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National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Florida St. 81, Manhattan 66
When: 1:00 PM ET, Saturday, November 15, 2014
Where: Donald L. Tucker Center, Tallahassee, Florida
Officials: # Karl Hess, # Chuck Jones, # Mike Stuart
Attendance: 6271



Florida State 81, Manhattan 66: Aaron Thomas scored 14 points and all five starters reached double figures as the host Seminoles turned away the Jaspers in the opener for both schools.

Jarquez Smith and Kiel Turpin each pitched in 13 points for Florida State (1-0), which overcame 21 turnovers. Montay Brandon had 12 points and Devon Bookert added 11 points and a game-high five assists for the Seminoles.

Shane Richards led the offense for Manhattan with 17 points and Ashton Pankey added 14 for the Jaspers (0-1), who shot a mere 28.6 percent from the field. Emmy Andujar had nine points and nine rebounds while RaShawn Stores contributed nine points off the bench for Manhattan, which is coming off of a 25-win season and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament a year ago.

With the Jaspers taking exactly half of their 56 shots beyond the arc, the Seminoles battled back from an eight-point first-half deficit to take a 37-31 lead into the locker room at halftime. The Jaspers' first six field goals were from 3-point range and it wasn't until a layup from Rich Williams with 4:10 remaining in the opening frame that Manhattan connected from inside the arc.

Florida State opened the second half with eight unanswered points, capped by an emphatic dunk from Thomas, to extend its lead to 45-31. A 12-5 Manhattan run shrunk the lead to 56-51 with just over nine minutes left before Florida State enjoyed a 12-3 surge led by four points each from Bookert and Brandon to help secure the win.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Turpin, a sixth-year senior, returned to the Florida State lineup for the first time since 2012-13 after missing all of last season with a leg injury. ... The Seminoles are 12-1 in home openers under coach Leonard Hamilton. ... Florida State improved to 3-0 against Manhattan and 7-1 all-time against teams from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.

Top Game Performances
 
Manhattan   Florida St.
Shane Richards 17 Scoring Aaron Thomas 14
Emmy Andujar 2 Assists Devon Bookert 5
Emmy Andujar 9 Rebounds Phil Cofer 6
Ashton Pankey 10 Free Throws Made Jarquez Smith 9
Jermaine Lawrence 2 Steals Dayshawn Watkins 3
Jermaine Lawrence 1 Blocks Kiel Turpin 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Manhattan 66 28.6 9-28 25-36 8 31 1 6 42
Florida St. 81 57.5 3-9 32-44 14 30 4 8 42