2016-17 Men's Basketball - Year In Review | |
| Coaching Staff Leonard Hamilton, Head Coach Michael Bradley, Strength and Conditioning Dennis Gates, Assistant Coach Stan Jones, Associate Head Coach Jacob Ridenhour, Director of Operations Charlton Young, Assistant Coach  Click here to see individual photos |
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Trent Forrest, 6-6, 215, G, Chipley - “Trent Forrest runs the point. He’s a big guard who can handle the ball and get his feet into the paint. His passing is a strength. He routinely collapses the defense on drives and then kicks to the open shooter. Defensively, he reacts well, rebounds well and gets his hands on a lot of balls out of his area. He’s capable of being a plus defender and being a weapon in transition,” says Michael Rogner of Tomahawk Nation...ON FORREST: A consensus top 50 prep player who was ranked 45th among all prep players by ESPN.com entering college with the class of 2016…ranked as the seventh best player in the state of Florida, the 11th best shooting guard in the nation, the 48th best player in the country and was a four star player by Sports Illustrated...ranked as the 62nd best high school player in the nation by scout.com…a strong athlete on the wing who is an outstanding athlete and a stellar defender…finishes strong at the rim…has good size and strength for a combo guard…has a very high basketball IQ…the all-time leading scorer in Chipley High School history with 3,103 career pints…broke the all-time scoring record in Chipley’s run to its second consecutive state championship in 2016…a standout player for the AAU Georgia Stars…led the Stars to the championship of the 2015 Peach Jam – the most important event on Nike’s EYBL Summer Season…named to the All-Tournament team at the Nike EYBL and was the Most Valuable Player at both the Nike EYBL and Las Vegas Classic Championships…Participated in the 2015 Nike Global Challenge where he led his team to the championship…named to the 2014-15 MaxPreps Boys Basketball Junior All-American Team…nominated to be a participant in the prestigious McDonald’s All-American game in 2016…his wingspan was measured at 6-8 during his senior season…AT CHIPLEY: Graduated from Chipley High School in 2016…named to the USA Today All-State Second-Team in Florida as a senior in 2016…finished third in the voting for the prestigious Mr. Basketball Award in the state of Florida following his senior season…played in the 12th Annual All-Star Classic at Rutherford High School following his senior season…led Chipley in scoring, rebounding and assists in each of his four seasons as a member of the varsity team…named the Player of the Year in Class 1A in the state of Florida as a sophomore, junior and senior…led Chipley to a 29-3 and the school’s second consecutive state championship as a senior in 2016… averaged a single-season school record 29.6 points, 9.4 rebounds and 6.2 assists as a senior…shot .664 percent from the field, .387 percent from the 3-point line and .846 percent from the free throw line as a senior…ranked as the fifth best player in the state of Florida as a senior in 2016…totaled 50 points, nine rebounds and four assists in Chipley’s 77-63 win over Marianna on Dec, 8, 2015…averaged 31 points, 10 rebounds and 4.0 assists in Chipley’s semifinal and finals runs to the state championships in four games in 2015 and 2016…his totals included a 26 point, 11 rebound and six assist effort in the Tigers’ championship clinching victory over Paxton in Lakeland, Fla in 2016… scored 18 fourth quarter points to lead Chipley to the come-from-behind victory over Paxton in the fourth quarter…averaged 29.2 points, 8.9 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 3.0 steals while shooting 61 percent from the field and 79 percent from the free throw line in leading Chipley to the Class 1A state championship as a junior in 2015…a finalist for the Florida Dairy Farmers Mr. Basketball Award as he led Chipley to a 28-3 record and the state championship as a junior…scored 65 points (32.5 ppg), totaled 20 rebounds (10.0 rpg) and 12 assists (6.0 apg) in the semifinals and finals of the state championship tournament…averaged 23 points per game and was Chipley’s leading scorer as a sophomore…PERSONAL: Born June 12, 1998…Trent is the son of Barbara Lee and Lester Forrest…both of his parents played basketball at Chipola Junior College…academically oriented as he graduated from Chipley with a 4.3 grade point average…from a family of Florida State students including his aunt and Seminole football great Amp Lee (1989-91) who played for the San Francisco 49ers (1992-93), Minnesota Vikings (1994-96), St. Louis Rams (1997-99) and Philadelphia Eagles (2000)…Lee is still one of only 15 players in school history who rushed for over 2,000 career yards as a Seminole…played for head coach Mike Gates at Chipley – a 1983 graduate of Florida State…cousins of Terrance and Terrell Whitehurst who play tennis at Florida State…committed to Seminole head coach Leonard Hamilton and his staff on May 5, 2015 – at the end of his junior season…selected Florida State over Wichita State, Georgia, Miami, Alabama, Wake Forest, Providence, Georgia Tech and Tennessee…academic major is sport management...
Jonathan Isaac, 6-10, 210, F, Naples - “Jonathan Isaac is the type of versatile combo forward every coach in the country would like to have. Isaac is 6-9 but he has always been groomed as a perimeter player. He has a nice face-up jump shot with range out to the 3-point line. He has a thin frame and should be considered a stretch four in college. His combination of height and skill makes him a mismatch nightmare from the moment he steps onto a college court,” says Ricky O’Donnell of SB Nation…ON ISAAC: The crown jewel of Florida State’s 2016 recruiting class…an ultra-talented forward who is regarded as one of the top recruits in the history of the Florida State program…a forward who developed his tremendous skills as a guard before growing an incredible seven inches during his high school career…likes to play on the perimeter…gets off of the floor well with exceptional quickness…a high release point and a smooth follow through...strong footwork and a solid first step…his combination of size, fluidity and polished offensive skills are rare for a 6-10 player…ranked as the No. 9 overall player in the nation by ESPN.com…ranked No. 9 among all prep players by Scout.com…the No. 3 overall ranked power forward in the Class of 2016 and the No. 1 ranked small forward in the south and the No. 1 ranked small forward in Florida by Scout.com…the No. 1 player in the state of Florida, the No. 3 small forward and the No. 12 overall recruit by 247Sports.com…played in the Jordan Brand All-American Game at Barclays Center on April 15, 2016…totaled eight points and six rebounds and one blocked shot in 18 minutes of play…a member of the USA Basketball Junior National Select Team that is composed of elite players who are 19 years of age or younger...totaled even points and four rebounds in leading the USA Select Team to a 101-67 victory over the World Select Team at the Nike Hoop Summit on April 9, 2016…in 2015 he participated in the Nike Skills Academy, played in the NBPA Top 10 Camp and starred at the EYBL Hampton Tournament prior to the beginning of his 2015-16 season at IMG…averaged 14.0 points in the prestigious 2-15 Peach Jam Tournament where he played for Each 1 Teach 1…selected as one of the 12 elite high school players on Nike’s EYBL Elite Select team that played against the Bahamian National Team during the summer of 2015…has been measured with a 7-0 wingspan…AT IMG ACADEMY: Graduated from IMG Academy in 2016…IMG Academy is located in Bradenton, Fla…averaged 17.6 points and 10.0 rebounds while shooting .510 from the field in leading IMG to a 21-10 record during his only season at the school…led IMG to the team championship at the Beach Blast held at IMG…IMG played in the National Prep Championship tournament where it fell in the first round of the event to Brewster Academy…the MVP of the National Prep School Invitational in Providence, R.I.., during his senior season…totaled 25 points in IMG’s victory over SPIRE Institute in the National Prep School tournament…totaled a triple double of 18 points, 10 rebounds and 11 blocked shots in IMG’s game against Chipola College…scored a double double of 27 points (on 12 of 16 made field goals) and 10 rebounds against Forest Trail Academy…scored a double double of 21 points and 10 rebounds against Brewster Academy in the National Prep Tournament…the second player from IMG to play in the Jordan Bran Game…the first was Chris McCullough who played at Syracuse and was the 29th overall pick of the 2015 NBA Draft…McCullough currently plays for the Brooklyn Nets…AT INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL: Attended the International School in Hollywood, Fla., for two seasons (2014 and 2015) where he averaged a double double of 30 points and 15 rebounds to go along with three assists and one steal per game…averaged 29.5 points and 9.0 rebounds as a senior in 2015…was the leading scorer in the state of Florida during the 2014-15 season…AT BARRON COLLIER: Played his first two seasons of high school basketball at Barrion Collier High School in his hometown of Naples, Fla., (2012 and 2013)…PERSONAL: Born October 3, 1997…Jonathan is the son of Jackie Allen…Jonathan is one of six children in his family…has one older sister (Kalilah, 24), to older brothers (Jacob, 21 and Joel, 20) and two younger brothers (Winston, 17 and Jeremiah, 7)…his biggest influences are his mom, his coaches and his faith…favorite NBA player is Kevin Durant…a native of the Bronx in New York City…selected Florida State over Kentucky, Kansas, North Carolina, Duke, Louisville, Wisconsin, Miami, Wake Forest, Stanford and LSU…academic major is sport management...
