The Florida State men's basketball team played with better energy and defensive intensity but fell short in an 82-67 loss to No. 7 Houston at the Rockets’ home arena.

Robert McCray V scored 16 points and dished out five assists but he also had five turnovers. McCray shot 6 of 12 from the floor.

Chauncey Wiggins had 14 points on 4 of 9 shooting and had six rebounds.

Lajae Jones added 12 points and six rebounds, shooting 4 of 7 from the floor but making just 1 of 4 3-pointers.

FSU (5-4) has now lost three straight games, beginning with a loss to Texas A&M at Tampa last Friday and then to Georgia in Tallahassee on Tuesday. But the energy was far improved compared to those blowout losses to SEC schools.

Playing without power forward Alex Steen, who coach Luke Loucks said had "a little injury,” the Seminoles (5-4) outrebounded Houston 37-35.

"I thought our effort was much better than the last two nights," Loucks said on the postgame radio show. "For the most part our compete level was pretty good."

While FSU trailed most of the game, the team was able to trim the deficit to 57-52 in the second half before turnovers added up. The Seminoles had 19 turnovers but just 10 assists.

FSU shot 10 of 32 from 3-point range, although the Seminoles were 12 of 25 from inside the arc.

Kobe MaGee shot 3 of 10 from beyond the arc for the Seminoles.

Emanuel Sharp scored 27 points, Kings Flemings had 21 points and five assists, while Chris Cenac Jr. had 15 points and 10 rebounds for Houston (8-1).

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FSU plays UMass at Sunrise, Fla., on Saturday.