FSU Basketball Recap: Noles Get Two More Wins Despite Sluggish Play
FSU basketball had two final tune-up games before conference play is set to begin, and defeated both the Manhattan Jaspers and the Samford Bulldogs.
Coach Leonard Hamilton knew that his young, albeit talented, team might need time to gel early in the season. That’s why he signed off on a relatively easy non-conference schedule, which ranked 260th in the country in difficulty, before the game against the Samford Bulldogs.
And besides the early loss to Temple, everything has gone according to plan for Hamilton and the Seminoles. They head into conference play with a 12-1 record, which is their best start since 2004.
The games against Manhattan and Samford featured little of interest (at all), but at least they both culminated in wins for Florida State.
Let’s get right into it, so that we can move on and forget about both of these games as quickly as possible.
Dec 17, 2016; Sunrise, FL, USA; Manhattan Jaspers forward Calvin Crawford (14) fouls Florida State Seminoles center Michael Ojo (50) during the first half at BB&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
Florida State Seminoles 83 – Manhattan Jaspers 67
We mentioned in the preview that the Jaspers are led by explosive guard Zavier Turner. He averages 17 points per game this year, and is a handful to defend. So did the Seminoles do a good job slowing him down? Of course not.
By halftime, Turner led all scorers with 15 points, and the Seminoles’ lead was a precarious 46-41 advantage. FSU’s defense tightened up in the second half however, holding the Jaspers to 26 points. Turner himself scored just three over the final 20 minuts. For the game, Manhattan shot 40 percent and turned the ball over 18 times.
Dwayne Bacon was FSU’s leading scorer with 16 points, eight of which came from the free-throw line. Xavier Rathan-Mayes also had a nice game, scoring 10 points, to go with four rebounds and five assists.
Dec 19, 2016; Tallahassee, FL, USA; Florida State Seminoles guard Terance Mann (14) reacts after dunking the ball during the second half of the game against the Samford Bulldogs at the Donald L. Tucker Center. Mandatory Credit: Melina Vastola-USA TODAY Sports
Florida State Seminoles 76 – Samford Bulldogs 68
Once again, the Seminoles got off to a slow start, this time against the Bulldogs. Just to keep things interesting though, it was the offense that decided to sputter early. Samford deserves some credit. Their zone defense kept Florida State off kilter for the first twenty minutes.
At halftime, the score was 31-27 FSU, and only because Mayes had a three-pointer go in that bounced off the cylinder twice before dropping in as time expired.
The second half was much of the same. But thanks to the Seminoles pushing the pace a little more, the lead was stretched to double digits before garbage time.
Sophomore Terrance Mann had a career-high in points, scoring 19 on an extremely efficient eight shot attempts. Rathan-Mayes also had another nice outing, totaling 15 points, three three-pointers, four rebounds and five assists.
If Florida State seemed disinterested against Manhattan, I’m not even sure what to call their effort against Samford. But I though Ira Schoffel of Warchant gave a perfectly reasonable take on the matter:
Think it has more to do with last game before players get to go home for holidays. Cars probably already packed. These games usually ugly. https://t.co/C9QsCFeGpJ
— Ira Schoffel (@IraSchoffel) December 19, 2016
Sure, that may seem like a weak excuse. What’s not though is that FSU is now 12-1, and in great shape heading into conference play.
The non-conference portion of the schedule is (mercifully) over. Going forward, we have to root for Illinois — now 11-1 on the year — to keep winning. And also for… the Gators (stop shaking your heads at me) to finish conference play with a top-10 RPI — they’re currently fourth.
Dec 17, 2016; Sunrise, FL, USA; Florida State Seminoles guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes (22) shoots the ball over Manhattan Jaspers center Ahmed Ismail (15) during the second half at BB&T Center. The Florida State Seminoles defeat the Manhattan Jaspers 83-67. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
Player of the Game(s)
Oft-maligned junior point guard Rathan-Mayes was the only player that really stood out in either game. Bacon seemed uninterested (not that I blame him), and was too inefficient scoring the ball (went 8-for-26 in the last two contests) to merit consideration for this reward.
Rathan-Mayes averaged 12.5 points, four rebounds, and five assists, while shooting 4-of-8 from three. In fact, over his last six games, he is shooting 52 percent from behind the arc. Hopefully his hot shooting doesn’t dissipate over the eight-day break that’s coming.
Dec 19, 2016; Tallahassee, FL, USA; Florida State Seminoles guard Trent Forrest (3) defends Samford Bulldogs guard Josh Sharkey (3) during the first half of the game at the Donald L. Tucker Center. Mandatory Credit: Melina Vastola-USA TODAY Sports
Ryan Reid Unsung Hero Award
Tough to point out an unsung hero from two games that featured two poor efforts. I’ll give it to freshman Trent Forrest just because he totaled four steals in the two contests, and appeared to be the only person trying on defense consistently.
Side-note, the other freshman guard CJ Walker missed both games with what was described as a “minor knee strain”. These eight days off will do his body right.
Highlights
So this put-back from Mann came outta nowhere:
Always knew he was athletic. Didn’t know he could do that though.
Here are full highlights for the Manhattan game:
And if you really want to watch the full highlights against Samford, you can find the video in their corresponding recap section in the previous page.
Shout-out to Fox Sports and the ACCDN for having those up for us to enjoy.
Up Next
Conference play! The Seminoles return to action on Wednesday, December 28th, against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. The game tips at 5 PM, and will be broadcast on ESPN2.
As always, check back with us that morning as we will have a preview to get you guys ready. Enjoy the holidays, ‘Nole fans.
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