FSU Basketball Controls Winthrop, 82-64, Behind Double-Double by Malique Ewin

Florida State closes non-conference play with a double-digit win over Winthrop

Austin Veazey | 21 Hours Ago

Dec 7, 2024; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Florida State Seminoles forward Malique Ewin (12) dunks against the North Carolina State Wolfpack during the second half at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images / Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images

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Florida State took on Winthrop in their final non-conference game of the regular season on Tuesday night. This had a chance to be a sloppy, free-throw-filled mess, with both teams sitting in the top ten nationally in free-throw attempts per game.

Boy, was it sloppy early. FSU couldn't catch the ball cleanly, bodies were flying all over the floor, and offense was hard to come by. Seven minutes into the game, FSU had just a 12-10 lead. The Seminoles' offense woke up after that.

Over the final ten minutes of the first half, FSU outscored Winthrop 29-12 to break the game open, using some post magic from Malique Ewin, who was simply dominating Winthrop's frontcourt. When he checked out with a few minutes left in the first half, he had as many rebounds (nine) as Winthrop did as a team. Ewin was 6/6 from the floor in the first 20 minutes, including a few nice assists, which allowed the 'Noles to take a 45-27 lead into halftime despite 11 turnovers.

Their defense was dominating Winthrop, who was just 9/33 in the first half, and when FSU wasn't turning it over, they were scoring at will and getting to the free-throw line, shooting 18/30 from the floor.

Florida State led by as much as 22 in the first few minutes of the second half, but Winthrop started to chip away a little, getting the lead down to 14 around the 10-minute mark, and then Winthrop got into the bonus as FSU dried up from the floor.

That would be as close as the game got, as FSU built the lead back up to 25 following back-to-back threes by Jamir Watkins. Bryce Baker for Winthrop responded to that with four straight triples to get the lead down to 15 by the final media timeout, as it looked like FSU was ready to coast to the end.

From there, offense was hard to come by for both sides, and FSU would go on to win 82-64.

Malique Ewin dominated this game, finishing with 23 points, 15 rebounds (7 offensive), and four assists. Jamir Watkins didn't have a great game doing the little things, but he still finished with 23 points. Chandler Jackson had a nice performance with 14 points, as did Taylor Bol Bowen with 13 points, 12 rebounds, three blocks, and two steals, who both missed the last game against Tulane.

Florida State will play Louisville on Saturday for their last game before the Christmas break, which will be about two weeks for the 'Noles.

1. The Malique Ewin First Team All-ACC Agenda Starts Now

Ewin needs to continue these performances into ACC play, but he was way too good for Winthrop in this game. His effort on the glass especially was impressive. We've seen him finish well at the basket, and he's had a few games with impressive rebounding numbers, but this was the first game where it really felt like he was dominating the glass. If he has a game like this against Louisville on Saturday, watch out.

2. Too Many Turnovers

Florida State could've won this game by 30 if they controlled their turnovers, as they finished with 20 in this game. Winthrop does have an aggressive defense that forces a high turnover rate, but this has been a disturbing trend for the last few games for the Seminoles. Winthrop did a good job of randomly blitzing ball screens to keep FSU's ball-handlers on their toes, but that's something the 'Noles have to be ready for. As they head into ACC play, they can't be having games with a 29% turnover rate like they had in this game.

3. Suffocating Defense

Winthrop shot just 20/67 (29.9%) from the floor in this game, and while they did get to the free-throw line a lot, it's nearly impossible to make up for that kind of inefficiency from the floor. Then you throw in their 14 turnovers, and it's easy to see why FSU came away with a win here. Winthrop was in the 25% range for most of the game before Bryce Baker woke up at the end.

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