Anaheim Ducks captain and leading scorer Ryan Getzlaf

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Florida State will enter Atlantic Coast Conference play off to one of the best starts in school history.The 21st-ranked Seminoles got a career-high 19 points from Terance Mann on Monday as they took control in the second half for a 76-68 victory over Samford.Florida State has won eight straight and is 12-1 for only the third time, matching the 1988-89 and 2008-09 squads.Even though the Seminoles are ranked and off to a strong start, Mann said that might not mean a lot in a couple months unless they can play well in the conference.You cant make the tournament winning 12 games. We know we have to keep winning, Mann said. We havent done anything really in five years. We just got to keep getting better and prove to the world that were here and were good.Mann, whose previous career high was 18 last season against Georgia Tech, is on a roll. The 6-foot-6 sophomore guard is averaging 14.7 points and 6.7 rebounds in his past three games along with going 17 of 23 from the field.Samford led for most of the final five minutes of the first half before FSU scored the final five points to go up 31-27. Xavier Rathan-Mayes, who scored 15 points, had the key shot with a 3-pointer at the buzzer that bounced in off the rim.The Seminoles scored the first six points to start the second half, pushing the lead to double figures. Florida State led by 17 with 6:12 remaining after a 12-2 run.FSU shot 42.2 percent from the field (27 of 64), which was its second-worst shooting game of the season.Its a learning experience and preparing us for the ACC, Rathan-Mayes said. We did a good job of relying on our defense. I dont think there are too many nights where we are going to struggle like that offensively.Christen Cunningham led the Bulldogs (7-4) with 16 points while Demetrius Denzel-Dyson added 14.We gave ourselves chances but we battled, Samford coach Scott Padgett said. Ive got a play card with 150 plays but I think we ran just one tonight. It was tough to drive inside.BIG PICTURESamford: The Bulldogs are 17-9 in nonconference games over the past two seasons but are 0-2 this season against teams currently ranked in the Top 25 (they lost to Cincinnati 70-55 on Nov. 23). Samford was picked to finish seventh in the Southern Conference but might exceed expectations based on how it has done so far.Florida State: The Seminoles struggled in the first half for the second straight game before pulling away in the second half. If it werent for blowing an 18-point, second-half lead on Nov. 24 against Temple, Florida State would be undefeated going into the Atlantic Coast Conference part of its schedule.HOT IN DECEMBERFlorida State has won 12 straight games in December and 16 of its last 17. It has also won 17 of its last 18 non-conference games in the month.TOUGH DAYEach teams leading player struggled. Florida States Dwayne Bacon, who came into the game averaging 17.2 points, scored 14 but was 4 of 15 from the field.Samfords Wyatt Walker, who is averaging a double-double with 13.7 points and 11.6 rebounds, was held scoreless in the first half. He had eight points and four rebounds.UP NEXTSamford: The Bulldogs host Florida A&M on Thursday. It is the first of two more nonconference games before they open Southern Conference play Dec. 31.Florida State: The Seminoles begin ACC play Dec. 28 against Wake Forest. They are 9-16 in conference openers.---More AP college basketball at http://collegebasketball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25---Follow Joe Reedy on Twitter at www.twitter.com/joereedy Paul George Jersey Large . -- Arizona knocked off some quality opponents, rolled over a few overmatched ones and grinded out victories even when things didnt go so well. Custom Celtics Jersey China . SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. http://www.custompacersjersey.com/ . Pierce was ejected in the third quarter of Indianas 103-86 win Monday. George Hill stole a bad pass and was going in for a layup, and Pierce hustled back and appeared to be trying to wrap him up. Cheap Custom Celtics Jersey . -- Anaheim Ducks captain and leading scorer Ryan Getzlaf has been scratched from Sunday nights game against the Vancouver Canucks because of an upper-body injury. Custom Paul George Jersey . The Masters champion and winner of last weeks Australian PGA has a three-round total of 14-under 199 at Royal Melbourne. "Im in a really good position for tomorrow," Scott said. ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Denver Broncos defensive end Vance Walker is expected to miss the season after tearing the ACL in his right knee Monday.Walker was carted off after getting tangled with guard Max Garcia on the second play of 9-on-7 drills during the Broncos practice Monday morning. Walker could not put any weight on the leg.We think the world of Vance and he was having a great camp, head coach Gary Kubiak said in a statement. Well support him through his recovery, and hell come back stronger than ever.Walker was listed as one of the starting defensive ends on the teams depth chart. He was expected to step into the starting role after Malik Jackson signed with Jacksonville in the offseason.Walker played in 15 regular-season games and all three playoff games for the Broncos last year. He had 33 tackles during the season and five more in the playoffs.Rookie Adam Gostis, Lars Koht and Billy Winn could get some long looks at defensive end with Walker out.Wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders and cornerback Chris Harris Jr. got into a small fight on the sidelines. Sanders appeared to beat Harris on a go route before Harris drew a pass interference flag trying to contain the receiver. The play spilled onto the sidelines, and both helmets were ripped off during the scuffle. No punches were thrown.Sanders and Harris didnt take any more reps during the drill, but Kubiak said neither was thrown out of practice.Theyre just tired of going at each other but weve got to keep our composure, Kubiak said. Guys aare going to get upset battling each other but theres things they wont let you do on the field so we cant do those in practice, either.dddddddddddd.Later, Sanders went across the field and shook hands with Harris and cornerback Aqib Talib.Sanders and Harris declined to talk to reporters.Sanders had a good day before the fight. He got behind Talib on a sideline route and caught a touchdown pass from Trevor Siemian. A few plays later Siemian connected with Jordan Norwood on a similar play against free safety Antonio Glover.Siemian had a strong day in his battle with Mark Sanchez for the starting quarterback role. That is the biggest question Kubiak needs to answer, but there could be some clarity when the Broncos start joint practices with San Francisco on Wednesday that finish with a preseason game Saturday night.This week is a big week for this team, Kubiak said. Youre getting to the point where youve got to start to answer those things.Game notes Fans greeted Gary Kubiak by singing Happy Birthday at the start of Mondays practice. Kubiak is 55. ... S Ryan Murphy and CB Taurean Nixon were at practice but not participating. ... The Wounded Warriors project was at practice Monday. Broncos players and coaches greeted the group and took pictures before heading into the locker room.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: http://twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '