Men's Basketball Falls in Season Opener at Florida State
11/13/2007 5:14:00 AM | Men's Basketball
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. --- A 10-2 Florida State run to close out the first half broke open a tight contest as the Seminoles defeated Georgia Southern 92-67 Monday night at the Tucker Center.
The game was the season-opener for GSU and a first-round contest in the Glenn Wilkes Classic. FSU stays undefeated on the young season at 2-0.
FSU was led by Isaiah Swann's game-high 25 points. Toney Douglas added 18 off the bench.
“I thought we fought hard early and I thought our foul trouble hurt us,” said GSU head coach Jeff Price. “When Dwayne (Foreman) and Louis (Graham) got in foul trouble it affected our team. I don't think the score was indicative of the game. We've got to find a way when we play schools like this to be mentally tougher down the stretch and play harder and learn from it.”
Three players shared team-high scoring honors for Georgia Southern. Freshman Willie Powers (Gainesville, Fla.), in his first collegiate contest, poured in 13 on 6-of-10 shooting from the floor. Seniors Louis Graham (West Palm Beach, Fla.) and Matt Fields (Jacksonville, Fla.) also had 13 points. Junior newcomer Julian Allen (Waterbury, Conn.) tallied 10 and a team-best eight rebounds.
“I thought Willie played excellent in his first game as a freshman against an ACC school,” said Price. “We feel like Willie is going to be a good player ? he's got some things he's got to get better at, but we said from the beginning that we were going to throw him out there and let him learn on the job.”
Graham, who picked up his third foul with 7:33 to go in the first half, shot 5-of-10 from the floor and had four rebounds, two steals and one block.
Florida State jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the opening minutes, but Georgia Southern battled back and managed to pull within one, 16-15.
“We started off slow and I knew we would,” Price said. “We were really tight. But once we loosened up a little bit and got in the flow of the game we played a lot better. We have to make shots ? we have to make open shots. We struggled with that, particularly Dwayne. When we get looks like that, for our team to be successful, we have to knock some down.”
The Eagles managed to tie the score four times but was unable to overcome the Seminoles.
Swann broke a 32-32 tie with back-to-back 3-pointers, the last coming at the 5:08 mark after a GSU turnover. Senior Anthony Marshall (Lake Worth, Fla.) cut the margin to six with two free throws, but FSU reeled off eight straight points, five from Ralph Mims to increase the lead to its largest of the night, 46-34.
Florida State took a 48-36 lead into the break and GSU was never able to get the lead into single-digits the rest of the way.
The Eagles return to action this weekend as they continue play in the Glenn Wilkes Classic. The second phase takes place in Daytona Beach, Fla. at the Ocean Center. Friday's tilt against Cleveland State is set to tip-off at noon.
The game was the season-opener for GSU and a first-round contest in the Glenn Wilkes Classic. FSU stays undefeated on the young season at 2-0.
FSU was led by Isaiah Swann's game-high 25 points. Toney Douglas added 18 off the bench.
“I thought we fought hard early and I thought our foul trouble hurt us,” said GSU head coach Jeff Price. “When Dwayne (Foreman) and Louis (Graham) got in foul trouble it affected our team. I don't think the score was indicative of the game. We've got to find a way when we play schools like this to be mentally tougher down the stretch and play harder and learn from it.”
Three players shared team-high scoring honors for Georgia Southern. Freshman Willie Powers (Gainesville, Fla.), in his first collegiate contest, poured in 13 on 6-of-10 shooting from the floor. Seniors Louis Graham (West Palm Beach, Fla.) and Matt Fields (Jacksonville, Fla.) also had 13 points. Junior newcomer Julian Allen (Waterbury, Conn.) tallied 10 and a team-best eight rebounds.
“I thought Willie played excellent in his first game as a freshman against an ACC school,” said Price. “We feel like Willie is going to be a good player ? he's got some things he's got to get better at, but we said from the beginning that we were going to throw him out there and let him learn on the job.”
Graham, who picked up his third foul with 7:33 to go in the first half, shot 5-of-10 from the floor and had four rebounds, two steals and one block.
Florida State jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the opening minutes, but Georgia Southern battled back and managed to pull within one, 16-15.
“We started off slow and I knew we would,” Price said. “We were really tight. But once we loosened up a little bit and got in the flow of the game we played a lot better. We have to make shots ? we have to make open shots. We struggled with that, particularly Dwayne. When we get looks like that, for our team to be successful, we have to knock some down.”
The Eagles managed to tie the score four times but was unable to overcome the Seminoles.
Swann broke a 32-32 tie with back-to-back 3-pointers, the last coming at the 5:08 mark after a GSU turnover. Senior Anthony Marshall (Lake Worth, Fla.) cut the margin to six with two free throws, but FSU reeled off eight straight points, five from Ralph Mims to increase the lead to its largest of the night, 46-34.
Florida State took a 48-36 lead into the break and GSU was never able to get the lead into single-digits the rest of the way.
The Eagles return to action this weekend as they continue play in the Glenn Wilkes Classic. The second phase takes place in Daytona Beach, Fla. at the Ocean Center. Friday's tilt against Cleveland State is set to tip-off at noon.
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