Watkins scores 16 of 30 in final 10 minutes; Florida State beats Rice 73-65

HOUSTON -- — Jamir Watkins scored 17 of his 30 points in the second-half Saturday night and Florida State never trailed as the Seminoles beat Rice 73-65 in the Battleground 2k24 at the Toyota Center.

Watkins made 7 of 14 from the field, 2 of 4 from 3-point range and 14 of 22 from the free-throw line. Malique Ewin scored 11 points (all in the second half) and finished with seven rebounds for Florida State (2-2).

Watkins hit a 3 to open the scoring and, after a layup by Kellen Amos made it 4-4, Taylor Bol Bowen's dunk gave the Seminoles the lead for good with 16:39 left in the first half.

Alem Huseinovic hit four 3-pointers and scored 14 points for Rice. Amos scored 12 and Trae Broadnax added 10 but was 2-of-10 shooting with five turnovers.

Rice went 7-plus minutes without a made field goal and FSU stretched its lead to 33-21 with 1:08 left before halftime before a layup by Jimmy Oladokun Jr. trimmed the Owls' deficit to 10 points at halftime.

Huseinovic sandwiched a pair a 3s around a 3-pointer by Broadnax in a 9-0 spurt to open the second half that made it one-point game with 17:58 to play, but Ewin scored Florida State's next six points to make it 39-33 less then 2 minutes later.

Amos hit a 3 that pulled Rice to within 49-46 with 10 minutes remaining but Watkins scored 16 points from there — including a thunderous right-hand dunk that capped a 13-2 run and gave Florida State a 68-53 lead with 2:30 to go.

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