Terrance Shannon came off the bench and set career highs with 15 points and 12 rebounds Friday on the way to his first collegiate double-double as the Seminoles defeated Jacksonville 79-67 in the season opener for both schools.
The muscular 6-foot-8 Shannon had plenty of help against the Dolphins. Michael Snaer and Deividas Dulkys scored 16 points each for Florida State. Both were in good shooting rhythms - Snaer was 5 of 8 from the field and Dulkys finished 4 of 7 from 3-point range.
Jacksonville's Keith McDougald led all scorers with 21 points. Delwan Graham added 16 points and Russell Powell 14 for the Dolphins.
Florida State jumped out to a quick 8-0 lead on its way to a 44-31 halftime advantage. The Seminoles shot 44.4 percent and led by as many as 22 points.
The Seminoles needed Shannon to come up big and he did, playing 26 minutes with center Bernard James slowed by an ankle injury and Okaro White in early foul trouble. The 6-10 James played just 15 minutes and sat out nearly all of the second half.
Led by Shannon and Dulkys, Florida State's bench outscored the visitors' reserves 42-6.
Jacksonville, which is coming off back-to-back 20-win seasons, shook off a poor shooting first half to get back into the game. The Dolphins shot 50 percent in the second half but their slow start was too much to overcome. Jacksonville was scoreless for the opening 5:07 before Russell Powell's 3-pointers ended the drought.
Florida State hosts Central Florida on Monday and Jacksonville visits Savannah (Ga.) State on Wednesday.