Mfiondu Kabengele, 6-9, 235, F, Burlington, Ontario, Canada - ON KABENGELE: A strong rebounder who has a knack for getting to rebounds before others because of his high basketball IQ and quick jumping abilities…his ability to get up off of the floor has helped him develop into a first-rate shot blocker…ranked as the 65th best prep player nationally by 247sports.com…a three-star player in the 247sports.comrankings…ranked as a top 10 player in the state of Indiana according to 247sports.com…has good basketball handling skills and is an excellent passer…can both face up and play with his back to the basket with equal success…is a strong passer for a forward…is already an outstanding shot-blocker…grew by three inches during his only season at Don Bosco Prep and is considered to be a standout stretch four on the court…has been measured with a 7-1 wingspan…AT DON BOSCO PREP: Averaged a double double of 19.0 points and 10.0 rebounds while shooting 53 percent from the field, 81 percent from the free throw line and 38 percent from the 3-point line during his postgraduate year at the school…totaled a double double of 25 points and 11 rebounds against Malcom X Junior College on Dec. 14, 2016…Plays for the Canada Drive Basketball AAU team…Don Bosco Prep is located just about one hour outside of Chicago…Including Kabengele, there are 14 Don Bosco alums playing Division I Basketball including Chris Palombizio of Oakland (Mich.), Zoran Talley of Old Dominion, David Skara of Clemson, Vlatko Granic of Loyola of Chicago and Jaycee Hillsman of San Jose State...AT BURLINGTON CORPUS CHRISTI: Graduated from Corpus Christi High School in 2015…averaged 14.5 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.2 assists as a senior at Corpus Christi…totaled a double double of 18 points and 14 rebounds against Vaughn High School…Vaughn is a top five team in the Ontario…hit the game-winning 3-point shot to lift Corpus Christo past Halton High School in the Catholic Cup Finals as a senior…PERSONAL: Born August 14, 1997…Mfiondu is the son of Tshilongo and Tshimanga Kabengele…played with Notre Dame guard Nikola Djogo at Don Bosco in 2016…the nephew of former NBA standout Dikembe Mutombo…his mother is a sister of Mutombo, who entered the NBA Hall of Fame in 2015 and is widely known for his humanitarian work outside of basketball…selected Florida State over Wisconsin, Georgetown, Kansas State, Georgia and Boston College…academic major is marketing...
Travis Light, 6-5, 165, G, Vienna, Va. - “Travis Light is a coach’s dream. He works hard in all phases of the game, in the weight room, conditioning and in individual and team practices. He spreads the floor with his shooting ability and reads the game to always make correct passes and correct decisions. I wish all players had his attitude and work ethic,” said Montverde prep coach Dante Calabria...ON LIGHT: Joined the Seminole basketball team in the fall of 2016…will add depth to the Seminoles’ backcourt rotation and will be a great teammate…his strengths are his basketball IQ and his ability to break down defenses with his ball handling and extremely accurate outside shooting…played at very high levels throughout his prep career which has helped him become a very competitive player…his competitiveness will be a nice addition to the Florida State basketball team…AT IMG ACADEMY: Averaged 10.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 18 games played…shot .420 percent from the field, .430 percent from the 3-pont line, and .730 percent from the free throw line…totaled a season-high 30 points against Victory Rock and 20 points against D.M.E. Academy…AT MONTVERDE ACADEMY: Graduated from Montverde Academy in 2015…was a member of the Eagles’ prep team coached by former North Carolina shooting guard Dante Calabria…totaled a season-high 26 points against Victory Rock...AT ST. STEPHEN’S & ST. AGNES: Attended the school during his sophomore, junior and the first semester of his senior year season…the school is located in Alexandria, Va. ...averaged 6.4 points in 24 games as a member of the varsity team as a sophomore in 2013 and averaged 5.2 points in 21 games as a junior in 2014…AT GONZAGA COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOL: Attended Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C. as a freshman during the 2010-11 season…was a member of the freshman basketball team during his one season as a member of the Eagles’ program…PERSONAL: Born June 14, 1996…Travis is the son of Sandra and George Light…his father played basketball at Hampden-Sydney in 1986…an older sister, Jordan, plays basketball at American University…a member of the academic Honor Roll throughout his high school career…has trained for over 10,000 hours with Reginald Kitchen.
Will Miles, 6-6, F, Orlando - “Will Miles was the Most Valuable Player of our team both on and off the court during his career. He led us throughout the regular season and into the playoffs. Trinity Prep went as Will went. He was a huge reason that we enjoyed the success we did – including a trip to the Class 4A regional finals – during his two seasons at Trinity Prep,” said former Trinity Prep head coach Irwin Hudson...ON MILES: A third generation family member who is the fourth member of his family to play basketball at Florida State …joined the Seminole men’s basketball team for the 2016-17 season…his father, an uncle and his grandfather all played basketball at Florida State…a member of the team who will had depth at the forward position…played at a high level in high school and helped lead Lake High Prep to the 2014 Class A State Championship...AT TRINITY PREP: Graduated from Trinity Prep in 2016…attended Trinity Prep during his junior (2014-15) and senior seasons (2015-16)…averaged 13.7 points, 9.2 rebounds, 3.7 blocked shots, 3.2 steals and 2.8 assists in 30 games as a senior…led Trinity Prep to a 24-6 record during his senior season and helped the Saints advance to the Class 4A regional finals during his senior season…scored 14 points in Trinity Preps’ Class 4A regional final loss to Melbourne Holy Trinity…a triple double of 18 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists against Lake Highland in the regional semifinals…a double double of 17 points and 12 rebounds in Trinity Prep’s victory over Lake Highland in the district championship game…scored 20 points in a win over Central Florida Christian Academy…a double double of 10 points and 12 rebounds to lead Trinity to a victory over St. John’s Creekside and to the John Clark Classic Tournament championship during his senior season…totaled his career-high of 25 points in a victory over Oviedo High School…scored 21 points in a win over Boone High School in the Showdown in O-Town Tournament…a double double of 15 points and 13 rebounds in a win over Lake Mary High School and a double double of 12 points and 12 rebounds against Masters Academy…AT LAKE HIGHLAND PREP: Attended Lake Highland Prep as a freshman (2012-13) and a sophomore (2013-14)…helped lead Lake Highland to the 2014 State Championship as a sophomore…played in 28 games as a sophomore…averaged 1.8 points, 1.9 rebounds, 0.4 assists and 0.3 steals per game while shooting .530 from the field…a member of the junior varsity team as a freshman…PERSONAL: Born October 27, 1997…Will is the son of Bobby Miles…Will’s father, Bobby Miles, played for the Seminoles in 1982, 1983 and 1984…Bobby Miles played in 65 games and scored 141 total points…helped lead Florida State’s 1984 team to the second round of the NIT…an uncle, Blake, also played at Florida State in 1989 and 1990…he played in 10 career games and was a member of the Florida State’s 1989 NCAA Tournament team…Will’s grandfather, Robert Werschel Miles, was a walk-on member of the Seminole men’s basketball team during the 1956-57 season…academic major is public releations...
