The Daily Nole

FSU Runs Away From Syracuse, 80-62

Rich Barnes/Getty Images

No. 22 Florida State survived a Syracuse onslaught late in the first half that carried over to the second half to notch its first win in the Carrier Dome since the Orange joined the ACC and its fourth straight victory, 80-62, on Tuesday night.

Things couldn’t have started much better for FSU (17-5, 5-4 ACC), who raced to a 36-14 lead, thanks to six 3-point makes in its first seven tries. The Orange finished the first half on a 17-4 run to cut the lead to 39-31 at the break.

In the second half, Syracuse (16-7, 7-3 ACC) got as close as one with under 14 minutes to play. After Elijah Hughes hit three straight free throws to cut the FSU lead to 55-52 midway through the second half, FSU responded with a 12-0 run to seize control of the contest.

As a team, FSU shot 55 percent from the field and an outstanding 11-for-21 from deep. FSU also held a 33-27 rebounding edge, but did turn the ball over 21 times to 19 for the Orange. Syracuse got to the line twice as often as FSU, but shot just 15-for-24 from the stripe while the Seminoles made 9 of 12 attempts.

Terance Mann finished with 22 points, nine rebounds and two steals to pace the Seminoles. Mfiondu Kabengele finished with 18 points on an efficient 7-for-10 to go with eight rebounds off the bench. M.J. Walker and Phil Cofer each added 11 points. Trent Forrest was held to two points in the win, but added 10 assists and three steals.

After scoring a career-high 37 points in Tallahassee last season, Tyus Battle scored 23 points to lead Syracuse. Hughes added 17 points in the loss while Oshae Brissett scored 16 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and three steals.

FSU will look for a fifth straight win as it returns home on Saturday for a top-25 match-up with Louisville. Syracuse remains home to face Boston College.

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

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply