COLLEGE TOWN, FL (WTXL) — The Seminoles jumped out early and never looked back, cruising to a 91-68 win over Troy at the Tucker Center ahead of a showdown with in-state rival Florida.
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Florida State basketball returned to the Tucker Center on Friday night and kept its early-season momentum rolling, cruising past Troy 91-68 to improve to 2-0 on the season.
After opening the year with a dominant win over Florida A&M, the Seminoles wasted no time getting things going in front of their home crowd, jumping out to an early 11-2 lead.
The Noles kept their foot on the gas. Kam Taylor knocked down a triple from beyond the arc, extending Florida State's lead to 17-5. Later in the half, Sebastian Rancik connected from downtown, pushing the lead to 30-21.
Anthony Robinson II fought through the contact and got a tough layup to fall, extending the lead to nine at 32-23. But just before the break, Troy connected from beyond the arc to cut the deficit to 11, and Florida State took a 37-26 lead into halftime.
In the second half, the Seminoles continued to build on their lead. Shon Abaev got a tough bucket to fall through the contact and drew the foul for the and-one, then showed off a soft touch with a floater. Marcis Ponder got in on the action with a three-point play of his own, as an 8-2 run put Florida State up 58-44.
Abaev wasn't finished. The freshman pulled up from beyond the arc and buried the triple, extending the Seminoles' lead to 17 at 70-53. Taylor then fought his way through the defense and got a tough bucket to fall, pushing Florida State's lead to 23 at 89-66.
The home crowd made an impact, and Loucks said that energy will matter going forward.
"And for those guys I think 4,000 plus students to show up I think the 7,000 plus in attendance I know next game will be a sell out but moving forward in all these games whether we are playing Florida or anyone in between, you know we can feel the energy that comes from the crowd," Loucks said.
For a roster still learning how to play together, the early-season success has been about building chemistry.
"We just have to learn how to stick together. We are all new; none of us had played with each other so to be able to build that chemistry, when you go through stuff with people, that's how you get closer, that's how you trust them. Just to be able to go through that at the beginning is a blessing," Abaev said.
With two convincing wins to open the season, the Seminoles are showing early signs of the progress Loucks has been talking about. But the next test will be a big one, as Florida State prepares to welcome in-state rival Florida to the Tucker Center on Tuesday.
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