PJ Savoy, 6-4, 200, G, Las Vegas, Nev. - “What sets PJ apart on the floor is his feel for the game and his ability to shoot the ball. He's very talented at being able to read the defense and the man guarding him. He's very good at coming off screens, and playing off the penetration of teammates. What I'm most proud of about PJ is his passion to compete. During his last few months at Sheridan College he was really beginning to figure out how hard you need to work every day to continue to improve as a player,” said Sheridan College head coach Matt Hammer...ON SAVOY: A top junior college transfer from Sheridan College in Wyoming…is immediately eligible for the 2016-17 season at Florida State with three years of eligibility remaining…averaged 16.8 points and 5.1 rebounds in his only season at Sheridan in 2015-16…committed to Florida State and Leonard Hamilton on August 10, 2016 and was the final piece of the Seminoles’ 2016 recruiting class…invited to play at both Jerry Mullen’s Top 100 Camp and the American JUCO Showcase in 2015 prior to his enrollment at Florida State…AT SHERIDAN: Attended Sheridan Community College in Sheridan Wyoming during the 2015-16 academic and athletic season… led the Generals to an 18-12 record in his only season at Sheridan as he finished as the Generals’ second leading scorer with 505 total points and a 16.8 points scored per game average…also averaged 5.1 rebounds per game…started 24 of 30 games, was fourth on the team in rebounding and led the team from the 3-point line with 85 shots made and a .427 3-point shooting percentage…led the team from the free throw line with 120 made free throws and a .863 free throw shooting percentage…scored in double figures in 24 of his 30 games and totaled at least 20 points in 14 games… scored his career high of 28 points against the Wyoming All-Stars as he was a perfect eight of eight from the free throw line…led all scorers with 26 points (20 in the first half) in the Generals’ 101-45 win over Great Falls…a buzzer-beating 3-point shot from the right wing gave Sheridan a 85-82 victory over Casper…his basket against Casper began a raucous court-storming by the Generals’ fanbase…scored 18 points in the win over Casper…24 points came against Eastern Wyoming and Northwest College in Wyoming…AT LAS VEGAS HIGH SCHOOL: Graduated from Las Vegas High School in 2015…attended Las Vegas High School as a junior and a senior…earned All-State First Team honors as a senior as he averaged 17.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.1 blocked shots as a senior for the Wildcats…considered to be one of the top prospects at the Las Vegas Super 80 Showcase in 2014…nominated to play in the McDonald’s High School All-American game…the No. 9 ranked high school player in the state of Nevada as a senior…a season-high 36 points and nine rebounds against Findlay Prep…totaled 21 points and seven rebounds in a win over Valley High School…AT CHAPARRAL HIGH SCHOOL: Attended Chaparral High School as a freshman and s sophomore…earned All-State and All-Conference First Team honors as a sophomore…led Chaparral in scoring as a sophomore with a 16.7 points per game scoring average…also averaged 6.9 rebounds, 2.7 steals, 1.6 assists and 1.4 blocks per game…scored 27 points and added five rebounds in a state tournament championship victory over Faith Lutheran…a sophomore season high 29 points in a 73-67 win over Sunrise Mountain…also totaled 27 in a victory over Foothills Christian, 26 against South Australia Country Day and Great Falls as well as 21 against Palo Verde…PERSONAL: Born Oct. 6, 1996…PJ is the son of Consuella and Patrick Savoy, Sr. …father, Patrick, Sr., played at UNLV for two seasons (1994 and 1995)…led UNLV in scoring during his senior season with a 14.7 points per game scoring average and totaled 734 career points…tied for the team lead in blocked shots in 1994…played professionally in Argentina, Belgium, France, Israel, Mexico, Spain, Venezuela and in the CBA…played for Rollie Massimino at UNLV…played in both Pensacola and West Palm Beach while in the CBA…favorite NBA player is Shaquille O’Neill…selected Florida State over UNLV, Texas A&M, LSU, Texas Tech…academic major is social science...
CJ Walker, 6-1, 195, G, Indianapolis, Ind. - “In addition to being one of the best basketball players in school history – he is an Honor Roll student, a first-class kid and a kid that you can’t keep out of the gym. He has been a leader for our team since he walked onto the court as a freshman. He is a vocal leader and in my opinion one of the best high school point guards in the nation. Florida State is getting an outstanding basketball player and a great leader in CJ Walker,” said Arsenal Tech head coach Jason Delaney...ON WALKER: A top-three finalist for the Mr. Basketball Award as a senior in the tradition-rich state of Indiana…an All-State First-Team selection by the USA Today Newspaper in 2016…named the Player of the Year in 2016 by the Indianapolis Coaches Association…ranked as the 82nd best overall prep player, the 14th best point guard and earned a four-star rating by ESPN.com in 2016…also a four-star recruit by Scout.com…a left-handed point guard…an outstanding point guard who is a rock-solid ball handler and is at his best when attacking the basket…a left-hander who is a very consistent player in all aspects of his game…very effective when penetrating the defense…throughout his career he has displayed an incredible ability to get his teammates the ball in positions where they can be successful getting to the basket…a 2016 Indiana All-Star by the Indianapolis Star Newspaper…totaled 16 points, eight assists and four rebounds for the Maroon Squad at the Kentucky Derby Festival All-Star Classic in a game played at Freedom Hall in Louisville…totaled zero turnovers in 25 minutes of play in the Derby Festival game…was nominated to play in the McDonald’s All-American game as a senior…a member of the Indiana Boys All-Star team which faced a team of All-Stars from the state of Kentucky in June of 2016…AT ARSENAL TECH: Graduated from Arsenal Tech in Indianapolis, Ind., in 2016…named one of three finalists for the Mr. Basketball Award in the basketball-rich state of Indiana as a senior…the 2016 Indianapolis Player of the Year as a senior…team captain as a senior…averaged 18.3 points per game during his four-year career as a member of the varsity at Arsenal Tech…totaled 1,394 career points and averaged 18.3 points per game for his career…the Player of the Year in the city of Indianapolis and an All-City First-Team selection by the city’s coaches in 2016…led Arsenal Tech to the 4A State Championship title as a sophomore…averaged 24.6 points, 5.4 assists, 3.2 rebounds, and 3.0 steals as a senior…led Arsenal to an 18-6 record and into the 4A state tournament as a senior…led Arsenal to the City of Indianapolis tournament title for the second time in three years in 2016…earned All-City First Team Honors…the preseason and postseason Player of the Year in the City of Indianapolis as a senior…scored his career-high of 53 points in Arsenal Tech’s victory over Indiana power Pike High on Feb. 6, 2016…voted Arsenal’s Most Valuable Player in back-to-back seasons (2015 and 2016) by the coaching staff…averaged 24 points, 3.7 assists, five rebounds, and 2.5 steals his junior season… led Arsenal Tech to the state championship averaged 10 points, six assists, and two rebounds to finish third nationally by USA Today his sophomore year…surpassed the coveted 1,000 point mark as a junior during the state tournament…played on the Speice Indy Heat AAU Team…PERSONAL: Born March 24, 1997…CJ is the son of Brandi Winston and Clarence Walker…has one brother, Jalen, 15, who plays high school football…born in Anchorage, Alaska and moved to Indianapolis at the age of three…payed at the same high school as Trey Lyles of Kentucky who was the first round pick of the Indiana Pacers in 2015...the second left-handed point guard to play basketball at Florida State following Jerry Cox who played for Hugh Durham as a Seminole…Cox played in 21 games as a Seminole in 1978, 1979 and 1980…selected Florida State over Wichita State, Michigan, Purdue, Butler, Illinois, Pitt, Xavier and Missouri…initially committed to Purdue but re-opened his recruitment during his senior season…academic major is sport management...
Isaac Named To
Freshman All-America Team. April 05, 2017 TALLAHASSEE, FL – Florida State’s Jonathan Isaac, who earned All-ACC Honorable Mention and All-ACC Freshman Team honors, has been named to the Kyle
Macy Freshman All-American team by collegeinsider.com. Isaac averaged 12.0 points, a team-leading 7.8 rebounds and a team-leading 1.5 blocked shots per game. His 7.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocked shots
led all freshmen players in the ACC in both statistical categories. Isaac announced on March 24, 2017 that he would forgo his final three years of eligibility and make himself eligible for the 2017
NBA Draft where it is expected that he will become the third NBA Draft Lottery selection in school history. Isaac helped Florida State to one of the best season in school history in his only season
as a Seminole. Florida State finished with a 26-9 overall record and a 12-6 record in ACC play. The Seminoles’ 26 wins fell just one shot of tying the school record for victories in a season while
their 12 conference victories tied the school record for ACC wins in a season. Florida State finished in second place in the ACC to tie the school record for best ACC finish and earned a No. 3 seed
in the West Region in the NCAA Tournament. The Seminoles’ NCAA seed tied the school record for highest seed in their NCAA Tournament history. In Isaac’s only season in Tallahassee, the Seminoles
were ranked as high as No. 6 nationally by the Associated Press. Florida State finished the season tied for 16th in the final AP Poll and 24th in the final USA Today Coaches Poll. The Seminoles were
nationally ranked in each of the final 13 weeks of the regular season. In addition to averaging 12.0 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocked shots, Isaac made 31 3-point field goals (fourth on the
team) and shot .780 from the free throw line (second). He was named to the Karl Malone (nation’s top power forward) and Wayman Tisdale (nation’s top freshman) Award Watch lists and was named the ACC
Rookie of the Week twice during the 2016-17 season. Isaac led the Seminoles with eight double doubles including a 17-points and 10 rebound performance against Florida Gulf Coast in the first round
of the NCAA Tournament on March 16. He scored his season-high of 23 points against No. 15/15 Notre Dame in Florida State’s 83-80 win over the Irish on January 18 and pulled down his career-high of 15
rebounds against the Irish the semifinals of the ACC Tournament on March 10. Isaac’s selection to the Kyle Macy Freshman All-America team marks the third consecutive season at least one Florida
State player has been named to the team. Xavier Rathan-Mayes was named to the team in 2015, Dwayne Bacon and Malik Beasley in 2016 and now Isaac in 2017.
