Florida State began 2-0 for the second straight season under head coach Luke Loucks, taking down the Troy Trojans 91-68 in the Seminoles’ home opener.
Marcis Ponder had a second straight double-double, with 10 points and 10 rebounds, while Shon Abaev led all scorers with 20 points. Sebastian Rancik had 18 points and three rebounds, going a perfect 8-for-8 from the charity stripe.
Florida State started hot, shooting out to a 12-2 lead, but then an offensive drought saw the Seminoles stall out.
FSU took
its largest lead to that point at the 12:45 mark, going up 17-5 off a Kameron Taylor three, but the momentum was lost as Florida State struggled to hit anything from the field — though a strong performance on the glass helped mitigate those shooting woes.
The Seminoles made just two baskets over the next eight minutes, going 2-for-14 before a Rancik three-ball. FSU proceeded to go on a 10-2 run to close out the half, pushing its lead to 14 before a late three from Troy made it a 37-26 game at the close of the first.
Troy got a three to start the second as well, but a 6-0 run put FSU back up by 14. The Seminoles would stay ahead by double digits for the next four minutes before the Trojans cut it down to nine at the 13-minute mark off an and-one play. Each time Troy had a moment, though, the Seminoles responded — first with an and-one of their own, then with a nice jumper from Abaev after a Troy three. Marcis Ponder fought through contact for another and-one, hitting the free throw to make it a 58-44 game with 11:24 left.
That lead ballooned to 17 at 7:34 on an Abaev three, and it would hover around that mark for the next four minutes before hitting 21 after a pair of Rancik free throws. FSU emptied the bench with 1:24 on the clock, with Martay Barnes hitting a jumper with 37 seconds left to make it a 91-68 game, which would hold as the final score.
Next up for Florida State is a home matchup against the No. 1 Florida Gators next Tuesday, Nov. 10 at 6 p.m. (ESPN2).
