Behind a 30-point effort from Jamir Watkins, Florida State men’s basketball notched a 73-65 win over Rice in the Mattress Firm Battleground 2k in Houston, Texas on Saturday night.
The Seminoles (2-0) led the entire game and shot just over 42% from the field with Watkins connecting on half of his shots.
He finished the game with 30 points, six rebounds and one assist.
FSU struggled behind the arc, shooting under 30% from three and scoring primarily inside the painted area or at the free-throw line. The Seminoles shot 22-of-34 from the free-throw line.
Forward Malique Ewin was the second-leading scorer and the only other Seminole in double figures as he finished with 11 points and seven rebounds.
Defensively the Seminoles forced nine steals and seven blocks. Watkins had a team-high three steals and Taylor Bol Bowen led with two blocks against the Owls.
It was a low-scoring first half as the Seminoles led 33-23 at the break. Watkins had 13 points in the first half to lead all scorers and he was the only player in the game with double figures in points at the half.
Rice scored nine points in a row to start the second half, making it a 33-32 game. However, FSU pulled away on six straight points from Ewin and maintained the lead for the rest of the game to claim victory.
Watkins scored 17 points in the second half.
The Seminoles host Tarleton State University on Tuesday, Nov. 12 with tipoff scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Tucker Center.
Liam Rooney covers Florida State athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at LRooney@gannett.com or on Twitter @__liamrooney
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU men’s basketball moves to 2-0 after 30 point’s from Jamir Watkins