2017 Roster - By Name
L
T PY
R No Name Pos Hgt Wgt Cl Ltr Hometown (Prior School)
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* 40 Brandon Allen F 6-6 209 Jr-R ** Milton (Milton)
* 11 Braian Angola-Rodas G 6-6 195 Jr Casanare, Colombia (Findlay College Prep/North Idaho College)
* 4 Dwayne Bacon G 6-7 221 So * Lakeland (Oak Hill Academy)
* 0 Phil Cofer F 6-8 218 Jr * Atlanta, Ga. (Whitewater)
* 3 Trent Forrest G 6-6 215 Fr Chipley (Chipley)
* 1 Jonathan Isaac F 6-10 210 Fr Naples (IMG Academy)
25 Mfiondu Kabengele F 6-9 235 Fr Burlington, Ontario, Canada (Don Bosco Prep)
* 21 Christ Koumadje C 7-4 233 So * N'Djamena, Chad (Montverde Academy)
20 Travis Light G 6-5 165 Fr Vienna, Va. (Montverde Academy)
* 14 Terance Mann G 6-6 204 So * Lowell, Mass. (Tilton School)
33 Will Miles F 6-6 Fr Orlando (Trinity Prep)
* 50 Michael Ojo C 7-1 304 Sr-R *** Lagos, Nigeria (Tennessee Temple)
* 22 Xavier Rathan-Mayes G 6-4 208 Jr-R ** Scarborough, Ontario, Canada (Huntington Prep)
* 5 PJ Savoy G 6-4 200 So Las Vegas, Nev. (Las Vegas/Sheridan College)
* 23 Jarquez Smith F 6-9 236 Sr *** Haddock, Ga. (Jones County)
* 2 CJ Walker G 6-1 195 Fr Indianapolis, Ind. (Arsenal Technical)
2017 Roster - By Number
L
T PY
R No Name Pos Hgt Wgt Cl Ltr Hometown (Prior School)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* 0 Phil Cofer F 6-8 218 Jr * Atlanta, Ga. (Whitewater)
* 1 Jonathan Isaac F 6-10 210 Fr Naples (IMG Academy)
* 2 CJ Walker G 6-1 195 Fr Indianapolis, Ind. (Arsenal Technical)
* 3 Trent Forrest G 6-6 215 Fr Chipley (Chipley)
* 4 Dwayne Bacon G 6-7 221 So * Lakeland (Oak Hill Academy)
* 5 PJ Savoy G 6-4 200 So Las Vegas, Nev. (Las Vegas/Sheridan College)
* 11 Braian Angola-Rodas G 6-6 195 Jr Casanare, Colombia (Findlay College Prep/North Idaho College)
* 14 Terance Mann G 6-6 204 So * Lowell, Mass. (Tilton School)
20 Travis Light G 6-5 165 Fr Vienna, Va. (Montverde Academy)
* 21 Christ Koumadje C 7-4 233 So * N'Djamena, Chad (Montverde Academy)
* 22 Xavier Rathan-Mayes G 6-4 208 Jr-R ** Scarborough, Ontario, Canada (Huntington Prep)
* 23 Jarquez Smith F 6-9 236 Sr *** Haddock, Ga. (Jones County)
25 Mfiondu Kabengele F 6-9 235 Fr Burlington, Ontario, Canada (Don Bosco Prep)
33 Will Miles F 6-6 Fr Orlando (Trinity Prep)
* 40 Brandon Allen F 6-6 209 Jr-R ** Milton (Milton)
* 50 Michael Ojo C 7-1 304 Sr-R *** Lagos, Nigeria (Tennessee Temple)
3/21/2016 - Malik Beasley declared for the NBA draft.
3/23/2016 - Dwayne Bacon will submit his name to the NBA Draft but will not hire an agent in order to keep his eligibilty intact.
4/5/2016
- Xavier Rathan Mayes will submit his name to the NBA Draft but will not hire an agent in order to keep his eligibilty intact.
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
2016-17 Conference Awards
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Dwayne Bacon Atlantic Coast Conference - All-Conference - 2nd Team
Jonathan Isaac Atlantic Coast Conference - All-Conference - Honorable Mention
Atlantic Coast Conference - All-Rookie
Xavier Rathan-Mayes Atlantic Coast Conference - All-Defensive Team
All-Conference - 3
2016-17 All-Americans
Name Organization
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Jonathan Isaac Kyle Macy - Freshman
All-Americans - 1
2016-17 Noles in the Pros
Name No Pos Team
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Malik Beasley 25 SG Denver Nuggets
Toney Douglas 16 PG Memphis Grizzlies
Okaro White 15 F Miami Heat
Noles in the Pros - 3
2017 Schedule and Results
GAME |
SCORE |
AP |
USA |
AP |
USA |
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| Charleston Southern | |||||||||||||
| Iona College | |||||||||||||
| Winthrop NIT Season Tip-Off |
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| Detroit-Mercy NIT Season Tip-Off |
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| Temple NIT Season Tip-Off, Brooklyn, N.Y. |
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| Illinois NIT Season Tip-Off, Brooklyn, N.Y. |
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| Minnesota ACC/Big Ten Challenge |
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| George Washington BB&T Classic |
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| Southern Mississippi | |||||||||||||
| Nicholls State | |||||||||||||
| Florida | |||||||||||||
| Manhattan College Orange Bowl Classic, Sunrise |
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| Samford | |||||||||||||
| Wake Forest | |||||||||||||
| Virginia | |||||||||||||
| Virginia Tech | |||||||||||||
| Duke | |||||||||||||
| North Carolina | |||||||||||||
| Notre Dame | |||||||||||||
| Louisville | |||||||||||||
| Georgia Tech | |||||||||||||
| Syracuse | |||||||||||||
| Miami | |||||||||||||
| Clemson | |||||||||||||
| North Carolina State | |||||||||||||
| Notre Dame | |||||||||||||
| Pittsburgh | |||||||||||||
| Boston College | |||||||||||||
| Clemson | |||||||||||||
| Duke | |||||||||||||
| Miami | |||||||||||||
| Virginia Tech ACC, New York, N.Y. |
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| Notre Dame ACC, New York, N.Y. |
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| Florida Gulf Coast NCAA, Orlando |
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| Xavier NCAA, Orlando |
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EOY StatsRef Conference games in bold Overall Home Away Neutral ------------------------------------------------ FSU record is 26- 9 18- 0 4- 6 4- 3 vs ACC 12- 6 9- 0 3- 6 0- 0 Against Top 25 7- 4 6- 0 1- 3 0- 1 Final AP - 16 Final USA - 24
2016-17 Atlantic Coast Conference Results 1 North Carolina 14- 4 33- 7 2t Florida State 12- 6 26- 9 2t Notre Dame 12- 6 26-10 2t Louisville 12- 6 25- 9 5t Duke 11- 7 28- 9 5t Virginia 11- 7 23-10 7t Virginia Tech 10- 8 22-11 7t Syracuse 10- 8 19-15 7t Miami 10- 8 21-12 10 Wake Forest 9- 9 19-14 11 Georgia Tech 8-10 21-16 12 Clemson 6-12 17-16 13t North Carolina State 4-14 15-17 13t Pittsburgh 4-14 16-17 15 Boston College 2-16 9-23
2016-17 CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT, New York, N.Y. Date Score Comments ========== ================================================== ================================== 03/07/2017 (12)Clemson 75, (13)North Carolina State 61 Round 1 03/07/2017 (10)Wake Forest 92, (15)Boston College 78 Round 1 03/07/2017 (14)Pittsburgh 61, (11)Georgia Tech 59 Round 1 03/08/2017 (9)Miami 62, (8)Syracuse 57 Round 2 03/08/2017 (5)Duke 79, (12)Clemson 72 Round 2 03/08/2017 (7)Virginia Tech 99, (10)Wake Forest 90 Round 2 03/08/2017 (6)Virginia 75, (14)Pittsburgh 63 Round 2 03/09/2017 (1)North Carolina 78, (9)Miami 53 Round 3 03/09/2017 (5)Duke 81, (4)Louisville 77 Round 3 03/09/2017 (2)Florida State 74, (7)Virginia Tech 68 Round 3 03/09/2017 (3)Notre Dame 71, (6)Virginia 58 Round 3 03/10/2017 (1)North Carolina 93, (5)Duke 83 Round 4 03/10/2017 (3)Notre Dame 77, (2)Florida State 73 Round 4 03/11/2017 (5)Duke 75, (3)Notre Dame 69 Round 5
2016-17 - 30 Point Club
Name Date Opponent FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- None2016-17 - 15 Rebound Club
Name Date Opponent O-REB D-REB TOTAL ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Jonathan Isaac 03/10/2017 Notre Dame 1 14 152016-17 - 10 Assist Club
Name Date Opponent Assists ------------------------------------------------------------------ Xavier Rathan-Mayes 02/20/2017 Boston College 10
--3 Point--- ----REBOUNDS-----
Name GP GS Min FGM FGA PCT FGM FGA PCT FTM FTA PCT PTS AVG OFF DEF TOT AVG PF DQ AST TO BLK STL
