TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The regular-season home slate for No. 14 Florida State is winding down, with several huge road tests awaiting.Which is why it was important for the Seminoles to do exactly what they did at home against North Carolina State on Wednesday night.N.C. State star guard Dennis Smith — the ACC’s fifth-leading scorer at 19.2 points a game — was held to just eight points, while Florida State forward Jonathan Isaac scored a game-high 21 points and the Seminoles cruised past N.C. State 95-71 at the Donald L. Tucker Center, where things could not have gone better for this team this season.Florida State (21-4 overall, 9-3 in the ACC) is now 16-0 in Tallahassee this year, and its home winning streak was stretched Wednesday to 19 victories in a row dating back to last season.But the road has been a different animal for this team.And now times are likely about to get very tough for the Seminoles, whose only four losses have come away from home — three of those defeats by double digits.”I’m not going to get all philosophical (about what has happened to us on the road this year). Those teams just outplayed us. Period,” Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton said. “But mentally, we grew up after losing those games. That’s a learning process. You have to learn how to overcome those challenges. And hopefully, we’ve learned.”The rest of Florida State’s regular-season schedule features four out of its final six games away from Tallahassee, starting Saturday at Notre Dame — a team hungry for revenge after the Seminoles edged the Fighting Irish 83-80 on Jan. 18 in Tallahassee.But for at least the moment, the Seminoles wanted to enjoy this one before looking even a few days ahead. Especially after a resurgent night from its freshman star Isaac, who was held to just two points in Florida State’s 109-61 against Clemson on Sunday — yet bounced back in a big way Wednesday by scoring 11 of the team’s first 20 points and going to halftime with a game-high 17 points.”I had a great time in that game watching my teammates play well,” Isaac said when asked if he wanted to be more a part of the action after the quiet game against the Tigers. “Tonight, I felt like I came out more aggressively and my teammates found me early.”N.C. State (14-11, 3-9) was led by guard Terry Henderson with 17 points, and the Wolfpack also got a solid game from forwards Malik Abdul-Abu and Maverick Rowan, both of whom finished with 16 points. Abdul-Abu contributed a team-high six boards.Florida State star guard Dwayne Bacon extended his double-figure scoring streak to 34 games in the win, finishing with 19 points and nine rebounds in a game Florida State dominated from the opening tip and led by as many as 26 points midway through the second half.When asked if he knew what Florida State’s all-time record was for consecutive double-figure games, Bacon said he didn’t and inquired what it was. When told it was 72 by former Seminoles star Dave Fedor during the 1961, 1962 and 1963 seasons, Bacon — who is projected to leave for the NBA after this season — let out a laugh, shook his head and said, “Wow.”Florida State won its third straight game Wednesday, while the Wolfpack dropped their fourth in a row. The Seminoles’ ninth ACC victory moved them a half game back of first-place North Carolina in the conference standings.Smith, who was held scoreless in the first half Wednesday, credited Florida State’s defense after the game with locking him down with double teams from the opening tip, but also said when that happens, it “creates a 4 on 3, and we have to capitalize.”Smith, who is rated as the No. 4 NBA prospect at the moment, then added: “They had a great scheme. They got the ball out of my hands early. I think we played hard, we just didn’t play tough enough.”That was never more apparent than on the glass in this game, which saw the Seminoles out-rebound the Wolfpack a staggering 49-25.”They just whipped us on the glass. That was story. That was the difference in the game. They got 21 offensive rebounds,” N.C. State head coach Mark Gottfried said. “(Florida State’s) got length. They’ve got depth. And they’re big on the perimeter. This team has the potential to be the best team Florida State has had.”N.C. State didn’t help itself by going 5 of 21 from 3-point land, including 1 of 8 in the first half.The Wolfpack cut the Florida State lead to 16 points, 76-60, with 7:27 remaining in the game on back-to-back 3-pointers by Henderson, but N.C. State never got any closer.Florida State center Michael Ojo notched 11 points in the victory, and the Seminoles also got a big game from guard Terance Mann, who just missed a double-double with eight points and a team-high 10 rebounds. Guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes and forward Phil Cofer also both scored eight points for the Seminoles.The Seminoles, who led comfortably 45-30 at the break, jumped out to an 20-8 advantage nine minutes into the contest. Florida State’s lead grew to 37-18 with 4:35 left before halftime thanks in part to the Wolfpack shooting 6 of 21 from the field at the time.N.C. State could have been down more than 15 points at halftime had Florida State not gone 7 of 13 from the foul line in the first half. The Seminoles improved in the second half from the charity stripe, finishing 20 of 31 as a team.The Wolfpack return to action Saturday when they travel to face Wake Forest.NOTES: Florida State’s nine straight weeks on the Top 25 Poll is its most since the program’s 1989-90 season and the highest it reached this season was No. 6 in the poll. The Seminoles are also currently ranked No. 6 in the NCAA RPI Poll. … N.C. State G Dennis Smith Jr. was named ACC Freshman of the Week for the third time this season Monday after notching his second triple-double of the season with 13 points, 15 assists and 11 rebounds against Syracuse last week. Smith is just the fourth place in ACC history to post two tripled-doubles in a single season … Despite the loss, N.C. State finished with a season-low 11 turnovers … Seminoles head coach Leonard Hamilton said he was proud of how well center Michael Ojo has improved this year from the free throw line, shooting over 80 percent one season after he was around 30 percent. “He’s worked on his foul shots a lot. I wanted his senior season to be special, and it has,” Hamilton said of Ojo. “He’s so likable, too. Always got time for everybody. I bet he could run for student body president and win by a land slide.”
