Last year Terance Mann had to sit out Florida State's double overtime win over Syracuse with a concussion.
When Orange head coach Jim Boeheim was asked about the FSU forward's absence after that memorable game, he said it wasn't a factor at all because Mann had never done anything against his team.
Well. He has now.
The Florida State senior forward scored a season-high 22 points and pulled down a team-high nine rebounds to help lead the No. 22 Seminoles to an impressive 80-62 win at Syracuse on Tuesday night.
With the victory, FSU is now 17-5 overall and 5-4 in the ACC. Syracuse falls to 16-7 and 7-3.
Basketball has always been called a game of runs, but on Tuesday the two teams took that to the extreme.
Highlighted by red-hot shooting, Florida State went on a 28-7 run and took a 22-point lead on a Mann three-point play. Syracuse then answered by closing the half on a 17-3 run to cut the advantage to eight at halftime.
In the second half, it was nip-and-tuck for the first 10 minutes. Syracuse cut the lead to one on multiple possessions but could never retake the lead.
Mfiondu Kabengele then sparked a critical 12-0 run for the Seminoles with a tip-in and two 3-pointers and the Seminoles cruised from there, eventually putting in walk-ons in the final minute.
Kabengele finished with 18 points. Phil Cofer and M.J. Walker, who hit his first three 3-pointers, both finished with 11.
Trent Forrest only scored two points but had 10 assists and three steals. Florida State had 25 assists as a team and was 11 of 22 from 3-point range.
Syracuse was led by Tyus Battle, who had 23 points. The Orange were just 41.2 percent from the field and 5 of 20 from 3. Florida State, meanwhile, shot 54.5 percent for the game.
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