By JOE REEDY
Associated Press
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida State’s box score from Wednesday’s 90-66 win over Mississippi State shows another big game for the freshman duo of Dwayne Bacon and Malik Beasley, but this also might have been the most complete game the Seminoles have played this season.
Bacon led the way with 20 points but Beasley got the first double-double of his collegiate career with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
Combined with Xavier Rathan-Mayes’ 12 points and 10 rebounds, it marks the first time since Dec. 25, 2010, against Baylor that Florida State has had a pair of players record a double-double in the same game.
"To have two guys get double-doubles, that just shows that guys are playing together and putting forth a little more effort to get rebounds and get us out in transition," Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton said.
Bacon and Beasley each had just four points at halftime but found their groove in the second half. It is Bacon’s fourth game of 20 points or more but his first since Nov. 23 against Ohio in the Paradise Jam when he had 25.
In the three previous games coming into Wednesday, Bacon was averaging just 7.7 points and was held to just two in last Sunday’s win over Southeastern Louisiana.
"Every night is not going to be your night. This time I was able to get to the lane a lot," Bacon said. "I have a wide body for my size so the coaches were telling me to get to the basket. They were telling me that the last game but this time I listened."
Beasley, who is second in the nation in scoring by a freshman, has scored in double figures in all nine games. Instead of focusing on points, Beasley was happier about the rebounds.
"That was pretty good because that shows we have a lot of versatile players and shows the talent we have where we can do more than score," he said.
Boris Bojanovsky added 11 points, all in the first half. Florida State (7-2) has won three straight and five of its last six.
Craig Sword led Mississippi State (4-5) with 20 points while Gavin Ware added 13 and Malik Newman 12.
Florida State trailed by seven points less than seven minutes into the game by going 4:39 between baskets and trailed 23-18 with 7:33 remaining before outscoring Mississippi State 19-5 the remainder of the half.
Midway through the second half, the Bulldogs were within 59-52 before the Seminoles scored seven straight points to put it out of reach. Florida State would lead by as many as 24 late in the game.
"I was really pleased with the first 30 minutes and how hard we played and then we just fell apart and it snowballed on us," Mississippi State coach Ben Howland said.
PIVOTAL MOMENT
With most of Florida State’s starters on the bench, the Seminoles went on an 11-0 run to turn a five-point deficit into a 29-23 lead. Devon Bookert, who missed the last game due to a sprained wrist, scored five of his seven points during the spurt.
TIP-INS
Florida State: The Seminoles have scored 85 or more points in all nine games for the first time since 1991-92, which also was their first season in the ACC.
Mississippi State: This was the first time since Dec. 11, 2006, that the Bulldogs had faced an ACC team on the road. They beat Miami 70-52. The only ACC teams the Bulldogs haven’t faced are Notre Dame and Boston College.
COURTSIDE
Scouts normally visit Florida State for football but credentials were issued for 18 NBA scouts to watch Wednesday’s game.
UP NEXT
Florida State: Meets Florida Atlantic on Saturday at the Orange Bowl Classic in Sunrise, Fla.
Mississippi State: Hosts Tulane on Saturday.
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