====================================================================================================================================
Dwayne Bacon 35 35 1008 221 489 .452 57 171 .333 104 138 .754 603 17.2 35 112 147 4.2 55 1 61 71 4 35
Jonathan Isaac 32 32 838 130 256 .508 31 89 .348 92 118 .780 383 12.0 56 195 251 7.8 70 1 37 48 49 37
Xavier Rathan-Mayes 35 35 969 134 296 .453 40 124 .323 62 117 .530 370 10.6 22 90 112 3.2 70 0 168 65 4 33
Terance Mann 35 34 876 114 198 .576 7 23 .304 59 89 .663 294 8.4 65 94 159 4.5 82 3 58 42 6 35
Michael Ojo 35 34 426 57 101 .564 0 0 .000 58 72 .806 172 4.9 55 57 112 3.2 71 0 7 27 30 10
Trent Forrest 35 0 538 61 129 .473 1 8 .125 48 71 .676 171 4.9 31 63 94 2.7 40 0 55 35 5 43
CJ Walker 33 0 414 54 136 .397 17 56 .304 36 55 .655 161 4.9 13 33 46 1.4 55 0 44 25 2 20
Braian Angola-Rodas 34 0 402 52 115 .452 21 50 .420 32 41 .780 157 4.6 11 44 55 1.6 40 0 42 18 4 15
PJ Savoy 28 0 228 47 114 .412 40 100 .400 21 30 .700 155 5.5 4 19 23 0.8 15 0 7 9 1 10
Jarquez Smith 35 3 460 60 115 .522 3 10 .300 30 46 .652 153 4.4 34 65 99 2.8 84 1 17 25 30 8
Christ Koumadje 35 0 355 53 81 .654 0 1 .000 12 25 .480 118 3.4 19 46 65 1.9 60 1 4 17 40 7
Phil Cofer 32 2 400 38 84 .452 6 16 .375 12 20 .600 94 2.9 21 41 62 1.9 32 0 7 25 3 4
Brandon Allen 14 0 86 15 32 .469 10 23 .435 2 2 1.00 42 3.0 1 5 6 0.4 10 0 4 3 2 2
Team 42 51 93 5
====================================================================================================================================
FSU 35 1036 2146 .483 233 671 .347 568 824 .689 2873 82.1 409 915 1324 37.8 684 7 511 415 180 259
Opp 35 857 2060 .416 259 743 .349 550 769 .715 2523 72.1 388 802 1190 34.0 690 11 424 494 104 176
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Streak Reaches Seven After 83-66 Victory Over Jaspers.
SUNRISE, FL – Sophomore Dwayne Bacon scored a team-high 16 points and was one of three Florida State players in double figures, along with Xavier Rathan-Mayes (10) and Trent Forrest (10), as the 23rd-ranked Seminoles won their seventh straight game following an 83-66 victory over Manhattan at the MetroPCS Orange Bowl Basketball Classic. The victory moves Florida State to 11-1 on the season and marks the best 12-game start since the 2003-04 campaign.
Bacon led the way for the Seminole offense by hitting 4-of-11 from the floor and 8-of-11 at the free throw line in 26 minutes of play, as he has now topped double figures in 21 consecutive contests. Rathan-Mayes was also integral in the Florida State offense, hitting 3-of-6 from the floor, including one from long distance, while handing out a game-high five assists.
Forrest provided Florida State with a scoring punch off the bench, reaching double digits for the second time in his last three games as he finished 4-of-5 from the floor, grabbed three rebounds and finished with three assists. The Seminole trio of Phil Cofer, Jonathan Isaac and Terance Mann narrowly missed double figures as they scored nine points apiece, helping Florida State to finish 27-of-48 (56.3%) from the floor and 27-of-40 (67.5%) at the free throw line.
Isaac was not only a key cog on offense for Florida State, but he also crashed the boards for a game-high nine rebounds, which would have marked his third career double-double. One of eight Seminoles with multiple rebounds, Isaac was joined on the front line by Mann (five rebounds) and Bacon (four).
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 Jonathan Isaac f 23 4 8 2 4 0 1 10 1 2 3 1 1 0 0 3
4 Dwayne Bacon g 27 7 14 4 6 5 6 23 3 6 9 2 2 0 1 2
14 Terance Mann g 26 4 7 0 2 0 0 8 1 5 6 3 3 1 0 1
22 Xavier Rathan-Mayes g 29 5 11 1 4 1 1 12 1 4 5 2 7 3 0 1
50 Michael Ojo c 10 1 2 0 0 2 2 4 0 3 3 0 0 2 1 0
0 Phil Cofer 14 2 4 0 0 0 0 4 0 1 1 2 1 1 0 0
2 CJ Walker 14 1 3 0 2 2 2 4 1 1 2 1 1 1 0 1
3 Trent Forrest 19 3 4 0 0 1 2 7 2 4 6 0 1 1 0 0
11 Braian Angola-Rodas 15 1 4 0 3 3 4 5 0 1 1 2 1 0 0 1
21 Christ Koumadje 13 4 8 0 0 1 1 9 2 1 3 2 0 1 3 0
23 Jarquez Smith 10 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 1 3 0 0 2 0
Team 2 2
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 33 67 7 21 15 19 88 11 31 42 18 17 10 7 9
Opp 200 24 60 7 25 12 19 67 8 22 30 19 11 15 6 3
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charleston Southern | |||
| Florida State |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
FSU Men Overwhelm Iona, 99-78.
By Tim Linafelt, Seminoles.com Senior Writer
TALLAHASSEE, FL – It was just like old times in the Donald L. Tucker Center on Tuesday night: Sam Cassell scoring from everywhere on the floor and the Florida State Seminoles walking out with a victory.
Except, this time, the Cassell in question was Sam Jr., son of FSU Hall-of-Famer Sam Cassell.
And his uniform at Iona College is more maroon and mustard than Garnet and Gold.
Otherwise, Cassell turned in a performance that would have made his dad proud: a game-high 28 points and three assists in 36 minutes of work.
“It felt like I was back at home,” said Cassell, who also played at nearby Chipola Junior College. “It’s my father’s team. I wanted to beat them so I could talk trash to him.”
The Seminoles, however, had something to say about that.
Matched up against an Iona team that ended last season in the NCAA tournament, FSU dominated from start to finish and rolled to a 99-78 victory in its second game of the regular season.
For the first time of his young career, heralded freshman Jonathan Isaac led the Seminoles (2-0) in scoring. The former prep All-American had 20 points on 6 of 8 shooting and grabbed six rebounds in just 23 minutes on the floor.
Isaac was one of six Seminoles to score in double figures, the first time that’s happened since Nov. 15, 2014.
Joining Isaac were Phil Cofer (13 points), Terance Mann (12), Jarquez Smith (12), Dwayne Bacon (10 points) and Trent Forrest (10).
Xavier Rathan-Mayes narrowly missed out on becoming the seventh, finishing with nine points, four rebounds and two assists.
“They made it to March Madness last year, and we kind of took that personally,” Smith said. “We didn’t make it. They made it. We (felt) we should have been there. So we said, ‘OK, it’s time to redeem ourselves.’”
It showed.
The Seminoles ran up their highest point total since scoring 109 in last year’s season-opener, and they could have topped that century mark had Rathan-Mayes not run out the clock at the end of the game.
And they did it despite shooting just 4 of 17 from 3-point range and 27-40 from the line.
As a result, they made an exceptional 30 of 42 (71.4 percent) shots from inside the arc. Iona, meanwhile, struggled to generate any offense outside of Cassell. The Gaels (0-1) shot just 37 percent from the field and made 9 of 31 3-point attempts.
“The quality of our depth allowed us to sustain our effort,” FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. “We were able to keep people fresh and we were able to make the adjustments that were necessary to play against their style.”
The Seminoles dictated terms for most of the second half.
After taking a 47-32 lead into the break, FSU used a 24-10 run to turn what had been a comfortable advantage into a full-fledged rout.
The Seminoles led 74-48 with 11:44 to go and never looked back.
“I’m pleased that we were focused. We were prepared,” Hamilton said. “I thought that our guys were locked in the last couple of days, in tune with the scouting report. And we went out and followed the strategy that we thought was best for us to win the game. So I see a level of maturity developing with this team.”
