TALLAHASSEE, Fla.- Florida A&M broke open a close game with a 14-3 run and went on to defeat Savannah State 69-64 in a game played at the Al Lawson Center, before a crowd of 1,417.

The Tigers led 43-42 with 15:28 remaining after a Zaquavian Smith layup but the Rattlers responded with a 14-3 spurt to take a 56-46 lead with 10:34 left. The only SSU points during the FAMU run came from a 3-pointer by freshman Collins Joseph.

A 3-pointer and a layup by Zach Sellers followed by a free throw by Jaquan Dotson pulled the Tigers within 56-52 at the 8:17 mark but they would not get any closer the rest of the way.


Down 66-56 with 4:42 remaining, the Tigers strung together a 6-1 spurt where Romani Hansen and Adam Saeed made layups and Tyrell Harper converted two free throws to whittle their deficit to five with just over a minute left on the clock.

FAMU added a pair of free throws in the final 22 seconds to go ahead by seven but a tip-in by Dotson off of a Hansen missed 3-pointer with two seconds left were the final points of the contest.

Hansen paced the Tigers with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Smith and Collins added 11 points apiece while Dotson chipped in 10 points and seven rebounds.

The first half featured four ties and two lead changes.

SSU trailed by three but back-to-back 3-pointers by Joseph gave the Tigers a 16-13 edge with 10:07 left.

The Rattlers answered with a 11-2 run to go up by six. Savannah State was able to whittle their deficit to two but FAMU, on the strength of a 12-5 spurt, stretched their lead to 38-29 late in the half before taking a 38-30 lead into intermission.

Savannah State shot 36.2 percent from the floor, 26.5 percent from 3-point range and 59.1 percent from the free throw line.

Florida A&M, who was led by Isaiah Martin's 15 points and 10 rebounds, shot 44.6 percent from the floor, 35.3 percent from beyond the arc and made 61.9 percent of their free throws. The Rattler also won the rebounding battle, 43 to 35.



TIP INS:
  
*  Zach Sellers extended his streak of scoring at least two points in a game to 48 games
 
* The Tigers outscored FAMU 34-31 in the second half


* SSU ends a 12 game road stretch that started on November 20.
 
* Jaquan Dotson has scored in double figures 14 times this season and during the past nine games

* SSU Head coach Horace Broadnax was an assistant on the FAMU men's basketball staff during the 1992-93 season