'Noles continue early dominance

MACON, GA. — Sophomore Deividas Dulkys led a balanced attack with 14 points, and All-American Solomon Alabi led a strong defensive effort with a season-high five blocks to lead Florida State to an 89-50 victory over Mercer on Saturday.

Five players scored in double figures for the Seminoles (3-0), who have won all their games by at least 26 points. FSU had 13 blocks and 11 steals and held the Bears to 19.7 percent shooting from the field.

"The thing I was happiest about was the fact that we were relentless throughout the game," Seminoles coach Leonard Hamilton said. "We continued to play defense for all 40 minutes. That is something we have done so far this season and I hope we can keep that up."

Dulkys made 4 of 6 3-pointers and added two blocks. Alabi, junior Jordan DeMercy and sophomore Xavier Gibson scored 12 each as FSU had its most points this season.

Led by Alabi, six Seminoles had at least one block for a total of 13, two shy of the school's single-game record. FSU had 15 blocks against Florida Atlantic on Dec. 3, 1994.

Sophomore Chris Singleton, who celebrated his 20th birthday, had nine points, 14 rebounds, a career-high seven assists and two blocks.

"I was just taking what was coming to me," Singleton said. "I had my mother and a lot of family at the game so I really wanted to play well today. Coach Ham wants us to play hard for 40 minutes, and that's what I plan to do this year, go hard on every play."

FSU set the tone early, going on a 21-4 run to take a 21-7 lead with 7:21 left in the first half and heading into the break with a 40-18 lead. Mercer made 5 of 37 shots from the field in the half, all 3-pointers, and had nine turnovers.

The Seminoles play the second of six straight road games at 7 p.m. Tuesday against Florida.