TALLAHASSEE, Fla. _ After scoring just one basket in Florida State's 48-point blowout of Clemson three days earlier, Jonathan Isaac wasted no time making his presence felt for the Seminoles on Wednesday night.
Isaac led all scorers with 21 points, including 17 before halftime, to help No. 14 FSU cruise to a 95-71 victory over NC State at the Donald L. Tucker Center on Wednesday night.
Isaac shined for the streaking Seminoles (21-4, 9-3 Atlantic Coast Conference), who extended their home-win streak to 19 games in a contest also featuring N.C. State guard Dennis Smith Jr.
Both Isaac and Smith are standout freshmen considered potential NBA lottery draft picks for the upcoming draft. FSU sophomore guard Dwayne Bacon is also projected to be a first-round pick, as all three players drew the attention of at least 18 NBA scouts and executives in attendance for the game.
Smith, who entered the game as the ACC's fifth-highest scorer and third-best average for a freshman in the nation, was held scoreless in the first half and finished with eight points on 4 of 8 shooting for the struggling Wolfpack (14-11, 3-9).
Isaac scored the first seven points of the game and helped the Seminoles storm out to a 22-point lead, their largest of the game, after a quirky lefty layup kissed the backboard into the basket and a slam dunk on the following possession with about three minutes left before halftime.
The Seminoles led by as many as 26 points en route to their third consecutive double-digit win after double-digit losses at Georgia Tech and Syracuse bounced them from the top 10 two weeks ago.
Bacon, who was named to the Wooden Award late season top 20 list during the game, heated up in the second half to finish with 19 points and nine rebounds. It marked Bacon's 34th consecutive game scoring in double digits.
Smith, on the other hand, was unable to break free from FSU's defense as his starting counterpart Xavier Rathan-Mayes shadowed him for most of the game.
Terry Henderson scored 17 points, Maverick Rowan and Abdul-Malik Abu each added 16 points to pace NC State, which has lost 8 of its 10 last games.
FSU sophomore forward Terance Mann loaded the stat sheet, finishing with eight points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Rathan-Mayes finished with eight points, three rebounds and four assists.
Fifth-year center Michael Ojo added 11 points with six rebounds and three assists, while Phil Cofer added eight points from the bench, including two 3-pointers from the right wing, for the Seminoles.
FSU, which trails only No. 8 North Carolina (21-4, 9-2) in the conference standings, heads into the final stretch of the regular season playing just two of six games at home before the ACC tournament on March 7-11 in Brooklyn.
Both teams return to action with road games on Saturday. The Seminoles visit Notre Dame, which lost 83-80 in Tallahassee on Jan. 18, while NC State visits Wake Forest.
