A fast start and stifling defense was again the remedy for success for Florida State on Sunday afternoon in Tampa as the Seminoles handled Tulane, 72-53.
FSU (9-0) raced to a 21-7 lead early on a Sunday afternoon where Tulane was held to under 36 percent shooting. Braian Angola led the way in the victory with 18 points and eight rebounds.
After a 10-2 run from the Green Wave (7-3) cut the FSU lead to six, the Seminoles scored the final six points of the first half to take a 29-17 lead into the locker room. From there, the contest never got closer than eight.
In addition to Angola’s 18, Terance Mann and Trent Forrest each added 12 points. Forrest also led FSU with four assists and four steals. Angola recorded three steals while Phil Cofer was tied for the team-lead with eight boards.
After a 3-pointer from Tulane’s Melvin Frazier cut the lead to 37-29 prior to the first TV timeout in the second half, FSU used a 25-7 run to turn a competitive contest into a rout. The 3-pointer for Frazier accounted for all of his scoring on the day. He led Tulane in that department coming in.
Cameron Reynolds paced the Green Wave with 16 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, although he shot just 5 of 17 from the field. Blake Paul added 12 points and eight rebounds in the loss.
FSU shot 45 percent from the field, won the rebounding battle 44-38 and forced 19 turnovers in the win. The teams combined to shoot just 14-for-43 from deep with Angola and Reynolds each accounting for four of those makes.
The Seminoles will look to tie the best start in school-history next Saturday when they face Oklahoma State in the Orange Bowl Classic. Tulane will look to avoid consecutive losses for the first time this season when it faces Nicholls on Dec. 18.
Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson
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