Guard Devin Vassell scored 13 points and Florida State took control early in the second half en route to an upset of No. 6 Florida, 63-51, on Sunday afternoon in Gainesville, Fla.
The victory was Florida State's sixth straight in the Sunshine Showdown series against its intrastate rival.
Keyontae Johnson's 19 points led the Southeastern Conference's Gators (1-1), who shot 28.0 percent (14 of 50) and committed 16 turnovers. Touted Virginia Tech graduate transfer Kerry Blackshear Jr. had 10 points, all via free throws, and 13 rebounds. He missed five shots from the field.
M.J. Walker added 12 points, Malik Osborne 10 points and Trent Forrest eight points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Atlantic Coast Conference's Seminoles (1-1). Florida State shot 45.2 percent (14 of 31) -- including 4 of 8 from 3-point territory -- in the second half to build off a 25-21 halftime lead.
Florida State scored the first six points of the second half -- Vassell's dunk and two Osborne layups -- to take a 31-21 lead with 17:03 remaining. Later, Balsa Koprivica's slam off an alley-oop pass from Wyatt Wilkes, and Anthony Polite's 3-pointer fueled a 5-2 run that gave the Seminoles their largest lead at 47-33 with 9:31 to go.
The Gators never got closer than 10 points the rest of the way.
Both teams shot poorly in a sloppy first half. FSU was 6 of 24 (25.0 percent) from the floor, and Florida was 6 of 27 (22.2 percent). The Seminoles sank 1 of 9 from behind the arc, while the Gators were 1 of 11.
Walker's six first-half points led Florida State, which held the half's largest lead at 5-0.
--Field Level Media
Florida State | Florida | |
Devin Vassell 13 | Scoring | Keyontae Johnson 19 |
Trent Forrest 7 | Assists | Andrew Nembhard 3 |
Trent Forrest 8 | Rebounds | Kerry Blackshear Jr. 13 |
Trent Forrest 5 | Free Throws Made | Kerry Blackshear Jr. 10 |
Devin Vassell 2 | Steals | Kerry Blackshear Jr. 2 |
Patrick Williams 3 | Blocks | Scottie Lewis 3 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Florida State | 63 | 36.4 | 5-17 | 18-23 | 11 | 35 | 5 | 8 | 9 |
Florida | 51 | 28.0 | 4-22 | 19-24 | 6 | 32 | 4 | 3 | 16 |