Charleston Southern Buccaneers vs Florida State Seminoles Match Player Stats On Dec 18, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Dec 18, 2017

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Fresh off its first loss of the season, No. 24 Florida State rebounded Monday night with a 69-58 win against a scrappy Charleston Southern team at the Donald L. Tucker Center.

Florida State was led by Phil Cofer with 19 points and six rebounds as the Seminoles (10-1) rebounded from their first loss of the season two days earlier against Oklahoma State.

Florida State broke into the AP Top 25 Poll at No. 19 a week ago, but the Seminoles dropped to No. 24 in Monday's latest poll following the last-second 71-70 defeat to the Cowboys in Sunrise, Fla., as part of the Orange Bowl Classic.

The Seminoles were sluggish early in their bounce-back game, but Florida State steadied the ship thanks in part to 17 points, seven assists and six rebounds from guard Terance Mann.

Florida State came into the series having never lost in the two teams' 10 previous meetings, but the Buccaneers (4-6) gave Florida State -- which entered the game as 26-point favorites -- all it could handle Monday night.

Charleston Southern held the lead for a good portion of the first half before Florida State regained it with just under 7 minutes to play and took a slim 28-26 edge to intermission.

Florida State's 28 points was its lowest output in the first half of 11 games so far this season.

The Buccaneers tried to keep it close in the second half behind a game-high 21 points and six rebounds from guard Christian Keeling, but Florida State used a 16-4 run in the first five and a half minutes after halftime -- highlighted by three steals and a rim-rattling alley-oop from Mann to center Ike Obiagu -- to begin pulling away and send Charleston Southern to its fourth straight loss.

The Buccaneers also got a double-figure game from Travis McConico, who dropped 17 points also pulled down nine boards. No other Charleston Southern player reached double digits in the loss.

Florida State's Braian Angola, who opened the scoring Monday with a corner 3-pointer, finished with 11 points in the win.

Florida State will now look to make it two in a row when it hosts Southern Miss on Thursday. The Buccaneers will try to snap their skid when they next host JWU-Charlotte, also on Thursday.

NOTES: With their victory Monday night, the Seminoles have now won 26 straight games on their home floor dating back to the end of the 2016 season. Florida State's home winning streak is the third longest in the nation. ... Charleston Southern G Phlandrous Fleming Jr. was named the Big South Conference Freshman of the Week on Monday. Fleming averaged 14 points and five rebounds while connecting on 11 of 20 field-goal attempts in the Buccaneers' last two games, but for unknown reasons, Fleming wasn't in the team's lineup Monday against Florida State. ... Monday's trip by the Buccaneers to Tallahassee marked the fifth straight season and sixth time in seven years Charleston Southern has traveled to play a game at Florida State. ... Florida State G Braian Angola led the team with three steals in Monday's win.