TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – Florida State men’s basketball beat Florida A&M 88-54 on Sunday afternoon at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center in the rival’s first meeting since 1991.
New Rattlers head coach and former Seminoles great Charlie Ward was honored before tip-off with a jersey retirement and a ceremonial basketball. Ward was a dual sport athlete at FSU winning a Heisman trophy on the football team and a star point guard on the basketball team. He led Seminoles basketball to three straight NCAA tournament appearances.
The teams went shot for shot early in the game, but Florida State was able to pull away with a 25-4 run to end the first half and take a 20 point lead. They continued that momentum in the second half to win and stay undefeated all time against the Rattlers.
The rivalry paused for 35 years after a braul between the teams in a December game in 1991.
This is something I would like to have on the schedule every year,” said Florida State head coach Luke Loucks. “Obviously, not having played this game 30 plus years and what happened the last time we played, a lot of people did not want this game to happen… I think it’s very unique with myself and the spot I’m in and obviously Charlie at FAMU for us to bring these two programs together. Honestly, this isn’t us against FAMU. This isn’t me against Charlie. This is celebrating Tallahassee and how special this town is for basketball.”
Ward, who played 11 years in the NBA following his college career, shared his excitement on on the game.
“Just appreciative of the moment because this is a long time coming,” Ward said on restarting the rivalry. “A great part about it was just the city being able to come together. FAMU, FSU, you see orange or green in the stands as well as the garnet and gold. So this is definitely a dream come true for me.”
Coach Loucks, also in his first season as head coach, spoke on the experience.
“What a cool experience. Number one, to coach my first game where I played, but to celebrate Charlie Ward, to hang his jersey where it belongs in the rafters, to celebrate him, to celebrate FAMU and what they’re going to build over there,” said Loucks. “The game was probably as sloppy as I expected it…but that’s the beauty of preseason. We can go watch film and clean it up… Overall, I told the guys in the locker room a win is something that you should always celebrate to some extent. The most encouraging part is we can get a lot better and they should be excited to continue to improve individually and collectively as a team.”
Florida State will host Alcorn State on November 4 at 7 p.m. Florida A&M visits South Florida on November 3 at 8 p.m.
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