After a sluggish first half, Florida State settled in. It wasn’t the type of significant step forward the Seminoles would like, especially with No. 1 Florida coming up next, but it’s a part of the growing process for a team with plenty of new pieces.

Shon Abaev scored 12 of his 20 points in the second half and pulled down seven rebounds as FSU defeated Troy 91-68 on Friday night before a large crowd of students and fans that enjoyed the 2026-27 home opener. The Cincinnati transfer also had six assists for FSU (2-0).

Abaev shot 6 of 14 from the floor and played better vs. Troy than he did in the opener against FAMU, when he had six points, six assists and four rebounds.

Marcis Ponder had 10 points and 10 rebounds, giving him back-to-back double-doubles, as FSU won the rebounding battle 43-20. The Seminoles had 17 offensive rebounds and 11 second-chance points.

Sebastian Rancik had 18 points (going 8 of 8 from the line) and two rebounds, following up his 25-point performance in the opener at Tampa. Kam Taylor had 15 points, making 8 of 8 free-throw attempts.

The Seminoles shot just 32 percent from the floor in the first half, but they were able to build a 37-26 lead at the break. FSU shot 53.3 percent in the second half.

While FSU struggled from 3-point range, finishing 7 of 28 (25 percent), freshman guard Brandon Bass came off the bench and made 2 of 4 attempts from beyond the arc.

FSU shot 34 of 39 from the free-throw line.

Troy made 9 of 26 3-point attempts (34 percent) to keep things as close as possible, although FSU still led by double digits most of the second half.

Ponder had 15 points and 11 rebounds vs. FAMU.

Coming up

FSU plays host to Florida on Tuesday at 6 p.m. (ESPN2).

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