Florida State started sluggishly but finished strong with a 75-64 victory against Charleston Southern on Tuesday afternoon at the Donald L. Tucker Center in Tallahassee, Fla.

Freshman guard Dwayne Bacon had 20 points and 10 rebounds as the Seminoles (9-2) won their fifth straight contest. Bacon, the reigning ACC Rookie of the Week and Florida State's leading scorer, entered the game with a team-leading 16.9 scoring average.

Guard Armel Potter had 20 points to lead Charleston Southern (4-8).

The Buccaneers hung around for a little more than a half, taking the lead just before halftime and then again shortly after intermission on the red-hot Seminoles, who clung to a narrow 34-31 lead at the break.

But after Charleston Southern grabbed a 37-36 advantage early in the second half, the Seminoles scored the next eight points and never looked back while improving to 9-0 against the Buccaneers and 19-0 all-time against Big South Conference teams,

Freshman Malik Beasley contributed 16 points and six rebounds for Florida State. Forward Jarquez Smith added 12 points and six boards.

The Seminoles finished with nine steals, including four from guard Devin Bookert. Florida State also dominated the Bucs on the boards 41-27.

Guard Raemond Robinson added 11 points and five rebounds for the Buccaneers. Guard Demetrius Pollard added 10 points and forward Javin Howard had a team-high seven rebounds.