No. 11 Florida State continued its hot to start the season Saturday by beating UConn 79-71 in Newark, N.J., as part of the Never Forget Tribute Classic.

The Never Forget Tribute Classic helps fund scholarships for the children of 9/11 victims.

Florida State (8-1), which has now won three straight, turned a tight contest early into a relatively easy win thanks to big games from guards Terance Mann and David Nichols and forward Mfiondu Kabengele.

Mann led the way for the Seminoles with 20 points and nine rebounds, while Kabengele added 15 points and Nichols added a career-high 16 points -- 13 of which came in the first half.

Florida State led by as many as 16 points in the second half, but UConn (7-3) made a game of it with under two minutes to go by cutting the Seminoles' lead to five points -- thanks in part to a game-high 24 points by guard Alterique Gilbert, who also added five steals.

But despite Gilbert's huge outing, the Huskies could get no closer.

UConn also got double-digit scoring by guard Jalen Adams, who finished with 15 points, five rebounds and three assists. The Huskies' only other player to reach double figures was guard Tarin Smith with 12 points and five boards.

The Seminoles closed the foul-plagued first half on an 11-2 run to take a 39-33 lead into intermission as the two teams committed 23 total personal fouls in the first half.

Florida State stayed hot in the second half, going on a 10-1 run in the first 3 1/2 minutes to extend the advantage to 49-34. The lead stayed at double digits for most of the second half before UConn started to close that gap.

Florida State gets a long break before its next game, Dec. 17 at home against Southeast Missouri.

UConn's next game will be on Dec. 15. The Huskies return home to host Manhattan.

With Saturday's win, Florida State now leads the all-time series against UConn 5-3.

--Field Level Media