The Florida A&M Rattlers shot lights out in the second half to overhaul South Carolina State, 85-72 in a nationally-televised Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference men’s bout Monday night in Gaither Gym.

Coach Eugene Harris’ Rattlers (13-16, 8-7 in MEAC), who trailed 41-38 at the break, shot a blistering 63 percent (19 of 30), cashing in eight 3-pointers (8 of 11, 73 percent) to outpace the visiting Bulldogs, 47-31 in the final stanza.

FAMU had four players finish in double figures led by Joe Ballard’s 19 points and nine assists, highlighted by 3-of-4 three-point shooting. Lamar Twitty and Akini Akini both had 18 points, with Akini grabbing 11 rebounds, while Twitty finished with nine boards. Leslie Robinson, who hit four three-pointers Monday, finished with 14 points.

The Rattlers finished the night hitting 12 3-pointers (in 25 attempts, 48 percent), while shooting 49 percent from the floor to 44 percent overall for SCSU.

Jason Flagler led all scorers with 20 points and 11 rebounds for SCSU, followed by Jason Johnson’s 15 points, while Everett Spencer and Julius Carter scored 12 points apiece.

The Rattlers quickly erased the Bulldogs’ slim 41-38 halftime advantage by opening the second half with a 9-0 run capped with a dunk by Akini Akini with 17:41 left with FAMU ahead, 47-41.

SCSU rallied a bit, closing to within a point, 47-46 on a pair of foul shots by Jason Flagler with 16:44 to play, but a Lamar Twitty three-pointer boosted FAMU to a four-point edge, 50-46 with 16:27 left.

The game remained close over the next four minutes, before another 9-0 run gave them an 11-point lead, 61-52. Senior guards Leslie Robinson and Ernest Maul keyed the run with three-pointers, while Joe Ballard added a layup and Larry Jackson a free throw for the double-digit lead at the 10:43 mark.

The Bulldogs twice pulled to within six points, but after Everett Spencer’s lay-in with 8:15 left trimmed the Rattler lead to 67-61, FAMU surged yet again, building their lead to as much as 16 points.

Ballard and Robinson each knocked down a pair of three-pointers during the final stretch, as the Rattlers forged an 81-65 cushion with 2:44 left, with Twitty scoring FAMU’s final two baskets Monday.

Monday’s victory was the Rattlers’ fourth straight win overall and their fifth in the last six games, avenging an earlier 65-59 loss to the Bulldogs in Orangeburg on February 4.

The Rattlers remain in sixth place pending the outcome of Monday night’s schedule, and could possibly move into a higher seed for next week’s MEAC Tournament with a Thursday win over Bethune-Cookman and should some teams ahead of them in the standings falter on the final night.

South Carolina State (11-19, 7-9) closed out their conference schedule in eighth place pending Thursday’s final slate of conference games.