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 Jonathan Isaac f 23 6 8 2 3 6 7 20 2 4 6 1 0 1 1 2
4 Dwayne Bacon g 26 3 7 1 4 3 3 10 1 2 3 0 2 2 0 2
14 Terance Mann g 23 5 5 0 0 2 2 12 1 5 6 5 3 4 1 0
22 Xavier Rathan-Mayes g 21 2 6 1 4 4 8 9 0 4 4 2 2 2 1 0
50 Michael Ojo c 5 1 1 0 0 1 2 3 1 1 2 1 0 2 0 0
0 Phil Cofer 20 6 8 0 0 1 3 13 4 2 6 1 0 2 0 0
2 CJ Walker 15 1 4 0 2 4 5 6 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0
3 Trent Forrest 21 5 8 0 1 0 4 10 2 1 3 3 2 3 1 2
11 Braian Angola-Rodas 16 1 5 0 2 0 0 2 0 5 5 2 1 2 0 1
21 Christ Koumadje 7 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0
23 Jarquez Smith 23 3 5 0 1 6 6 12 0 7 7 3 0 0 0 0
Team 1 1 2 1
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 34 59 4 17 27 40 99 13 32 45 21 10 20 4 7
Opp 200 25 67 9 31 19 24 78 12 19 31 27 12 14 3 10
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iona College | |||
| Florida State |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Ojo Notches Double-Double in 100-86 Victory Over Winthrop.
TALLAHASSEE, FL – Friday was a big night – literally and figuratively – as the Florida State men’s basketball team improved to 3-0 for the first time three seasons with a 100-86 victory over Winthrop.
In a rare display of statistical dominance, seven-footers Michael Ojo and Christ Koumadje combined for 27 points and 13 rebounds as the Seminole wore down and eventually grounded a Winthrop team that has churned out 62 wins and played for three consecutive Big South Conference titles.
To the delight of the home crowd, the Noles also hit the century mark for the first time since knocking off Nicholls State 109-62 in last season's opener.
Professing his desire to man the center position by committee this season, FSU coach Leonard Hamilton could not have been happier with the production he received from Ojo and Koumadje, especially with fellow bigs Jarquez Smith and Phil Cofer somewhat limited.
“Ojo came in and had a double-double in 13 minutes and I thought Christ came in and gave us good solid play,” Hamilton said. “He’s finding his creases, setting his screens and rolling [to the basket] exactly like we’ve been trying to get him to do. Tonight was not Jarquez’s night, but the fact that all three of them had foul trouble and we were able to keep them fresh and finish the game is another example of us having quality depth.”
Ojo, a fifth-year senior averaging 1.9 points and 2.5 rebounds, was a force from the start. The 7-foot-1, 300-pound Nigerian eclipsed his career-high with 11 first half points and finished with 13 and a career-best 10 rebounds for his first career double-double.
His 10th rebound of the night triggered an FSU fastbreak, which Terance Mann finished off with a dunk for a 76-64 lead with 7:45 to play. It came during a stretch when the Noles opened up a 16-point lead by holding the Eagles (2-1) without a field goal for nearly four minutes.
“I call them like Noah’s Ark,” Winthrop coach Pat Kelsey said of Hamilton’s Seminoles. “They have two of everything all the time, but this is the first time they didn’t just have two of everything. It seems like they had four 7-footers and they just keep coming and keep coming. Those kids are good. Not only are they humongous, they’ve got good hands and they can all finish around the rim….
“They wear you down because they’re so big and strong and physical.”
Smith and Cofer, who did not play in the second half after tweaking the leg he injured early last season, combined for four points and six rebounds in just 14 minutes of action.
Ojo didn’t just get it done in the flow of the game. A career 41-percent free throw shooter, he drained 9-of-12 from the line, more than doubling his previous career high for made attempts.
“This year I have to make free throws and at least leave something behind that people will [remember] me from,” Ojo said. “‘He missed free throws for four years but his last year he actually made free throws.’”
So far, so good. He’s 12-of-16 from the stripe on the year.
No one seemed happier for Ojo than Koumadje, the Seminoles’ 7-foot-4 sophomore and practice partner, who compiled a personal highlight reel of his own with a wide array of alley-oop dunks on the way to a career-high 14-point performance.
“I feel very happy for him,” Koumadje said of Ojo. “He’s been working for this moment; waiting on this moment…To see him get reward like that with 10 rebounds and a double-double, I was really happy.”
In a program that has often revolved offensive around its perimeter players, the breakout night for the bigs was especially satisfying.
“It is rewarding to us as individuals because we put in so much effort and work into it,” Ojo said. “And for the coaches too, it just puts a smile on their face. For the win, which is the biggest thing of the night, it’s good just to put it all together for the win. I think it was big for our team.”
It took the Seminoles the better part of a half to get some breathing room against the Eagles. They carried a 53-47 lead into the locker room at the half, then gained some separation with a more spirited defensive effort in the second half as Winthrop shot just 35 percent from the floor after the break.
“They just keep coming at you and coming at you with waves of athleticism,” Kelsey said “Then I felt like our on-ball defense started to wane late in the game, they started attacking us…Late in the game we created the Florida State recruiting highlight tape for next year when they were just throwing alley-oops to everybody under the sun.”
Hamilton liked the defensive effort his club gave in the second half.
“We settled down in the second half and defended a lot better,” he said. “I thought we wore them down a little with the quality of our depth. They got some good looks in the second half but they did not make them, a lot because we played with a tremendous amount of energy.”
And beyond the post production, the Noles simply had too much firepower for the Eagles, who got a game-high 23 points from Xavier Cooks, which was not enough to counter FSU’s balance.
Dwayne Bacon led the Noles with 15 points and Jonathan Isaac added 14. Braian Angolas-Rodas contributed 11 off the bench.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 Jonathan Isaac f 25 5 11 3 6 1 2 14 1 4 5 3 0 2 1 0
4 Dwayne Bacon g 29 5 14 3 7 2 2 15 0 2 2 1 3 1 0 0
14 Terance Mann g 26 4 6 0 0 0 0 8 2 5 7 4 1 0 0 1
22 Xavier Rathan-Mayes g 26 2 8 1 5 2 2 7 2 1 3 1 9 1 0 1
50 Michael Ojo c 13 2 4 0 0 9 12 13 4 6 10 4 0 1 1 0
0 Phil Cofer 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
2 CJ Walker 13 1 3 0 1 3 5 5 1 1 2 4 2 0 0 1
3 Trent Forrest 16 2 4 0 0 5 6 9 0 3 3 2 2 0 0 2
11 Braian Angola-Rodas 21 5 11 1 1 0 0 11 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 2
21 Christ Koumadje 17 7 8 0 0 0 0 14 2 1 3 3 0 1 1 0
23 Jarquez Smith 10 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 5 5 3 0 0 0 0
Team 1 1
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 35 72 8 20 22 29 100 13 30 43 26 18 7 3 7
Opp 200 28 64 7 23 23 33 86 11 24 35 25 17 13 2 1
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winthrop | |||
| Florida State |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Bacon, Isaac Lead Five in Double Figures.
TALLAHASSEE, FL – It’s been 20 years since the Florida State men’s basketball team last strung together consecutive 100-point performances.
Fueled by a 32-4 run over an eight-minute stretch in the second half, the Seminoles put that two-decade drought to bed with Sunday’s 100-71 win over Detroit Mercy.
Sophomore Dwayne Bacon scored a game-high 22 points to lead five double-figure Seminole scorers, including freshman Jonathan Isaac, who posted his first career double-double with 14 points and a team-high 10 rebounds.
Freshman Trent Forrest’s baseline burst and dunk finish not only capped his career-high 12-point effort, but pushed the Seminoles (4-0) to the century mark with 23 seconds to play. That followed Friday’s 100-86 win over Winthrop.
You have to go back to December of 1996 to find the last consecutive 100-point performances by the Seminoles, when they won at Jacksonville 108-84 on Dec. 14 and followed up with a 100-63 win at home against Tennessee State three days later.
Had any one of the 13 missed free throws against Iona gone down in Tuesday’s 99-78 win, the Noles would be riding their first three-game 100-point stretch since the first three games of the 1988-89 season.
Through four games the Seminoles are averaging 96.7 points a game; 18 points higher than last year’s team, which was the highest-scoring FSU squad in coach Leonard Hamilton’s 14 seasons at the helm.
While it’s unrealistic to expect the Noles to maintain that pace, there is no doubt their new-found methodology is effective.
“We’re playing downhill more,” said Hamilton, whose team is relentlessly attacking the basket, pushing the pace at every opportunity and protecting the basketball better than ever. The Noles had only eight turnovers in 79 possessions, continuing an early trend of offensive efficiency.
And still, the Noles have embraced Hamilton’s long-held commitment to defense, which has been aided by a 10-man rotation through the first four games.
