JACKSONVILLE, FL – LMU held a pair of first half leads in Sunday's first-round game of the Jacksonville Classic by Fabletics, before Florida State capitalized on turnovers and defeated the Lions, 73-45.
LMU opened the game with a
Joe Quintana three pointer on the opening possession and
Cam Shelton followed with a breakaway dunk to give the Lions an early 5-0 advantage. After Florida State got on the board,
Eli Scott added a triple of his own to give the Lions an 8-2 lead less than two minutes into the game.
The Seminoles then used an 11-0 run over the next five-plus minutes to take their first lead of the game, 13-8.
Dameane Douglas put an end to the run as the redshirt junior drove to the hoop in just his second game back this season from injury. Scott added a jumper, then
Keli Leaupepe ripped a rebound away from the FSU big to earn himself a trip to the line and push the Lions back up, 14-13, with 9:40 on the first half clock. Leaupepe finished with a team-high six rebounds with half coming on the office
Another 10-0 Florida State run and a 19-3 stretch over the final 8:24 to close the half pushed the Noles ahead 32-17 at intermission.
Kwane Marble II opened the second half with a driving layup, before the Noles responded with 17 of the next 20 points.
Joe Quintana put on a personal 9-2 run with three threes in less than a two-minute span to make it a 51-31 game at the 13:22 mark.
Dameane Douglas and Gary Harris Jr. showed their ability to get to the cup, putting together an 8-2 run with four points apiece in the stretch. Florida State used a final run to close out the game.
21 of Florida State's 32 first half points came off turnovers, and the Noles finished with 33 in the game.
Quintana led the Lions in scoring for the third consecutive game, hitting those four threes for 12 points. Leaupepe and Scott added seven apiece, and Douglas scored six off the bench.
The Lions will play either Missouri or SMU at 6:00 PM EST / 3:00 PM PST Consolation game from UNF Arena. The game will once again be broadcasted on CBS Sports Network.
