As a heavy underdog, Troy managed to hang around for a large portion of the night Monday at the Donald L. Tucker Center, but in the end, No. 11 Florida State proved to be too much in an 83-67 victory.
FSU watched its 13-point first-half lead getting whittled to 37-28 at the break and down to 42-40 early in the second half before going on an 8-0 run to create some breathing room. From there, the contest was never closer than six. FSU (7-1) led by as many as 20 in the second half.
The contest was not a thing of beauty as the teams combined for 39 turnovers. Troy (3-5) was responsible for 22 of those. The Trojans wound up shooting 44 percent from the field to 42 percent from Florida State, but were outrebounded 42-31 and made only half (5) as many triples as FSU (10).
P.J. Savoy finished 5-for-12 for the game and 4-for-10 from deep en route to leading the Seminoles with 16 points and a team-high tying three assists. M.J. Walker and Trent Forrest were an efficient 4-for-8 and 5-for-8, respectively, from the field. Walker tallied 14 points and two steals while Forrest finished with 13 points. Mfiondu Kabengele finished with 10 points and seven rebounds in the win.
Jordon Varnardo finished with 15 points and two blocks to lead Troy. Sophomore guard Darian Adams finished with 14 points on 6-for-10 shooting in the loss.
Terance Mann came in needing 14 points to reach 1,000 for his FSU career, but tallied just three. Mann did tie for the team lead with three assists while grabbing a game-high eight rebounds. Senior forward Alex Hicks led Troy with seven rebounds.
FSU will now head to Newark to face Connecticut in the Never Forget Tribute Classic on Saturday. Troy will have eight days off before facing Carver College at home next Wednesday.
Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson
Mike Olivella/FSU athletics
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