Morant scores 28 points, but Florida State prevails 90-62

Seminoles too much

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HARTFORD, Conn. - Former Crestwood High School standout Ja Morant and his Murray State Racers saw their season come to an end on Saturday with a 90-62 loss to Florida State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Florida State was too much for Morant and Murray State to handle.

Mfiondu Kabengele scored 22 points, Terance Mann added 18 and the Seminoles advanced to the Sweet 16 by overwhelming the Racers 90-62.

Morant, in what was almost certainly his final college game, scored 28 points, 18 of them in the first half. The rest of the Racers combined for 34 points.

The much bigger Seminoles shot 51 percent from the floor and dominated down low, outscoring the Racers 44-26 in the paint and winning the rebounding battle 45-33. Florida State's bench outscored Murray State's 47-6.

Florida State will face either top seed Gonzaga or Baylor in Anaheim on Thursday.

Morant scored 18 points and made all five of his 3-point shots, but Florida State dominated everywhere else and leads 12th-seeded Murray State 50-34 at halftime.

Defense is usually the Seminoles' forte', but they were sharp offensively, starting 8 for 11 from 3 and shooting 51.3 percent overall in the half. While Morant carried the Racers, fourth-seeded Florida State got contributions from all over: Kabengle and Gray had 11 points each and Mann scored 10, including a couple of highlight-reel dunks.