Florida State shot 59.7 percent from the field to beat NC State, 90-83, Tuesday night at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center.
FSU's shooting percentage was the highest allowed by NC State this season.
Jayden Taylor led five NC State players in double figures with a career-high tying 24 points. His fourth 20 or more point performance of the season. A three-pointer by Taylor early in the second half was the 1,000th career point.
Casey Morsell finished with 19 points. The 19 points tie for the most in his career against an ACC opponent. The grad student from Ft. Washington, Md., finished the game 8-of-15 from the field and added a career-high six assists, four rebounds, two blocks and one steal.
DJ Horne added 15 points and finished the game with three three-pointers. He now has 85 three-pointers on the season, tied with Rodney Monroe (1988-89) for the eighth-most in a single season in program history.
Mohamed Diarra finished one rebound shy of a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds while
Ben Middlebrooks closed with 12 points and seven rebounds.
For just the second time in 152 career games,
DJ Burns, Jr. finished with zero points.
The Seminoles had a 12-point lead early in the second half when Morsell caught fire, hitting four straight shots to help the Pack go on a 10-2 run to get within 51-47.
The Pack would eventually get within two, 66-64, on a Taylor three-pointer with 8:31 to play, but the Seminoles responded with a 10-2 run to go back up by double-digits with 4:58 to play.
NC State was never able to get closer than seven the rest of the way.
The Seminoles were led by Jamir Watkins 17 points while Primo Spears added 14. All 11 Florida State players that got in the game scored.
Florida State shot 58 percent in the first half to open up an eight-point halftime advantage. The game was tied at 22 when the Seminoles went on a 12-2 run to take a double-digit lead, 34-24, with 5:48 left in the half. The Pack got within four, 37-33, with 1:21 left in the half, but FSU scored the final four points of the opening 20 minutes to double its advantage to eight headed into the locker room.
NC State is back in action Saturday when it travels to Chapel Hill to take on ninth-ranked North Carolina. Tipoff at the Smith Center is scheduled for 4 p.m. and the game will be televised on ESPN.
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