TALLAHASSEE, Fla. | 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.
 
How It Happened
Morgan State led, 7-6 early on, but MJ Randolph heated up with three straight buckets to give the Rattlers a 10-7 advantage with 12:13 remaining in the first half.
 
The Rattlers stretched the lead to 14-7 after a Bryce Moragne free throw with 10:29 left, but Morgan State closed the gap to 14-10 after a dunk by Troy Baxter with 7:43 remaining.
 
Florida A&M extended the advantage to 18-10 after a free throw by Randolph with 5:48 left in the half.
 
Morgan State closed the gap to 25-22 as Sherwyn Devonish connected on the four-point play with 41 seconds remaining, but Randolph answered with a three-point play to push the Rattler lead to 28-22 with 27 ticks left.
 
A pair of free throws by Malik Miller cut the Morgan State deficit to 28-24 right before the half.
 
Both teams came out in the second half hot from the floor, but the Bears closed the margin to 34-33 after an Isaiah Burke 3-pointer and grabbed a 35-34 lead after a fastbreak layup by Stanley Davis with just under 17 minutes remaining.
 
The Rattlers responded with a 12-6 run, aided by a technical foul on the Bears, to grab a 46-41 lead with 13:27 left.
 
A Rod Melton, Jr. 3-pointer gave FAMU its largest lead of the night, 60-51, with 9:19 remaining, Morgan State continued to keep the game close and trimmed the deficit to 64-62 after a pair of free throws by Kyson Rawls with 5:29 left.
 
Despite keeping the Bears in the game, buckets by Randolph and Evins Desir gave the Rattlers a 73-64 advantage with just under two minutes to play.


Morgan State never got any closer than nine points in the final two minutes, sending Florida A&M to its third victory of the season.
 
Inside the Numbers
> Florida A&M shot 40.6 percent (26-of-64) from the floor and 71.0 percent (22-of-31) from the charity stripe
> Morgan State was 22-of-52 (42.3 percent) from the field and 20-of-25 (80.0 percent) from the foul line
> FAMU registered 35 rebounds, including 18 on the offensive glass
> MSU pulled down 39 rebounds, with 24 coming on the defensive end
> The Rattlers finished with 22 second-chance points, 20 points in the paint, 20 points off 19 MSU turnovers and 18 bench points
> The Bears recorded 30 points in the paint, 18 bench points, 16 second-chance points, eight points off 10 FAMU turnovers and two fastbreak points
 
News and Notes
> Since 2010, the series has been extremely close, with Morgan State holding a 6-5 lead
> Saturday marked Church and Community Appreciation Day at the Al Lawson Center
> Florida A&M has faced two nationally-ranked programs so far this season – #10 Seton Hall and No. 21 Tennessee
> FAMU picked up a signature victory on Dec. 31 against Iowa State (70-68) 
> The Rattlers played their first home game of the season on Saturday against Morgan State
 
Up Next
Florida A&M wraps up its two-game homestand on Monday night against Coppin State. Tip-off against Eagles for Faculty and Staff Appreciation Night is set for 8 p.m. from the Al Lawson Center.
 
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