A&M opened the second half strong and built a 39-33 advantage after a pair of free throws by MJ Randolph with 17:58 remaining, but Portland used a 13-2 run over the next four minutes to grab a 46-41 lead after a free throw by Chase Adams with 13:12 left.
 
The Pilots stretched the lead to 61-53 after two free throws by Lavar Harewood with 4:26 remaining, but a Melton layup with just over two minutes left cut the deficit to 61-55.
 
After a Portland turnover, FAMU got a 3-pointer by Kamron Reaves with 1:26 remaining to trim the margin to 61-58, but that would be as close as the Rattlers would get as the Pilots sealed the game at the free-throw line.
 
Inside the Numbers
> Florida A&M shot 37.3 percent (25-of-67) from the floor and 72.7 percent (8-of-11) from the charity stripe
> Portland was 21-of-46 (45.7 percent) from the field and 15-of-29 (51.7 percent) from the foul line
> FAMU registered 37 rebounds, including 28 on the defensive glass
> Portland pulled down 34 rebounds, with 29 coming on the defensive end
> The Rattlers finished with 22 points in the paint, 14 second-chance points, 13 points off 13 Portland turnovers, 11 bench points and six fastbreak points
> The Pilots recorded 22 points in the paint, 12 fastbreak points, seven points off 12 FAMU turnovers, six second-chance points and five bench points
 
News and Notes
> Monday's game marked the first-ever meeting between Florida A&M and Portland
> Florida A&M has faced two nationally-ranked programs so far this season – #10 Seton Hall and No. 21 Tennessee
> The game against the Vols on Wednesday marked the third against a Power 5 opponent as the Rattlers will also take on Power 5 opponents Washington State (Dec. 19) and Iowa State (Dec. 31)
> The Rattlers are in the midst of a season-opening 13-game road swing
> FAMU's first home game comes on Jan. 11, 2020 against MEAC opponent Morgan State
> Florida A&M has travelled a total of 17,035 miles to begin the season and will add another 349 miles with the trip to Pullman, Wash. on Tuesday
 
Up Next
Florida A&M will take the bus to Pullman, Wash. as the Rattlers visit Washington State on Thursday. Tip-off from the Beasley Center is set for 10:30 p.m. (eastern) and will be streamed live on the Pac-12 Network.
 
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