TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Florida State men's basketball coach Leonard Hamilton was worried about how his team would play without two starters. As Wednesday night's game developed, Hamilton had no reason to be concerned.
Devin Vassell scored 17 points and pulled down a career-high eight rebounds, and Patrick Williams added 16 points as Florida State cruised to an 89-53 rout of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, the Seminoles' largest margin of victory in more than two years.
Ole Miss graduate transfer Dominik Olejniczak scored his first points at Florida State (3-1), going 5-for-6 from the floor with 10 points and three rebounds. The Seminoles shot 34-of-65 (52%) without forward RaiQuan Gray and guard M.J. Walker.
"I went into this game anxious because we were without two of our more experienced players," Hamilton said. "I thought our guys really responded well. We had high-percentage shots, which gave some of our big guys a little bit more room to go to the offensive boards. It was tremendously challenging for Chattanooga to defend us because the ball moved so well."
Even without Gray and Walker, Florida State was overwhelming. Olejniczak's layup with 9:19 to halftime put Florida State ahead 28-17, and the Seminoles led by double figures the rest of the way.
"They are physically strong and athletic and long," UTC coach Lamont Paris said. "It's length that we haven't gone against as much this year. But I thought really had a lot to do with things that we didn't do, core values that we have as a defensive team that we were not able to do."
The Mocs (3-2) return to competition Monday with a 7 p.m. game at No. 20 Tennessee (4-0), which routed Alabama State 76-41 on Wednesday.
Hamilton frequently says his team is about the "sum of its parts," and this was a good example. Five Seminoles scored in double figures and 15 players appeared in the game for Florida State.
Freshman center Balsa Koprivica had 10 points and seven rebounds, and Rice transfer forward Malik Osborne scored 10 points and pulled down three rebounds. The Seminoles' height and length translated into a 41-30 rebounding edge.
"Balsa has gone from extremely anxious and nervous in the beginning of the year to playing with a lot more confidence," Hamilton said. "He's becoming more of an instinctive player as he's learning."
Florida State's 36-point margin was the biggest for the program since the Seminoles routed Clemson 109-61 on Feb. 5, 2017.
David Jean-Baptiste had 15 points and Rod Johnson added 11 wth six rebounds for the Mocs, who shot 23-of-59 (39%).
Florida State also took away a UTC strength - the 3-pointer. The Mocs were just 5-for-24 from beyond the arc.
"In the scouting report, there was a lot of talk about their 3s," Vassell said. "That was probably the key to the game - not let them get as many 3s and contain the dribble. We were able to get some stops and get transition points."
The Mocs trailed by double figures most of the game and couldn't shoot their way back into it despite Jean-Baptiste's 7-of-13 performance.