First year Head Coach Byron Samuels said that despite the
loss, the support from hometown fans helped the team put up a strong effort.
“I thought it was an encouraging group of fans in the
building tonight,” he said in a quote published by the Tallahassee Democrat. “I
told the guys, ‘You just got to keep fighting. These people in these seats
really want to support you. Just keep fighting so they’ll keep coming to see
you play.’ I’m thankful for that.”
Junior Jermaine Ruttley and freshman Dalvin Roberts each scored 15 points to lead the Rattlers, with Ruttley just missing a double-double, tying Emanuel Pellot-Valentin for the teams' high rebounding honors with nine (9) each. Craig Bowman added nine points, followed by eight from Pellot-Valentin.
The loss dropped the Rattlers to 0-10 on the season ( 0-1 MEAC). FAMU trailed 38-21 at the half, as North
Florida (7-4) came out hot, shooting 58.3 percent from the floor, while hitting
five-of-11 shots from three-point range, versus 26.7 percent floor shooting for
the Rattlers.
The second half proved a different story, as the Ospreys
barely outscored FAMU, 45-44, thanks to an 11-3 Rattler run which cut
the UNF lead to nine points, 41-32 on a Pellot-Valentin jumper with 16:42 left.
The Rattlers shot 62.5 percent in the second half
(15 of 24) from the floor, but the visitors didn’t slack off much, hitting 52
percent of their floor shots, while sinking five more three-pointers to keep
FAMU at bay, leading by as much as 21 in the final minutes.