Vassell scores career-high 27, helps push No. 5 FSU past Hokies, 74-63
The Florida State men's basketball team looked more like the No. 5 team in the country on Saturday, jumping out to an early lead and rolling to a comfortable victory at Virginia Tech.
In the Seminoles' first game back after a narrow defeat at Virginia, Devin Vassell led the way with a career-high 27 points -- on 7-of-7 shooting from 3-point range -- as FSU cruised to a 74-63 win.
* INSTANT ANALYSIS: Corey Clark breaks down what went right and wrong for FSU
The fifth-ranked Seminoles are now 18-3 overall and 8-2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, while the Hokies fall to 14-8 and 5-6.
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Box Score: No. 5 FSU 74, Virginia Tech 63
Five days after seeing their 10-game win streak snapped in Charlottesville, the Seminoles played better in all phases on Saturday. They were especially impressive from 3-point range, beating the Hokies at their own game.
Virginia Tech came into the game as one of the most prolific perimeter shooting teams in the country, but the Hokies connected on just 7 of 30 shots from long range against FSU. The Seminoles hit 10 of 22.
Thanks largely to Vassell, who hit 5 of 5 3-pointers and scored 17 points in the first half, Florida State took a 34-29 advantage into halftime.
"He was the hot man, and they kept going to him and getting him the ball," FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said in his postgame radio interview. "And he was locked into the moment. He realized the importance of the game. ...
"That's what you like to see. Us understanding when you go on the road in the ACC, everybody's got to bring another level of focus, and I thought that's what he did."
Hamilton's team then controlled most of the second half, leading by as many as 16 with less than 10 minutes remaining.
Vassell was the only Seminole to score in double-figures; FSU got 8 points from sophomore Wyatt Wilkes and 7 apiece from RaiQuan Gray, Anthony Polite and Patrick Williams.
FSU returns to action Monday night against visiting North Carolina (7 p.m., ESPN).
Notable: Freshman forward Patrick Williams returned to action after missing recent games with a toe injury. He scored seven points off the bench. ... The Seminoles played without junior guard M.J. Walker, who dressed for the game and participated in warmups but sat out with a slightly sprained ankle.