Malique Ewin finished with team highs of 17 points and seven rebounds to lead the Florida State Seminoles to a 92-59 victory over the Massachusetts Minutemen in each team’s final game of the Naismith Hall of Fame Tip-Off on Sunday afternoon in Uncasville, Conn.
The Seminoles (6-1) won their third consecutive game and went 2-0 in the event as they pulled away in the second half, leading by as many as 36 points. It’s Florida State’s best start since the 2019-20 season when it went 7-1.
UMass (1-5) dropped its fifth in a row following a season-opening win over New Hampshire despite a strong game on Sunday from Jaylen Curry, who scored 17 points.
Curry, with six free throws, helped propel the Minutemen on a 10-0 run over a four-plus minute span in the first half to take a 24-23 lead with 4:22 left.
Florida State closed the half on a 13-3 run to lead 37-27 at halftime. A 15-4 surge to open the second half helped the Seminoles break the game open.
Florida State’s defense frustrated UMass shooters throughout the contest, especially on the perimeter, limiting the Minutemen to 3-for-24 shooting (12.5 percent) from 3-point range and 18-for-58 (31 percent) overall.
The Seminoles finished with 22 points off 17 UMass turnovers.
On the flipside, Florida State had one of its best shooting games of the season. The Seminoles moved the ball well throughout the game and finished with 25 assists while only turning the ball over 10 times. The Seminoles shot 33 for 58 (56.9 percent) from the field and made 9 of 18 three-pointers to put together a season-high scoring output.
Once again, Florida State shined thanks to its depth as 12 players scored and four scored in double figures. The Seminoles were able to have 16 players participate in the game as well.
Jamir Watkins finished with 14 points, while Jerry Deng and Justin Thomas each had 10 points.
For UMass, Daniel Rivera finished with 12 points and six rebounds, while Nate Guerengomba had 10 points. Daniel Hankins-Sanford collected a game-high 13 rebounds.
–Field Level Media
