Humbled Florida State set to meet maturing UNLV

Field Level Media|published: Sun 19th November, 17:25 2023

Nov 17, 2023; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Florida State Seminoles forward Jamir Watkins (2), Florida State Seminoles guard Cam'Ron Fletcher (21), Florida State Seminoles guard Darin Green Jr. (22), Florida State Seminoles forward De'Ante Green (5) and Florida State Seminoles guard Chandler Jackson (0) look on during the second half against the Florida Gators at Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. credits: Matt Pendleton-USA TODAY Sports

The Florida State Seminoles will look to bounce back from a lopsided loss to in-state rival Florida when they face UNLV in the semifinals of the Sunshine Slam Monday at Daytona Beach, Fla.

The Seminoles (2-1) fell behind 36-9 and trailed 52-22 at halftime in Friday's loss to the hot-shooting Gators at Gainesville. Florida made 18 of 28 field goals (64.3 percent) in the first half.

Florida State, which opened the season with identical 94-67 home wins over Kennesaw State and Central Michigan, regrouped to outscore Florida 46-37 in the second half.

"I think we're going to learn an awful lot from this," Seminoles coach Leonard Hamilton said. "You have to give the Gators a thumbs up for how they were emotionally and mentally prepared for the game."

One bright spot for the Seminoles was the play of sophomore forward Cameron Corhen who registered his second career double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Corhen and guard Darin Green Jr. lead Florida State in scoring at 12.7 points per game.

Florida State forward Jamir Watkins scores 11.3 points with 5.0 rebounds and guard Cam'Ron Fletcher, a transfer from Kentucky, scores 10.7 points.

UNLV (2-1) bounced back from a stunning 85-71 home loss against 20-point underdog Southern to defeat Stetson 71-55 and comes in off an 82-68 victory at Pepperdine on Friday.

Forward Kalib Boone led the way for the transfer-heavy Runnin' Rebels. Boone, who began his career at Oklahoma State, had 19 points on 9-of-10 shooting against Pepperdine and leads UNLV in scoring with a 14.0 average.

Guard Luis Rodriguez, a transfer from Ole Miss, and forward Jalen Hill (13.3 points), a transfer from Oklahoma, each have averaged 13.3 points. Standout freshman point guard Dedan Thomas Jr. has scored 11.7 points with 6.3 assists.

Thomas finished with 17 points, five assists and no turnovers against the Waves. UNLV forced 17 turnovers which it turned into 18 points and finished with a 32-2 edge in bench points.

"I thought we did a good job of wearing them down," UNLV coach Kevin Kruger said. "Our trap in the backcourt was elite. We did a great job of mixing up the tempo and disrupting their transition."

—Field Level Media