TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida A&M (1-23, 1-10 MEAC) got their first win of the season in a 57-50 win over the Aggies of North Carolina A&T (6-20, 3-8 MEAC).
Jermaine Ruttley and Jorge Rosa combined for 46 points to lead all scorers in the game.
Ruttley, shot .500 from the field, going nine-of-18 from the field, including four-of-seven from the three-point arc.
Rosa, went six-of-14 from the field, three-of-nine from three-point range. Rosa also went seven-of-eight from the free throw line. Ruttley also led the Rattlers with nine rebounds.
Denzel Keyes was the only Aggie in double-figures with 13 points. He rounded out his double-double with 12 rebounds.
FAMU jumped out to a 10-point lead, scoring the first 10 points behind hot shooting from Ruttley. They would not relinquish the lead until the second half.
That was only momentarily as they took the lead again and held on until the end.
Several times this season, the Rattlers have outscored their opponents in the second half, but dug such a steep hole in the first half, the lead was too much to overcome. “I felt I needed to come out aggressive if we were to win tonight,” Ruttley said. “I felt like if I could get it going, Jorge would feed off of that and it worked out tonight,” he added.
“These kids…if you could see how they get after it and battle in practice, you would not be surprised at the outcome tonight,” head coach Byron Samuels said.
famuathletics.com
