The Luke Loucks era began with fireworks.

Florida State (1-0, 0-0) scored early and often, piling up 58 first-half points on its way to an easy breezy 108-76 victory. Five FSU players scored in double figures, Robert McCray V handed out the most assists by a Seminole ever (17) and the ‘Noles led for nearly 38 minutes. To its credit, Alcorn State (0-1, 0-0) never quit. Impressive shooting from the visitors, combined with inconsistent defense by FSU, allowed the Braves to keep the margin respectable.

But at the end of the day, it was all smiles for Loucks and his team.

It’s been unseasonably cool in Tallahassee, but the crisp temperatures didn’t work their way into the Tucker Center, as both teams came out blistering hot. It would be easier to type who missed shots in the opening 5 minutes than who made them. Alcorn State did a nice job staying patient and making contested twos to open the game, while Florida State used crisp passing to get open looks early in the shot clock. By the time the under-16 came (with 14:49 left), both teams were already in double-digits with the score knotted at 12.

The score didn’t remain tied for long. Chauncey Wiggins, a Clemson transfer, hit a pair of free throws and Florida State began to turn up the defensive pressure. The Seminoles forced turnovers on three straight possessions to jump start a 16-0 run. Freshman Thomas Bassong was all over the court during this stretch, forcing a 10 second violation, creating a steal for fellow freshman Cam Miles with a great trap, throwing down a dunk, making a pair of free throws, and grabbing a rebound at each end of the court.

Alcorn State finally ended the barrage with a jumper from Nick Woodard, making it 30-17 FSU. The lead was trimmed to 11 on a Woodard three 40 seconds later, but Drexel transfer Kobe MaGee swished back-to-back three balls—the second one from Wakulla—pushing the lead right back to 17 at 37-20. Both of MaGee’s threes were assisted by Robert McCray V, as was the dunk by Florida Southern transfer Alex Steen a couple possessions later. In all, the JU transfer had 9 dimes in the first half, and probably could have hit double-digits if he didn’t pick up his 3rd foul with 3:42 left.

With McCray out, FSU’s offense sputtered and Alcorn State took advantage. The Seminoles’ defense is heavily reliant on turnovers and when those didn’t occur, the Braves had wide open shooters who buried perimeter shots. Making 7-11 of its first half three-point attempts, Alcorn State finished the opening 20 minutes on a 15-8 run, cutting FSU’s lead to 58-44 heading into the locker room.

With McCray back on the court out of the half, Florida State’s offense again took off. The ‘Noles scored 15 points in the first 3:04, quickly expanding the lead to 25 at 73-48. From there, the defense for both teams got a bit lazy and the margin bounced between 19 and 23 for the next 8 minutes. It was a 22 point lead when McCray found Lajae Jones for an easy layup. This jumpstarted a 6-0 spurt and just like that the lead ballooned to 28. At this point the only outcomes in doubt were whether FSU would cover the drastically bid-up gametime spread of -27.5, and how many assists would McCray end up with.

Florida State returns to action for another tune-up on Friday night against Alabama State. This will be another game where Florida State needs to take advantage of the schedule with a blowout. The game tips at 7:00 p.m. ET from the Tucker Center.