Florida State’s second season under Luke Loucks opened with a statement Monday night in Tampa, where the Seminoles rolled past FAMU 113-69 at Benchmark International Arena in the Orion180 tip-off classic.
The win gave FSU a 1-0 start and came with plenty of offensive firepower. Six Seminoles finished in double figures, and Sebastian Rancik set the tone with a career-high 25 points. On the other side, Jaden Kempson Jr. paced the Rattlers with 27, while Daisean Williford added 19 and Antonio Baker Jr. chipped in 15.
The 113 points also put Florida State in a small piece of program history. The Seminoles have now topped 100 points in back-to-back season openers for the first time in more than 40 years.
The game itself carried a little extra weight, too. Florida State and FAMU hadn’t met in the regular season since 1991, when a brawl led to a forfeit in a December matchup and the series disappeared for decades.
That changed under Loucks at FSU and Charlie Ward at FAMU, with the schools first meeting last preseason in both coaches’ debut years. That game came at the Donald L.
Tucker Civic Center, and both sides have said they want the matchup to continue, ideally in Tallahassee. Monday’s trip to Tampa showed it can work in the regular season, setting up the next one closer to home.
Rancik was the headliner, especially early. He scored 14 points in the first half, including a stretch where he scored seven straight.
He finished 8-of-12 from the floor, hit 40% of his threes, and went 7-of-8 at the line. He also added four rebounds and two assists while showing he could score in a bunch of different ways.
Florida State got a major boost from its frontcourt, too. Freshman Marcis Ponder posted a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds, five of them offensive, while also adding a block.
Antony Robinson II turned in a strong all-around performance with 16 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and two steals. One of his best plays came midway through the second half, when he slipped a pass to Kam Taylor for an easy dunk.
Taylor finished with 15 points, six of them at the free-throw line, along with five rebounds, four assists, and a steal. Off the bench, freshmen Martay Barnes and Brandon Bass Jr. made their mark as well. Barnes scored 10 in his college debut, while Bass added 13 and punctuated the night with a fast-break poster slam late in the second half.
The Seminoles also backed up the offseason emphasis on free throws and rebounding. They controlled the glass with 47 rebounds, including 15 offensive boards, and turned those extra chances into 18 second-chance points. At the stripe, FSU went 26-of-34 for 76%.
Defensively, the active hands showed up, too. Elisee Assui led the team with four steals, and Florida State finished with 12 as a group.
If the Seminoles are going to chase the kind of season they want, those are the numbers they’ll need to keep stacking up. Next up is the home opener against Troy.
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