FSU Pummels Southern Miss for Second Straight Year, 98-45

Few would have thought Florida State would beat Southern Mississippi more lopsidedly than last season’s 49-point drubbing. That’s what happened on Thursday afternoon at the Donald L. Tucker Center however, as the Seminoles left with an emphatic 98-45 victory.

3-point shooting was again the key for FSU (11-1), which shot 19-for-36 from downtown and 56 percent from the field. The Golden Eagles were held to just 4-for-24 from deep and below 30 percent from the floor for the game.

P.J. Savoy paced the Seminoles for a second straight year against Southern Miss, finishing with 17 points on 5-for-10 shooting — all 3-pointers and a game-high seven rebounds. M.J. Walker was 5 of 8 from deep to finish with 15 points. Mfiondu Kabengele made all five attempts to finish with 12 points.

FSU dominated most statistical categories including rebounding where it held a 42-28 edge. The Seminoles also blocked five shots to none for Southern Miss.

The Golden Eagles (7-5) led twice early on with the last lead being a 7-6 advantage on a layup by Eddie Davis. FSU led 11-9 before using an 18-0 run to turn the contest into a rout.

Davis, leading scorer Cortez Edwards and Anfernee Hampton all finished with eight points to lead Southern Miss.

Southern Mississippi will wrap up the non-conference at home against Mississippi State on Friday. FSU won’t play again until opening ACC play at Duke on Dec. 30.

Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson