TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida State nearly let a comfortable lead slip away, but the Seminoles held on to beat LSU 89-87 on Saturday at the Donald L. Tucker Center in Tallahassee in their last exhibition before the season starts.
Sophomore Shon Abaev scored a game-high 26 points, going 5-of-8 from three-point range, and added five assists and two steals. Kam Taylor had 16 points and six rebounds, Sebastian Rancik added 13 and Elisee Assui scored 11.
LSU jumped out to an 8-0 lead before the Seminoles answered with a 17-5 run, and Florida State never trailed again. The Noles were up 38-31 at the break, and Taylor opened the second half with seven points in a row. FSU stretched the margin to 14 points with 13:42 left.
The Tigers fought back to tie it 73-73 with 3:17 to go. Assui answered with a three-point play to put Florida State back in front. LSU guard Skyy Clark, who made seven threes, kept cutting into the lead, and the Tigers got within 88-86 with seven seconds left. An intentional foul call gave LSU two free throws and the ball in the final seconds, but the visitors made just one and could not score on the inbounds play. Rancik hit all four of his free throws inside the last 1:30.
The Seminoles won the extra-possession battle, turning 11 LSU turnovers into 17 points and cashing in 13 offensive boards for 19 second-chance points. For the Tigers, guard Donovan Dent finished with 24 points and handed out nine assists.
Next up is the regular season. FSU and in-town rival Florida A&M meet in Tampa to open the regular season, with an 8:30 p.m. tip on Nov. 2 at Benchmark International Arena.
Section: More Tallahassee FL sports news
Filed under: Tallahassee FL Sports News
