By james art 
(Photo: Brett Davis-Imagn Images)
Jameer Watkins and Taylor Ball Bowen each scored 17 points to fire Florida State to a season-opening 74-62 victory over Northern Kentucky on Monday night in Tallahassee, Fla.
It marked a career high for Bowen, who averaged just 3.1 points per game a season ago. He was 5-for-9 from the field and 7-for-7 from the free throw line on Monday while recording six rebounds.
Northern Kentucky trailed by as many as 17, getting 18 points from Josh Dilling and 12 from Randall Pettus II.
Watkins set the tone early, draining a 3-pointer less than a minute into the game before throwing down a dunk after a steal, driving past a defender for a 5-2 lead at the 18:45 mark of the first half.
NKU responded with an 8-0 run, highlighted by Dilling’s long-range shot, as Norse took a 10-5 lead with 16:23 remaining.
Then, trailing 11-10, the Seminoles upped their energy and level of play.
Jerry Deng knocked down a 3-pointer in transition and then forced a turnover that led to Alier Maluk, who also fouled out on the play. His ensuing free throw made it 16-11 Florida State with 12:39 to play in the first half.
Florida State soon extended its lead to 20-13 near the midway point of the period while forcing the Norsemen to miss eight straight field goals. Keeyan Itejere ended the drought with a layup at 10:11.
Bowen’s layup gave Florida its first double-digit lead of the night at 25-15 with 9:36 left.
Florida State owned the paint in the first half with a 28-10 advantage in points down the stretch and led 43-31 at halftime.
Watkins made a jumper in transition with 16:40 to play to give the Seminoles a 47-35 lead and the home team from there.
Depth proved to be the difference maker as Florida State held a commanding 32-21 advantage in bench points.
–Field level media