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Primo Spears makes debut in losing effort as Florida State drops fourth straight

On3 imageby: Ira Schoffel12/17/23iraschoffel
On3 image
Prized transfer guard Primo Spears makes his debut for Florida State on Saturday against SMU. (Courtesy of FSU Sports Information)

The long-anticipated debut of prized transfer point guard Primo Spears finally arrived for the Florida State men’s basketball team Saturday night, but it did nothing to change the Seminoles’ fortunes.

FSU trailed for virtually the entire night against visiting SMU and ended up on the wrong side of a 68-57 defeat that wasn’t as close as the final score indicated.

The loss was Florida State’s fourth straight, as the Seminoles fell to 4-5 on the year. SMU improved to 7-4.

BOX SCORE: SMU 68, FSU 57

Both teams struggled offensively for much of the first half, but the Mustangs went on a spurt before halftime to take a 25-18 lead at the break. Then they completely took over in the second period, leading by double-digits for almost the entire half and by 17 points more than once.

“We had a dip there obviously. We had three guys in foul trouble,” Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton said. “But in those situations, someone else has to step up, fill in and carry the load. And that didn’t happen.”

Indeed, three Florida State starters — guard Jamir Watkins and forwards De’Ante Green and Baba Miller — all picked up two fouls in the first half and played limited minutes. The Seminoles also were without center Cam Corhen, who has been hobbled recently by a toe injury.

Spears, who transferred in from Georgetown before this season, became eligible this week after a judge’s ruling forced the NCAA to allow all two-time transfers to become eligible through the spring semester.

The junior guard scored 10 points despite missing 12 of 14 shots from the field. He connected on all five of his free throws and was 1-of-3 from 3-point range.

Last year at Georgetown, Spears averaged 16.0 points and 5.3 assists per game.

“First time out, I thought his effort was pretty good,” Hamilton said. “Obviously, the first game, he’s got to shake the nerves. He’s got to get accustomed to playing with his teammates. He didn’t find out he was going to play until a couple days ago, so it wasn’t like we had prepared him to be in the rotation. … Hopefully, he’ll get back to who he is. Because he’s a very, very good player.”

Senior guard Darin Green Jr. tied for the Florida State team high with 10 points.

Guard Chuck Harris led SMU with 24 points.

Florida State was credited with just four assists in the game, while committing eight turnovers. The Seminoles connected on only 31 percent of their shots from the field (19-for-61) and 18 percent from 3-point range (4-for-22).

Hamilton said he believes his team will start playing more efficiently once Spears gets comfortable in the system. And he added that Corhen will likely return to the lineup soon after the Christmas break.

Florida State returns to action on Tuesday night at home against North Florida. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m.

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