Florida State crosses century mark for second straight game

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida State accomplished something on Sunday that hasn’t happened in Leonard Hamilton’s 29 seasons and 879 games as a college coach — hit triple digits in consecutive games.

The Seminoles rolled to a 100-71 victory over Detroit Mercy as they were 40 of 70 from the field and had five players in double figures.

It is the first time since December of 1996 — against Jacksonville and Tennessee State — that FSU has scored 100 or more in back-to-back games

“Part of our plan is to play a lot of guys and hopefully wear our opponents down,” Hamilton said. “We took them out of their rhythm, got some stops and got out in transition.”

It is the 15th time — and seventh in 15 seasons at Florida State — that a Hamilton team has reached the century mark. He accomplished it six times in four seasons at Oklahoma State and twice in 10 years at Miami.

Dwayne Bacon led the Seminoles (4-0) with 22 points and freshman Jonathan Isaac got his first double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Terrance Mann (11), Xavier Rathan-Mayes (10) and Trent Forrest also scored in double figures.

FSU scored 100 points despite making just 1 of 14 3-pointers. They were 39 of 56 inside the perimeter and had a huge 78-26 advantage on points in the paint. A lot of the Seminoles’ paint points came in the transition game as they had 20 fast-break points.

Florida State led 48-35 at halftime before Detroit Mercy closed within eight (64-56) with 13:13 remaining on a Chris Jenkins jumper. The Seminoles then put it out of reach with a 32-4 run over an eight-minute span. At one point it was a 22-2 run as they hit 11 straight from the field.

“We’re a pretty good offensive team. We like to get out and run. That’s what we’ve been preaching along with defense,” Rathan-Mayes said. “These games we have shown we can play at a really high pace. We’re doing what we want to and getting wins while doing it.”

Jenkins led the Titans (1-3) with 16 points and Jaleel Hogan added 14. The game was part of the NIT Season Tip-Off.

“We knew that at some point their length and depth can have the propensity to wear you down and we saw that today. Our group has been battle tested against athletic teams but not as much as today,” said Detroit Mercy coach Bacari Alexander.

BIG PICTURE

Detroit Mercy: The Titans, who were picked in the preseason to finish sixth in the Horizon League, came into the game shooting 40.3 percent on 3-pointers but were 8 of 22 (36.4 percent) against FSU. They made just two of their last seven.

Florida State: Going into the week, Hamilton said facing Iona, Winthrop and Detroit Mercy — who are consistently good mid-major programs — would be a good early indicator of his team’s progress. Hamilton has to be pleased as the Seminoles averaged 99.7 points in the three wins and won by an average margin of 21.3 points.

STAT OF THE NIGHT

Florida State is 4-0 for the fourth time in Hamilton’s tenure but this is the first time it has happened since 2013-14, when it started 6-0.

FRESHMAN STANDOUT

Isaac had some jitters during his first game against Charleston Southern and scored just 10 points with three rebounds. In the past five games he is averaging 16 points and seven rebounds.

“He’s a guard at 6-foot-11 that plays very much like Kevin Durant,” Bacon said. “If you’re looking at Kevin Durant right now, he’s averaging almost a double-double every game. Jonathan can do that too for us. He’s a guy that can easily get 10 boards just because of how long he is. He’s a guy that can easily score just because of his ability”

UP NEXT

Detroit Mercy: The Titans finish a four-game, 3,484 mile road trip against New Hampshire on Wednesday.

Florida State: The Seminoles travel to Brooklyn, New York, for two games in the NIT Season Tip-Off. They face Temple on Thursday and either West Virginia or Illinois on Friday.

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