Florida State frosh post strong debut over Nicholls, 109-62

Throughout the remaining ten minutes of play in the game, Dwayne Bacon tallied 16 points and 27 points total in the entire game and Florida State locked down on defense, limiting Jacksonville to 44 percent shooting percentage from the floor.

The Seminoles scored more than 100 in a season opener for the first time since 1994. Dwayne Bacon, a McDonald’s All-American selection last season, led the way with 23 points and eight rebounds. Malik Beasley added 21 points and Terance Mann 15. Chris Koumandje, who is the tallest player in school history at 7-foot-4, scored 3 points and had four rebounds.

Sophomore point guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes led the team with five assists and finished with 13 points in 26 minutes.

“A win is big for us, period”, Williams said after the game. “I just think we are hesitant”, Coach Hamilton said. “I guess that shows that offensively we have potential to score points, defensively we have a ways to go”.

The Seminoles improved to 13-1 in season openers under Hamilton. Babineaux led all scorers with 31 points, 21 of which came in the first half.

Jacksonville: After going 3 of 10 on 3-pointers in the first half, the Dolphins were 6 of 13 in the final 20 minutes. “We didn’t do a very good job today”.

“I feel like everybody is in rhythm”, Rathan-Mayes said. Bacon sped up the court and knocked down a shot from elbow to put the Seminoles ahead 30-29.

“They run faster than us”.

“He got out in transition and they weren’t stopping the ball so he was taking advantage of it. Dunking the ball and making great plays for us”.

The Gators (9-1) seek their first win against Florida State since 2012 and first win in the Swamp against the Seminoles since a 37-10 decision in 2009.

Bacon (Lakeland, Fla.) led the Seminoles with nine field goals made, was tied for game high honors with four free throws made (he was a ideal four of four of four from the free throw line) and made the first shot of his career – a 3-pointer- on the first attempt of his career only 18 seconds into the first game of his career.

Florida State, with four returning starters from an Elite Eight team, has high expectations for the season. Nicholls State finished 12th in the 13-team Southland in scoring a season ago (65 points per game). I’m challenging him to be a bit more aggressive on the boards. “They are playing the game the right way”, Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton said. “We’re able to keep throwing bodies at guys, and I think that depth wore them down”.

Thirty years later, during the second half of FSU’s 98-79 victory Tuesday against visiting Jacksonville University, that number tripled.

The game opened a three-game homestand for UF, which next faces Kennesaw State on Saturday.