The Florida A&M Men’s Basketball team held off the University of North Florida 61-57 in a non-conference match up Saturday afternoon at Gaither Gymnasium in Tallahassee, Fla.

FAMU (3-6) was paced by Leslie “L.C.” Robinson who finished with 18 points, while Joe Ballard added 14 points and dished out five assists. Both Akini F. Akini and Oliver Prince finished with six rebounds each.

Tom Hammonds led UNF (1-7) with 15 points. Chris Timberlake chipped in 13 points and Germaine Sparks led all rebounders with 10.

The Ospreys opened with a 13-7 lead in the first six minutes of the game following a free throw by Sparks.

The Rattlers fought back to tie the game at 13 following a Ballard layup with 12:20 left in the first half. Resulting from his all around play, FAMU put together a seven point lead (21-14) after a Ballard tip-in with 6:51 go in the half.

UNF recovered from the run and tied the game at 21 capping after their own 7-0 run at the 3:15 mark.

FAMU endured the rally and fell just one point short of the Ospreys, 26-25, by the halftime break.

The Rattlers finished the first half shooting 36.7 percent from the field, while the Ospreys shot 52.6 percent.

FAMU rebounded in the second half opening with a 12-4 run capped off by an Akini layup, giving the Rattlers a 37-30 advantage at the 13:38 mark.

The Rattlers continued their advantage throughout the second half and secured their biggest lead of the night, 51-43, as Ballard’s layup with 5:30 left in the game pushed FAMU up by eight.

Despite shooting 48.9 percent from the field and out-rebounding the Rattlers by seven, the Osprey’s couldn’t overcome a four-point final deficit giving the Rattlers the 61-57 victory and continued their home game win streak.

The Rattlers will return to action against Kansas State on Monday, Dec 17 at 7 p.m. at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo.