Florida State's relatively weak non-conference schedule left it only a few chances for impactful wins in the first few weeks of the season.

For 20 minutes, FSU seemed well-positioned to come away with one Tuesday night at LSU, jumping out a 35-32 halftime lead on the road.

But a strong defensive start could not be maintained in the second half. LSU (7-1) shot 57.1% in the second half and exploded for 53 points over the final 20 minutes to hand the Seminoles (7-2) an 85-75 loss at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge.

FSU's loss clinched an SEC victory in the second-annual ACC/SEC Challenge. The SEC won each of the first nine games in this year's event, throttling the ACC.

That second-half LSU surge covered up a stellar breakout performance from FSU's Malique Ewin. After the junior-college transfer forward struggled in his first game against a high-major opponent in the loss to Florida, Ewin had a career game vs. LSU.

He matched his career-high scoring total with 17 points and added _ rebounds, exceeding his previous career high by _ boards. This gave Ewin his first career double-double. He's now scored double-digit points in six straight games and has six-plus rebounds in four of those six games.

Jamir Watkins added 15 points for the Seminoles and Chandler Jackson tallied a season-high 12 points before fouling out.

LSU also relied heavily on a trio of players. Cam Carter led all scorers with 26 points, Jordan Sears added 21 and Vyctorious Miller scored 15 points, combining for 72.9% of the Tigers' points.

Jerry Deng accounted for half of FSU's made three-pointers. The Hampton transfer had 11 points and was 3 of 5 (60%) from outside the arc while the rest of the Seminoles were a combined 3 for 14 (21.4%).

In his return to his hometown, Baton Rouge native Justin Thomas scored nine points on 3 of 8 shooting with three rebounds, a block, a steal and an assist.

FSU hits the road again this weekend to open ACC play at NC State Saturday at 4 p.m. on ESPNU.