Chauncey Wiggins scored a game-high 17 points and three of his teammates finished in double figures as Florida State ran away with an 89-59 win over Cal State Bakersfield on Tuesday in Tallahassee, Fla.
Wiggins tallied 11 of his 17 points in the second half, when the Seminoles (5-1) outscored the Roadrunners 54-35. Martin Somerville and Robert McCray V scored 14 points apiece while Alex Steen recorded his first double-double at Florida State with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Ronald Jessamy led Cal State Bakersfield (3-4) with 14 points and 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the season. Caleb McCarty added 10 points, but leading scorer Dailin Smith tallied just seven points on 2-of-10 shooting.
The Seminoles, who are averaging more 3-point attempts than any other Division I team, didn’t hit their first trey until the first shot of the second half. They finished the first half 0-for-15 from outside the arc while the Roadrunners were 0-for-5 from 3-point range over the opening 20 minutes.
That changed drastically in the second half when the Seminoles made 8 of 17 attempts from long range, with Somerville contributing four of those treys as he scored all of his points after halftime.
Even through the slow shooting start, Florida State was never really threatened because it forced 28 turnovers that it turned into 40 points. The Seminoles had a season-high seven blocks and added 13 steals.
After Cal State Bakersfield jumped out to an 8-4 lead in the opening minutes, Florida State responded with a 15-2 run to open a 19-10 lead.
While the Seminoles were not hitting perimeter shots, they were having success inside, making 8 of 9 2-point shots to start the game. Florida State finished the first half 12-for-18 (66.7%) from inside the arc.
The Seminoles led by as many as 14 points late in the first half, but the Roadrunners cut the halftime deficit to 35-24 after Steen hit a shot at the buzzer.
Jessamy and McCarty combined for eight of the team’s nine first-half made field goals as Cal State Bakersfield shot 31%.
After a competitive first six minutes of the second half, the Seminoles pulled away with a 21-0 run that included four 3-pointers and 14 points from Somerville. The surge gave Florida State a 67-36 lead with 8:30 left.
–Field Level Media
