By Brent Kallastad
Associated Press
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. ó Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton and his staff decided earlier this week that the Seminoles would be better with a bigger lineup.
He put 6-8, 236-pound sophomore Terrance Shannon into the starting lineup and it resulted in an upset of top-ranked Duke on Wednesday and a runaway 84-71 win over North Carolina State on Saturday.
ěTheir bigs are just as aggressive on offense as they are on defense,î North Carolina State coach Sidney Lowe said. ěThey were more active. They were banging us a little more.î
Bernard James, a 6-10 junior college transfer and U.S. Air Force veteran, hit all eight of his field goal attempts for a career-high 16 points, while Shannon added 12 along with a career-best nine rebounds.
ěHeís hot, heís hot,î Hamilton teased the sophomore Shannon as he came into the media room after the game, adding more seriously that he ěhad absolute confidence in his ability.î
Shannon, who made his first career start against Duke, had eight points and six rebounds by halftime.
ěEver since I was young, I was just taught to go hard,î Shannon said. ěThe harder you work for rebounds, everything else just takes care of itself.î
The Seminoles (13-5, 3-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) led 28-19 at the half and never looked back as they followed up Wednesdayís 66-61 win over top-ranked Duke with no sign of a letdown.
Florida State shot 54.5 percent (30 of 55) from the floor and all five starters scored in double figures.
ěThat was our most important stat,î Hamilton said. ěAll five guys in double figures.î
Tracy Smith scored 19 points and Ryan Harrow 17 for North Carolina State (11-6, 1-2), which shot just 38.7 percent (24 of 62).
Scott Wood, who burned Florida State for 31 points in a Wolfpack victory a year ago, and C.J. Leslie each finished with 10 points for the Wolfpack, who won both games against Florida State last season.
Wood got his first 3-pointer at the 11:11 mark of the opening half and was fouled, converting the free throw for a four-point play. He made seven from long range in last yearís game in Tallahassee.
The Seminoles never trailed and led comfortably throughout the second half on their way to a third straight ACC home victory. They shot 69.2 percent (18 of 26) in the second half.
Florida State had six different players to score baskets in a 12-0 that gave the Seminoles a 28-16 lead late in the first half. The Wolfpack had tied the game at 16 on a Lorenzo Brown jumper with 6:17 left in the half.
N.C. State shot just 26.7 percent in the opening half and couldnít handle Florida Stateís inside game where Shannonís eight points helped the Seminoles outscore the Wolfpack 20-6 in the paint.
James, who is shooting 67.3 percent on the season, scored all of his points close to the basket, including several dunks.
Michael Snaer added 13 points while Derwin Kitchen, who scored 22 points in the win over Duke, and Chris Singleton each scored 11. Deividas Dulkys snapped out of a monthlong shooting slump with eight points, including a pair of 3-point baskets, and 7-foot Jon Kreft added a career-best seven points in relief of James.
The Associated Press
01/15/11 19:37