Florida State men’s basketball closed its exhibition schedule on Saturday, Oct. 24 at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center, holding off the Louisiana State University (LSU) Tigers 89-87 on a game-ending seal. After beating Auburn University 82-71 on Oct. 14, head coach Luke Loucks’ Seminoles went into the 2026-27 season unbeaten in exhibition play.
Sophomore forward Shon Abaev led all scorers with 26 points, and FSU outrebounded LSU 42-37, turning 13 offensive rebounds into 19 second-chance points. The ’Noles also forced 11 turnovers and scored 17 points off the Tigers.
“[Florida State] was much more physical than we were, they were much more aggressive than we were,” LSU head coach Will Wade said in the postgame press conference. “They did a great job on the glass, made winning plays, picked up some loose balls.”
Seminoles erase early deficit
LSU jumped out to an 8-0 lead following an early offensive foul by freshman center Marcis Ponder and a missed 3-pointer from Abaev. Ponder got the Garnet and Gold on the board with an offensive rebound and putback, and he finished with three offensive rebounds against the Tigers.
Florida State began 3 of 10 from the field before Abaev recorded the team’s next eight points, giving the Seminoles their first lead of the game with 14:22 remaining in the first half. After taking a 16-13 lead, FSU would not trail again.
The ’Noles also had fifth-year senior forward Alex Steen back. A Leon County judge granted him a temporary injunction for another season of eligibility on Oct. 19.
With Ponder in early foul trouble, Steen played 12 first-half minutes off the bench, and he and Ponder led the Garnet and Gold with four rebounds each in the half while combining for seven points.
“Steen always plays with energy, but you could feel his presence in the game, especially when Marcis got into foul trouble,” Loucks said in the postgame press conference. “Steen comes in with a pop, that’s tangible.”
A Ponder block and an Abaev 3-pointer gave Florida State its largest lead of the half, 38-29, with 37 seconds left. LSU fifth-year guard Donovan Dent snuck in a layup at the buzzer, and the Seminoles went into the break with a 38-31 lead.
Abaev led all scorers with 12 points in the first half, going 4 of 9 from the field and 3 of 5 from beyond the arc. As a team, FSU shot 15 of 39 from the field and 6 of 13 from three in the half.
“Shon was incredible tonight with his shot making and playing with the ball,” Loucks said. “He’s just got a great ability to put the ball in the hoop and facilitate.”
’Noles heat up early in second half
Junior guard Kam Taylor scored the first seven points of the second half in the first three minutes. Freshman guard Elisèe Assui notched his first points of the game on a 3-pointer with 13:42 left, giving the Garnet and Gold a 58-44 lead.
LSU answered with a 29-15 run to tie the game at 73 with 3:17 left. During that stretch, Florida State went 6 of 21 from the field and 1 of 8 from three. The Seminoles then scored six straight, starting with an Assui and-one, to retake the lead 79-73.
After a series of back-and-forth possessions that sent FSU to the free-throw line, the ’Noles led 89-86 in the final seconds. Senior guard Anthony Robinson II was called for a flagrant foul for pulling Dent’s jersey with two seconds remaining, and Dent made one of two free throws. Robinson then deflected LSU’s inbound pass to end the game.
“[Robinson] is one heck of a player, but to go 1 for 8 and still have such an impact on the game, seven assists, no turnovers, obviously a game winning steal when we needed one,” Loucks said. “To me, that’s what we’ve been preaching … How quickly can you go on to the next play and actually execute something that helps you win a game? [Robinson] obviously did that in the biggest moment tonight.”
Abaev leads Seminoles to victory
Abaev added three rebounds and five assists in his first home game for the Garnet and Gold, making five of eight 3-pointers. Taylor added 16 points, junior forward Sebastian Rancik had 13 and Assui had 11, giving Florida State four players in double figures. Assui and Taylor combined for 22 second-half points.
“Being able to go through adversity together, that’s how you build chemistry and build trust,” Abaev said in the postgame press conference. “Being able to have games where it doesn’t really matter, it doesn’t go towards our record, and just being able to still have to fight through that and be connected as a team helps us a lot.
After beating back-to-back Southeastern Conference teams in exhibition play, the Seminoles officially open their 2026-27 season against Florida A&M University at 8:30 p.m. on Nov. 2 at Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, Florida.
Cole Kruger is the Sports Editor for the FSView & Florida Flambeau, the student-run, independent online news service for the FSU community. Email our staff at contact@fsview.com.
This article originally appeared on FSU News: Shon Abaev scores 26 as FSU basketball holds off LSU 89-87