Forward Mfiondu Kabengele scored a career-high 24 points and grabbed a game-high seven rebounds, leading No. 11 Florida State to a 95-81 nonconference victory over North Florida on Wednesday in Tallahassee, Fla.
The Seminoles (10-1) also got 17 points from guard Terance Mann and 11 from PJ Savoy. Florida State earned its fifth consecutive victory and improved to 37-2 at home over the past three seasons.
Florida State now owns a 4-0 all-time record against the Ospreys.
North Florida (5-8) kept pace with the Seminoles for much of the first half and trailed just 46-39 at intermission. However, Florida State stormed out of the locker room on a 25-9 run over the next nine minutes to seize control.
The Ospreys got a great game from guard J.T. Escobar, who scored a game-high 27 points and was a perfect 6 of 6 from 3-point range and 8 of 9 from the field overall. North Florida forward Noah Horchler added 13 points and six rebounds while forward Trip Day had 10 points and six boards.
The Seminoles received key contributions from center Christ Koumadje and guard Trent Forrest, both of whom dropped 10 points. Koumadje added three blocks, and Forrest had four steals to go along with a team-high seven assists.
The Seminoles have won 31 consecutive nonconference home games and have only dropped one non-Atlantic Coast Conference contest at home since the beginning of the 2014-15 season.
Florida State next travels to Sunrise, Fla., to play Saint Louis on Saturday in the Metro by T-Mobile Orange Bowl Classic.
North Florida gets a 10-day break before its next game, but it will be another tough challenge. The Ospreys travel to face No. 7 Auburn on Dec. 29.
--Field Level Media
North Florida | Florida State | |
J.T. Escobar 27 | Scoring | Mfiondu Kabengele 24 |
Brian Coffey II 3 | Assists | Trent Forrest 7 |
Trip Day 6 | Rebounds | Mfiondu Kabengele 7 |
J.T. Escobar 5 | Free Throws Made | Mfiondu Kabengele 10 |
Trip Day 1 | Steals | Trent Forrest 4 |
Wajid Aminu 1 | Blocks | Christ Koumadje 3 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
North Florida | 81 | 50.0 | 10-25 | 17-26 | 12 | 27 | 1 | 2 | 19 |
Florida State | 95 | 50.6 | 3-23 | 12-13 | 17 | 34 | 3 | 11 | 6 |