Bacon credited the defense with turning Sunday’s game against the Titans (1-3), who cut a 48-35 halftime deficit to 64-56 on Chris Jenkins’ jumper with 13:13 remaining in the game. Jenkins paced the Titans (1-3) with 18 points.
“Just defense; people buying in,” Bacon said, when asked what triggered the decisive 32-4 run. “When the subs came in they picked up right where the guys that came out left off. They played to exhaustion. We got a lot of stops, a lot of kick-aheads, a lot of run-outs, dunks [and] transition shots. We just made it very easy for our offense by the way we were playing on defense.”
The run began with a Jarquez Smith putback dunk and continued with Xavier Rathan-Mayes (10 points) and Terance Mann (11) knocking down four consecutive free throws. Rathan-Mayes had nine of his points during a 4:24 scoreless stretch by the Titans, amidst of flurry of dunks and driving layups by his teammates.
By the time the Noles were finished – with 4:28 remaining – they led 96-60.
“We had a stretch there where we had six stops and we scored on all six stops,” Hamilton said.
“Our defensive execution has a ways to go, but our effort is good. Part of our plan is to continue to play as hard as we can every possession and wear our opponents down.”
Or in Sunday’s case, out. The Seminoles’ attacking style produced 78 points in the paint.
“We’re a pretty good offensive team,” Rathan-Mayes said. “We like to get out and run. That’s what we’ve been preaching along, with defense. Getting out in transition and playing open-court basketball. These games we have shown we can play at a really high pace. We’re doing what we want to and getting wins while doing it.”
Now Hamilton and the Noles will get an idea whether their new-found style will travel. FSU plays three games in five days, beginning with Thursday’s date with Temple in the opening contest of the NIT Season Tip-Off at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. That will be followed by a date with either Illinois of Temple, and come home to meet Minnesota on Nov. 28 in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.
“We’re a team that’s still developing,” Hamilton said. “We’ve got three games in five days coming up against higher quality opponents. I’m interested to seehow we come out of that little stretch.”
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 Jonathan Isaac f 25 7 12 0 2 0 0 14 4 6 10 2 2 1 1 1
4 Dwayne Bacon g 28 9 15 0 3 4 4 22 1 0 1 0 1 2 0 2
14 Terance Mann g 30 3 6 0 1 5 5 11 0 4 4 1 2 1 0 0
22 Xavier Rathan-Mayes g 23 3 8 1 4 3 6 10 0 2 2 2 4 2 0 2
50 Michael Ojo c 14 2 4 0 0 0 1 4 2 5 7 1 0 0 1 0
2 CJ Walker 12 2 3 0 1 5 6 9 0 1 1 2 1 0 0 1
3 Trent Forrest 20 6 7 0 0 0 2 12 1 2 3 1 5 0 0 4
11 Braian Angola-Rodas 18 2 4 0 1 0 0 4 0 3 3 1 2 1 0 1
21 Christ Koumadje 13 3 4 0 0 0 0 6 2 3 5 1 0 1 1 0
23 Jarquez Smith 12 3 4 0 0 2 2 8 1 2 3 2 1 0 3 0
40 Brandon Allen 5 0 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
Team 1 1 2
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 40 70 1 14 19 26 100 12 29 41 14 18 8 6 11
Opp 200 28 68 8 22 7 13 71 12 19 31 22 14 16 2 4
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit-Mercy | |||
| Florida State |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Bacon Leads Four In Double Figures Versus Temple.
BROOKLYN, NY – Dwayne Bacon scored a team-high 22 points and led four Seminole starters in double figures, but it was a late rally by Temple toppled 25th-ranked Florida State from the ranks of the unbeaten as the Owls emerged with an 89-86 victory in the NIT Season Tip-Off at the Barclays Center on Thursday afternoon.
Bacon, who scored 18 of his 22 points in the second half, was the go-to weapon for a Florida State’s high-octane offense that finished 18-of-31 (58.1%) in the frame. The Seminoles (4-1) also took advantage of 11 offensive rebounds to finish with a 36-28 advantage in points in the paint.
Bacon, finished off his third 20-point performance of the season by hitting 9-of-12 from the floor and 3-for-4 from beyond the arc. He led the way for a Florida State offense that converted 33-of-60 (55%) shots from the floor and 8-of-18 (44.4%) attempts from 3-point range. The sophomore guard was joined in double figures by the trio of Jonathan Isaac (19 points), Xavier Rathan-Mayes (11) and Terance Mann (10).
Isaac tied his season-high in field goals (seven) as he topped double figures for the fifth straight contest. Along with hitting 7-of-12 from the floor, including a pair of 3-pointers, Isaac pulled down a team-high seven rebounds, handed out three assists and had two blocked shots.
Leading 41-33 at the intermission, Florida State scored 19 of the first 30 points of the second half to move in front 60-42. Isaac was the focal point of the Seminole offense in that stretch, scoring 10 of the 18 points, as he knocked down a pair of 3-pointers in the process.
Temple (3-2) briefly cut the lead to 11, 63-52, on a pair of free throws by Quinton Rose, before a 3-point by Bacon put the Seminoles in front by 16.
The Owls turned up their defensive pressure with Florida State leading 70-58 with 9:11 remaining in the contest. Temple also got a life from Shizz Alston Jr., who scored knocked down two 3-pointers as he scored eight of the next 10 points to pull Temple within two, 72-70, in just under two minutes of action.
Rose eventually tied the game at 74-all as neither team was able to sustain more than a four-point advantage for the next 2:49 of the game. It was there that Temple’s Obi Enechionyia knocked down a timely 3-pointer to put the Owls up five, 85-80.
Freshman Trent Forrest stepped up in the clutch for the Seminoles, scoring three of the next six points, including a layup, as Florida State trailed 87-86 with 1:20 remaining. The Florida State defense forced a pair of missed shots by the Owls, but an inbounds attempt in the paint by Isaac was unsuccessful as Temple eventually came away with the three-point victory.
Rathan-Mayes reached double figures for the third time this season and second time in as many games after hitting 4-of-10 from the floor. Rathan-Mayes kept his teammates involved offensively as he dished out six of the Florida State’s 18 assists.
Rounding out the double figure starters for the Seminoles was Mann, who shot 50 percent from the floor (4-8) and added a pair of free throws for his third double-digit outing of the season.
Rathan-Mayes exploded for 11 points in the first half, leading the way for a Florida State unit that hit 15-of-29 (51.7%) from the floor and 8-of-11 (72.7%) at the free throw line.
The junior point guard scored four of the first 11 points for the Seminoles, who grabbed an 11-4 advantage just under six minutes into the game. Temple countered by scoring six of the next nine points, pulling to within three, but Isaac and Bacon combined for the next six points as Florida State grabbed a 19-14 lead.
Rathan-Mayes and Phil Cofer knocked down a pair of 3-pointers for Florida State, who moved in front 25-19, as the offense got back on track. A layup by Isaac on a pass from Jarquez Smith along with a three-pointer from the corner by CJ Walker with 3:17 remaining in the half gave the Seminoles their first double figure lead of the afternoon, 34-24.
Michael Ojo eventually pushed the lead to 12, but the two teams split the final 14 points of the first half as Florida State took a 10-point lead into the locker room.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 Jonathan Isaac f 27 7 12 2 5 3 4 19 1 6 7 0 3 0 2 1
4 Dwayne Bacon g 27 9 12 3 4 1 3 22 0 2 2 3 1 2 0 2
14 Terance Mann g 30 4 8 0 0 2 2 10 1 4 5 5 3 0 1 1
22 Xavier Rathan-Mayes g 29 4 10 1 5 2 3 11 1 0 1 3 6 1 0 0
50 Michael Ojo c 10 2 2 0 0 2 2 6 2 2 4 1 1 1 1 0
0 Phil Cofer 22 2 6 1 1 0 0 5 1 1 2 1 0 2 0 0
2 CJ Walker 6 3 5 1 2 0 0 7 1 1 2 2 1 0 0 1
3 Trent Forrest 18 1 2 0 0 2 4 4 0 1 1 2 0 4 1 0
11 Braian Angola-Rodas 8 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 0 0
21 Christ Koumadje 7 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
23 Jarquez Smith 16 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 1 2 0 0
Team 4 1 5
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 33 60 8 18 12 18 86 11 19 30 22 17 13 5 5
Opp 200 29 62 11 21 20 27 89 17 19 36 18 12 12 9 5
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Temple |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Bacon Scores 17, Isaac Adds 15 in 72-61 Win.
NEW YORK, NY — Leonard Hamilton has a problem.
He has 10 players who can play.
It's a complication that other coaches only wish they could have.
"That's who we are," Hamilton said following No. 25 Florida State's 72-61 win over Illinois in the consolation game of the NIT Season Tip-Off on Friday.
