Dwayne Bacon saw the wide open lane and did not hesitate to lift off.
After going scoreless during Florida State’s last loss, breaking a 35-game double-digit scoring streak, Bacon’s emphatic one-handed slam dunk was a friendly reminder of his standout potential.
Bacon finished with 16 points, becoming the 46th player in school history to surpass 1,000 career points, as No. 17 FSU (22-6, 10-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) continued its dominance at home with a 104-72 blowout win over Boston College (9-19, 2-13) on Monday night.
The victory also marked the 300th victory for Leonard Hamilton at Florida State and the 500th of his career despite NCAA docking him for 22 wins from the 2006-07 season for a rules violation.
“It’s part of what the job is,” Hamilton said. “I’ve had great kids, and I’ve had a great career. I’m one of the most blessed guys on the planet.”
Bacon, needing only 11 points to surpass 1,000-point mark, began the second half with a 3-pointer near the top of the key to become the second sophomore in school history to achieve the feat.
The other, Bob Sura, who played at FSU from 1992-95, has his jersey hanging in the rafters of the Donald L. Tucker Center.
“He scored 1,000 points as a sophomore, so that means he knows what he’s doing on the court,” Hamilton said of Bacon. “As great as a player as I was, I had a few — haha.”
Shortly after the first media time out of the second half, Bacon flashed a bright smile as the crowd in attendance collectively cheered to commemorate the moment.
No person clapped harder in approval for Bacon than former teammate Malik Beasley, who enjoyed the game from the first row, taking advantage of the NBA All-Star break during his rookie season with the Denver Nuggets.
“That’s special,” Beasley said. “I saw that Bacon has been putting in hard work, and he deserves that.”
Beasley rose to his feet after every highlight play and also chirped words of encouragement to the Seminoles, who regained their footing in the comforts of their home court and led by as many as 34 points during the blowout victory.
Florida State freshman forward Jonathan Isaac speaks after the Seminoles’ win over NC State on Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2016.
Florida State freshman forward Jonathan Isaac speaks after the Seminoles’ win over NC State on Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2016.
Florida State freshman forward Jonathan Isaac speaks after the Seminoles’ win over NC State on Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2016.
Florida State freshman forward Jonathan Isaac speaks after the Seminoles’ win over NC State on Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2016.
Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton talks about NC State standout guard Dennis Smith Jr. on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017, a day before both teams play at the Donald L. Tucker Center in Tallahassee.
Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton talks about NC State standout guard Dennis Smith Jr. on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017, a day before both teams play at the Donald L. Tucker Center in Tallahassee.
Florida State guard Dwayne Bacon speaks to media after a 109-61 win over Clemson on Sunday, Feb. 5, 2017.
Florida State guard Dwayne Bacon speaks to media after a 109-61 win over Clemson on Sunday, Feb. 5, 2017.
Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton speaks to media after a 109-61 win over Clemson on Sunday, Feb. 5, 2017.
Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton speaks to media after a 109-61 win over Clemson on Sunday, Feb. 5, 2017.
FSU came out on top while UCF turned in a solid effort. Florida rallied and USF made a huge comback from the bottom of the ladder.
FSU came out on top while UCF turned in a solid effort. Florida rallied and USF made a huge comback from the bottom of the ladder.
Unlike Beasley, who has bounced in and out of the NBA Developmental League to hold a bench spot on Denver’s roster, Bacon returned to Florida State to improve his game and NBA draft stock during his sophomore season.
After coming up scoreless during FSU’s loss at Pittsburgh on Saturday, Bacon returned to form, shooting 6 of 15 from the field with four 3-pointers, five rebounds and four assists. He was not made available to media after the game.
“He’s too good of a player to play bad in back-to-back nights, and I knew that was going to come,” Boston College coach Jim Christian said.
Starting point guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes paced FSU’s torrid pace with seven points and 10 assists, including seven in the first half. Standout freshman Jonathan Isaac, who could potentially be an NBA lottery pick, finished with 14 points. P.J. Savoy added 15 points off the bench.
The Seminoles used 57 bench points and 52 points in the paint to set a new school record for home wins in a season at 17, and have won 20 consecutive games at home dating back to last season.
But the road has been unkind to FSU, which suffered all six of its losses away from home. The Seminoles trailed by at least 15 points in the second half of five conference road losses this season.
The Seminoles have three games remaining in the regular season — Saturday’s game at Clemson, at Duke on Feb. 4 and at home against Miami on March 4. The ACC Tournament is March 7-11 in Brooklyn.
The Seminoles, who dropped two spots in Monday’s Associated Press top 25 rankings, are in a tie for fourth place with Notre Dame in the ACC standings.
FSU is in pursuit of its first NCAA Tournament berth since winning the ACC title in 2012.
“Obviously, we needed to get home and gain a little confidence, and get back to who we are,” Hamilton said. “This team has played very good basketball at times, but I think we still have a lot of work to do.”
Email Safid Deen at sdeen@orlandosentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter at @osfsu or @Safid_Deen and like our Florida State Facebook page for the latest updates on the Seminoles.
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