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FSU recovers but still shows flaws

An 88-65 win over NAIA's Shawnee State can't hide problems on the boards.

TALLAHASSEE - Florida State rebounded from a surprising loss with an 88-65 win over Shawnee State on Wednesday night.

Alexander Johnson had 14 points and nine rebounds to lead the Seminoles in front of 4,650 at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center, two days after they lost there to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

After a slow start, two Adam Waleskowski free throws gave FSU a 21-20 left with 7:30 left in the first half and ignited a 20-4 run to close the half. The 'Noles (2-1) did not trail again. The final margin matched FSU's largest lead.

"I guess you could say we took maybe a baby step in the right direction," FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said.

Shawnee State, an NAIA school in southern Ohio, outrebounded FSU 33-32 but was unable to overcome the Seminoles' depth and speed. Florida State played all 13 players. Walk-on Ben Engstrom was the only Seminole who didn't score.

Still, FSU's rebounding troubles are a cause for concern.

"We have to a better job than that," Hamilton said. "This is probably the last time we are going to have the luxury of playing an opponent where we're going to be favored or have more athletes than they do."

FSU forced 20 turnovers, which led to 30 points, and scored 16 on fast breaks.

The Bears (2-3) maintained a lead for most of the first nine-plus minutes, going up by as many as four while the Seminoles missed several shots in the paint.

"It's hard to get in rhythm and in synch with the team we have," said Hamilton, who has three freshmen and two junior transfers mixed into the rotation.

Despite early troubles converting on shots near the basket, the Seminoles finished the first half shooting 59.3 percent and were 3-for-6 on 3-pointers. FSU shot 59.4 percent in the second half and finished 6-of-13 on 3s.

Center Adam Davenport led the Bears with 16 points and nine rebounds as four Shawnee State players scored in double figures.

Guard Von Wafer and Waleskowski had 10 points each for the Seminoles. Senior forward Anthony Richardson had nine points in 19 minutes after being held out Monday for undisclosed reasons.

The Seminoles, 1-1 in the four-game Corpus Christi Challenge, play Kent State Saturday and Texas Christian Sunday.