A sluggish start and struggles on the defensive end of the court were a bad combination for a well-rested Florida State men’s basketball team.
Daniel Hankins-Sanford scored 24 points and K’Jel Parker had 24 points as UMass shot 53.5 percent from the floor in a 103-95 win over FSU on Saturday afternoon in Sunrise, Fla.
“We started that game completely sleep walking,” FSU coach Luke Loucks said. “Obviously a very frustrating loss. Nobody is coming to save us. Our guys got to find a way.”
Robert McCray V had 21 points on 9 of 16 shooting, although he was 0 for 5 from 3-point range. McCray V had 11 assists, eight rebounds and four turnovers.
FSU lost its fourth straight game, but it was also one that KenPom had projected as an eight-point win when weighing the analytics and performances of both teams.
The Seminoles lack height in the frontcourt yet fought back on the boards to win the rebounding battle 39-37. But the Minutemen had 12 offensive rebounds and turned it into 19 second-chance points.
FSU will live and die by the 3-pointer, and it was not the Seminoles’ day. They shot 6 of 18 from beyond the arc in the first half and 6 of 23 from long range in the second half.
UMass shot 22 of 38 from the floor in the second half, a scalding 57.9 percent. The Minutemen also were consistently good from 3-point range, making 12 of 22 (54.4 percent) of their shots.
Hankins-Sanford shot 10 of 16 from the floor and Parker made 7 of 11 shots from the floor. Parker was 6 of 9 from 3-point range.
The Seminoles again were flat in the first half, continuing a troublesome trend for the team.
But FSU led by as many as six, 53-47, with 17:07 to go. But UMass trimmed the lead down gradually and led by as many as 18, 98-80, with 2:39 left. Martin Somerville hit a few 3-pointers down the stretch but FSU could only cut the deficit to 101-95 on Lajae Jones’ 3-pointer with 14 seconds left.
Somerville scored 15 points but was just 3 of 10 from 3-point range. Kobe MaGee had 12 points on 4 of 9 shooting from deep, and he added 10 rebounds. AJ Swinton also had 12 points.
Alex Steen returned after missing the Houston game due to injury. Steen had two points and two rebounds.
Loucks was disappointed postgame in the Seminoles’ defense and energy.
“Right now, we have some guys on the roster that they're showing up for work and not doing their job,” Loucks said.
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