Florida State let a big lead evaporate. But this time the game did not slip away.

Just days after an 18-point lead against Florida was quickly erased in the second half, Cam’Ron Fletcher scored a career-high 23 points and the Seminoles held off Mercer for an 81-72 win on Monday night. Fletcher shot 9 of 12 from the floor and pulled down six rebounds as the Seminoles picked up their first victory of the 2022-23 season.

FSU was able to use more of its depth, giving freshmen Chandler Jackson and De'Ante Green more minutes in their first extensive playing time of the season.

"Our guys played with a little more energy consistently because I think they knew they could come out of the game and start developing a rotation," FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. "... I was glad to see us create shots for each other."

Matthew Cleveland had 12 of his season-high 18 points in the second half, while Naheem McLeod added eight points, nine rebounds and five blocks and logged a whopping 31 minutes of playing time.

"He's someone that is freakishly athletic for his height," Cleveland said of McLeod. "Moves well, long wingspan. He's really a freak of nature. You see today how he can really help us."

The Seminoles had a season-high 11 blocks.

FSU had opened 0-4 for the first time since the 1959-60 season.

But on Monday, the Seminoles looked better — albeit against a team ranked 170th in the KenPom.com rankings. The Seminoles won the rebounding edge 40-32 and limited the turnovers to just seven, although they were just 18 of 25 (72 percent) from the free-throw line and missed often in the game’s final moments.

Still, FSU shot 28 of 60 (46.7 percent) from the floor and made 7 of 15 (46.7 percent) of its 3-point attempts.

FSU used 10 players, with Jackson on the court for 10 minutes. The freshman guard wore a soft brace on his injured right thumb and missed all three of his shots, but he did haave three rebounds and an assist. De’Ante Green missed both of his shots but pulled down two rebounds.

The Seminoles led 42-26 just before halftime, although the Bears cut the deficit to 42-34 at the half. Mercer pulled in front, 53-52, on Kamar Robertson's 3-pointer and the teams traded buckets until Jalen Warley made a pair of free-throw attempts with 4:15 to go.

FSU held the lead the rest of the way, even through some missed free throws and a late Mercer charge.

The Seminoles shot 13 of 22 (59.1 percent) from the floor in the second half, and on the night they received contributions from up and down the lineup.

Caleb Mills had 12 points, although he made just 3 of 10 shots from the floor. Cameron Corhen added six points and four rebounds in an efficient 8:50 on the court. Jalen Warley had eight points.

They also made the most of their possessions with 17 assists and just seven turnovers, the best ratio of the five games this season.

Jalyn McCreary had 20 points on 10 of 15 shooting for Mercer (2-3).

Fletcher’s previous career-best night was 17 points against Clemson on Feb. 15, 2022.

FSU plays Siena on Thursday at 11 a.m. (ESPN2) in the ESPN Events Invitational.

Siena (2-2) is 249th in the KenPom rankings.

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