The Florida State Seminoles (4-1, 0-0) turned an 11 point halftime lead into a laugher behind a 58 point second half, demolishing Georgia Southern (3-3, 0-0) 98-72. In what has become a theme to the start of the Luke Loucks era, the ‘Noles had another record setting day, breaking their own ACC record for three-point attempts with 49, while Lajae Jones tied the school record held by George McCloud with 10 made threes and set a new career high with 36 points. Chauncey Wiggins added a double-double
with 11 points and 10 rebounds, while Robert McCray V and Cam Miles combined for 12 assists to just two turnovers.
First Half
Coach Loucks told the media after the UT-Martin game his team needed to do a better job starting every game with focus and intensity, regardless of opponent, and for the opening few minutes of this one it appeared like the message hit home. The Seminoles jumped out to a 9-0 lead, buoyed by the return of Chauncey Wiggins after a one-game absence, as the senior assisted the opening dunk and then drained a three. But the crisp execution didn’t last and along with it went the comfortable margin.
FSU has a green light for pretty much any shot that’s open in this system, but for the first time all season, I think even Loucks was unhappy with a few of the threes attempted by the ‘Noles. Florida State went through a stretch where 12 consecutive shot attempts were threes, with several of them coming at the expense of a wide open man under the basket. Cam Miles, the star of the last game, attempted 4 threes in just 5 minutes, going just 1-4. As a team, FSU shot 5-17 from deep in the first 12 minutes of the game, and that’s despite opening the game 2-2.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the court Florida State’s defense suddenly looked incapable of forcing turnovers or keeping their man in front of them. Georgia Southern was able to repeatedly get into the paint and either attack the rim or kick out for an open three, with the visitors making 4 of their first 6 attempts from the perimeter. At the under-8 timeout, FSU’s margin sat at just one, 22-21.
Alex Steen looked intent to make it his personal responsibility to bring back the attention to detail. And to his credit, the defense took a noticeable jump in communication and disruptiveness, harassing the Eagles into a string of turnovers and poor shots. Unfortunately, Florida State forced the action too much in transition and ended up turning it right back over on three of the four possessions they gained. In one particular brutal stretch of basketball, there were a combined 6 turnovers (5 live-ball) and 0 points in 1:48 of play.
Through all the bricks and wasted opportunities, Florida State still manufactured ways to slowly extend the lead. Lajae Jones was a big contributor over the two minutes and the ‘Noles closed the half on an 8-0 run to take a 40-29 lead into the locker room. Georgia Southern only made one field goal over the final 10 minutes of the the half.
Second Half
Georgia Southern opened the second stanza with a three-ball and for a brief moment it looked like Florida State might be in danger of allowing the Eagles to grab momentum. But Jones was having none of that. In the span of 44 seconds he hit not one, not two, but three threes, the last one a pull-up in transition from heat-check range that pushed the lead out to 15, 49-34. Kobe MaGee made it a 17 point lead less than a minute later when he posted up a smaller defender and finally the ‘Noles had some breathing room.
The score meandered for the next three minutes before FSU effectively ended the game with a kill shot. Beginning at the 15:28 mark with a Robert McCray V layup and culminating with a Wiggins one-handed slam at the 12:37 mark, FSU dominated at both ends to pull off a 12-0 run. Jones drilled two more threes during this stretch, the second off a great offensive rebound and dish from Steen.
With the lead up to 28, things predictably got a little sloppy. Georgia Southern went on a mini 6-0 spurt that was ended by yet another Jones three, making the score 70-45 with 10:34 left in the game. Another 6-0 Eagles run cut it to 19 and prompted Loucks to call a timeout and settle his guys down. The timeout seemed to do the trick as FSU came out more aggressive at both ends and extended the lead back out to 26 at the 5:40 mark.
The lead grew as high as 38 before Georgia Southern made a few late game shots to make the final margin 26.
Box Score & Takeaways
- Chief of the Court – Lajae Jones. The senior came into the game in a bit of a shooting slump, but he busted out in a big way, drilling 10 threes on his way to a career high 36 points. But it wasn’t just the scoring. Jones was also disruptive on defense, grabbing 3 steals and also recording a block. He also attempted 8 free throws, attacking the basket with ferocity when the opportunity presented itself.
- Florida State opened the game on a 9-0 run and closed the first half on an 8-0 run. While it’s not great to be outscored by 6 during the middle 15 minutes of the half, basketball games are games of runs and closing and opening halves on near kill-shots will often result in a positive outcome.
- Alex Steen just makes plays. There were questions about whether he could handle the athleticism and physicality at this level, and I suppose those questions might linger until FSU completes its upcoming stretch of high-major games. But some guys just make winning plays and he’s one of those.
- This was the best defensive rebounding effort I’ve seen FSU have in years. Yes, Georgia Southern is a small team, but it’s not like the ‘Noles are massive. Having Wiggins back makes a big difference in this category, but it wasn’t just him. Guards were making a concerted effort—dare I say a Derwin Kitchen type of effort—to either put a body on someone, be in position for a tip out, or both.
- Florida State is developing a penchant for turning the ball over after turnovers. I know Loucks wants his guys to push pace, but pace means nothing if you’re not maintaining possession. FSU is doing an incredible job forcing live ball turnovers this season, but they are missing out on opportunities to cash in on the scoreboard by simply trying to do too much after steals and blocks. This proved fatal against UF when the Seminoles had a chance to extend a lead late in the first half and instead ended up giving up two points the other way—in a game came down to the final possession.
Up Next
FSU takes the weekend off before returning to action against Cal State Bakersfield on Tuesday, November 25th. This will be the last tune up before playing Texas A&M, UGA, and Houston in three straight contests.
