M.J. Walker and Patrick Williams each scored 18 points and Florida State rallied in the second half to earn a 79-74 victory against Western Carolina on Friday night in the Seminoles' home opener at Tallahassee, Fla.

Western Carolina (2-2) led by as many 17 points early before Florida State (2-1) cut into that lead to trail by seven at halftime.

After Kameron Gibson sank a layup to put ahead the Catamounts 72-70 with 2:54 remaining, Williams followed with three-point play for a one-point Florida State edge.

Carlos Dotson's layup with 57 seconds on the clock gave the Western Carolina a 74-73 edge. But Williams came through again, sinking a layup with 41 seconds left to give FSU a 75-74 lead, an advantage it would not relinquish.

Dotson's ensuing layup try fell short, and Seminoles forward Malik Osborne grabbed the rebound and passed the ball to Williams, who was fouled immediately. Williams sank both free throws to make it 77-74 with 16 seconds left.

Western Carolina then missed two 3-point attempts before the final horn.

Mason Faulkner scored 21 points for the Catamounts. Gibson added 15 points and Dotson had 11 points and eight rebounds.

Trent Forrest added 16 points for Florida State, which also got nine rebounds and six points from Osborne.

The victory marked Florida State's 33rd consecutive nonconference home game

Florida State now leads the all-time series against Western Carolina 3-1.

--Field Level Media