South Alabama holds on to stun Florida State

• South Alabama held back Florida State late for a 76-71 upset Friday.
• Augustine Rubit had 12 points for South Alabama while Mychal Ammons added 11.
• Florida State had 17 turnovers and just nine assists.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — South Alabama earned its first victory over a Top 25 team in three seasons behind a stunning 3-point shooting night.

Antoine Allen hit four 3-pointers and scored 21 points to lead South Alabama to a 76-71 season-opening upset of No. 25 Florida State on Friday night.

Augustine Rubit added 12 points and Mychal Ammons had 11 points and 11 rebounds for South Alabama, which shot 9 of 15 from 3-point range.

"They're a very good team," Allen said. "But we weren't scared at all. We were ready for the challenge. We gave it our all for 40 minutes and we came out with the win."

The Seminoles had won 10 straight season openers coming in to Friday's game — every game since coach Leonard Hamilton arrived on campus. And Florida State had routed South Alabama 80-39 on Nov. 20, 2011, in Tallahassee.

But on Friday, Florida State struggled late in shooting just 10 of 28 (35.7 percent) from the floor in the second half. The Seminoles also had 17 turnovers and just nine assists.

"They were a little tougher than we were," Hamilton said. "They played with a lot more maturity. They executed their game plan better than we did."

South Alabama coach Ronnie Arrow credited a summer trip to Canada that gave the team extra practices and exhibition games for helping the team prepare for the season.

"Don't let anybody underestimate those trips once every four years," Arrow said. "We went on it, we got 10 extra practices, we got three games. You can't coach experience. It just takes time to develop into it. Hopefully our guys know what it takes now and we just get better and better and better."

Five Jaguars scored in double figures.

"It's been a long time since we allowed five guys to score in double figures," Hamilton said. "They were very on point with everything that they did."

Terry Whisnant and Montay Brandon had 11 points apiece for the Seminoles, the defending Atlantic Coast Conference champions. Senior guard Michael Snaer had 10 points at halftime but was held scoreless in the second half. He shot 2 of 11 in the game.

Terrance Shannon returned from a shoulder injury to score 10 points for Florida State. Shannon played in just seven games last season after having season-ending surgery in November.

"The biggest thing with us is we have to have a short-term memory," Shannon said. "Put this game in the past and move on. We know we are young. We know it's going to take time."

FSU, which had 17 turnovers and just nine assists, had won 11 straight season openers. The Seminoles struggled in the second half, shooting just 10 of 28.

One of the night's highlights was a pregame ceremony when Florida State raised its championship banner. But six seniors are gone from that team, and the veterans and newcomers alike struggled to mesh.