Rashad Hassan scored 23 points and Deric Rudolph had 20 for Savannah State in a 76-57 win over Florida A&M on Saturday, keeping the Tigers atop the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference with four games to play.
Preston Blackman had nine assists, Jyles Smith added seven blocks and Cedric Smith chipped in with eight rebounds for the Tigers (17-10, 10-2). Savannah State has won a season-high nine straight games, and swept the regular-season series against the Rattlers thanks to a Jan. 14 win at FAMU.
The Tigers trailed 13-7 just 5 minutes into the game, but Hassan sank a pair of free throws and Rudolph drained a 3 to fuel an 11-0 Savannah State run. The Tigers never looked back, taking a nine-point lead into the locker room and outscoring FAMU 38-28 in the second half to seal it.
Yannick Crowder had 12 points to lead the Rattlers (7-19, 5-7).