The Seminoles (5-1), which bounced back from their first loss of the season Thursday in Brooklyn, had six players play at least 20 minutes and 10 players played 10 or more minutes. Trent Forrest's 26 minutes led Florida State.
"It's a little problematic for us right now as we try to play so many different combinations of guys," Hamilton said.
Dwayne Bacon scored 17 points to lead Florida State. Jonathan Isaac had 15 points and seven rebounds. CJ Walker finished with 13 and Xavier Rathan-Mayes had 10.
"We sustained our effort, our focus, better than we did yesterday," Hamilton said. "We got great play from our bench. The guys gave us tremendous energy. They gave Bacon and Isaac an opportunity (for) a breather here and there. Everybody who came into the game contributed.
"The residual effect of that was (we) were always fresh; (I) was always able to keep a fresh group in there," he said.
Despite getting a game-high 18 points from Malcolm Hill, Illinois (4-3) lost its third straight. Leron Black chipped in with 15 points, and Te'Jon Lucas had 10.
"I liked our fight," John Groce said. "The two bright spots as we move forward are Black and Lucas."
The first meeting between the ACC and Big 10 programs was a taut affair for 30 minutes before Florida State seized control.
Tied 44-all with less than 10 minutes to play, the Seminoles outscored the Illini 7-0 in a 56 second span. The run was sparked by Forrest, who had two steals and drew a shooting foul.
"That was the key stretch that kind of broke it open," Groce said.
Illinois had cut the deficit to 55-50, but as soon as it looked as if the Illini were about to make a game of it, the Seminoles went on an 11-1 run to extend their lead to 66-51.
"Against a team of that quality in this type of environment if you don't get stops but two out of 13 times during that stretch when it went from 44-44 to when they got the lead, it's tough to win," Groce said.
BIG PICTURE
Illinois: The Illini came into the tournament having won four of five. The Illini leave Brooklyn having been swept by nationally ranked West Virginia and Florida State. While Illinois was more competitive against Florida State than it was against West Virginia, the Illini were outclassed in the final 10 minutes of the consolation game.
Florida State: The Seminoles had not played a game in which they scored fewer than 86 points this season until this win.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Florida State: Despite the win over Illinois, Florida State may drop out of the Top 25 due to its loss to unranked Temple on Thursday.
NOTABLE
Illinois: Senior guard Tracy Abrams was examined by a trainer during a second half stoppage in play after being inadvertently elbowed in the mouth by Florida State center Michael Ojo, fighting for position in the low blocks.
Florida State: Finished the game with seven blocked shots and five steals.
QUOTABLE
"We try to be consistent. It's somewhat challenging this time of year for us (with) five new players (we're) trying to rotate (into the lineup). They're getting a lot of minutes," — Hamilton on the benefit of having a deep roster once conference play begins.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 Jonathan Isaac f 24 6 7 3 4 0 0 15 0 7 7 2 1 4 1 0
4 Dwayne Bacon g 21 6 13 3 5 2 5 17 1 1 2 0 1 1 0 0
14 Terance Mann g 18 0 2 0 0 1 2 1 0 2 2 2 2 0 0 0
22 Xavier Rathan-Mayes g 26 3 8 0 2 4 6 10 0 0 0 3 2 1 0 0
50 Michael Ojo c 22 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 3 3 6 3 0 0 1 0
0 Phil Cofer 12 2 4 0 1 0 2 4 1 1 2 0 1 0 0 0
2 CJ Walker 25 5 8 2 2 1 1 13 0 4 4 3 1 0 0 1
3 Trent Forrest 26 2 5 0 0 3 3 7 2 3 5 1 2 1 1 4
11 Braian Angola-Rodas 10 1 3 1 1 0 0 3 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 0
21 Christ Koumadje 12 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 1 4 0
23 Jarquez Smith 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0
Team 2 1 3
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 26 54 9 15 11 19 72 9 24 33 18 12 9 7 5
Opp 200 19 58 5 22 18 21 61 16 25 41 19 11 11 0 2
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Illinois |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Isaac, Bacon Instrumental in 75-67 Win Over Minnesota.
By Tim Linafelt, Seminoles.com Senior Writer
TALLAHASSEE, FL – Make it two for two over the Big Ten for the Florida State men’s basketball team.
Three days removed from a 72-61 victory over Illinois, the Seminoles doubled up with a 75-67 win against Minnesota on Monday night at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
Florida State’s sixth win of the season is also its first in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge since 2007-08.
“There was a lot of pride on the line,” said sophomore guard Dwayne Bacon, who led FSU with 18 points. “We haven’t won an ACC/Big Ten Challenge in (nine) years … and we wanted to just come out and defend our home court.”
Since preseason practice, Hamilton has praised his team’s depth and said that it would often be the key to its success.
The Seminoles made believers out of the Golden Gophers on Monday night, as they used 12 different players, seven of whom played at least 13 minutes.
It helped FSU turn what was a close contest at halftime – 33-31 in favor of Minnesota – into a lopsided affair with about five minutes to go in the game.
“They’re a big, strong, tough team,” Minnesota coach Richard Pitino said. “They wear you out.”
Both teams might have been a little worn out after a first half that featured 28 foul calls and took more than an hour to finish.
That pace – or lack thereof – prevented either team from finding much rhythm or flow, and led to chants of “Let them play,” from the 5,993 fans in attendance.
“I thought we fouled an awful lot tonight,” FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. “I don’t think we did anything intentionally. I just thought we were making adjustments to the way the game was being officiated.”
The Seminoles, however, broke through in the second half with two quick baskets from Dwayne Bacon and Xavier Rathan-Mayes.
Those buckets helped turned the tide and, a few moments later, FSU swung the momentum for good when Christ Koumadje blocked a shot so hard that it traveled down the floor to Bacon, who finished off a heavy dunk that sent the crowd to its feet and extended the Seminoles’ lead to 13.
FSU built that lead to as much as 19 points before sputtering a bit while trying to run out the clock.
Minnesota finished on a 16-5 run to provide the final margin.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for (Florida State),” Pitino said. “Coach Hamilton does a good job of just forcing you to make plays, kind of taking you out of your offense. We got a little bit desperate and got a little bit desperate and then got beat off the bounce.”
Of the 12 Seminoles to log game action, only Bacon and freshman Jonathan Isaac played more than 30 minutes.
Isaac added 14 points and 13 rebounds for the second double-double of his young career.
“I was especially proud of those two guys,” Hamilton said of Bacon and Isaac. “In the first half we were trying to encourage Dwayne to be a little bit more aggressive, but I was very pleased with his savvy. He never forced a shot. He moved the ball. When he had his opportunities, he took advantage of them.
“Jonathan, I thought, exerted himself very well in the second half.”
The Seminoles made 43 percent of their shots from the field despite finishing 2 of 16 from 3-point range.
And the enjoyed one of their better defensive efforts of the season, limiting the Golden Gophers to just 19 of 59 (32.2 percent) shooting.
Hamilton said that FSU’s defensive prowess helped spark the Seminoles’ offensive dominance in the second half.
“We tried to dictate with our defense,” he said. “Trapping, rotating, not allowing them to just come down and dictate the tempo that was convenient for them.”
Monday’s win finished a stretch of three games in five days for the Seminoles, who will have the rest of this week to rest and practice before heading to Washington, D.C., to take on George Washington on Sunday.
“We knew this was going to be a very difficult stretch for us,” Hamilton said. “To come out of it 6-1 and still have a lot of room for improvement, I think, is a positive sign for our kids going forward.”
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 Jonathan Isaac f 32 5 10 0 3 4 6 14 3 10 13 2 1 3 2 2
4 Dwayne Bacon g 33 6 11 2 4 4 6 18 2 3 5 1 2 2 0 0
14 Terance Mann g 28 1 4 0 1 2 2 4 0 5 5 3 1 2 0 2
22 Xavier Rathan-Mayes g 22 3 7 0 2 1 2 7 0 3 3 3 1 2 0 0
50 Michael Ojo c 17 3 4 0 0 6 9 12 3 2 5 4 0 1 1 0
0 Phil Cofer 15 0 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
2 CJ Walker 13 1 5 0 2 2 2 4 0 0 0 2 1 2 0 0
3 Trent Forrest 14 0 3 0 1 5 6 5 1 2 3 3 2 0 0 0
5 PJ Savoy 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
11 Braian Angola-Rodas 4 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 0 1 1 1 1 2 0 1
21 Christ Koumadje 15 3 4 0 0 1 3 7 0 3 3 3 1 0 1 0
23 Jarquez Smith 7 1 2 0 0 1 2 3 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0
Team 3 3
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 23 54 2 16 27 40 75 12 29 41 25 10 15 4 5
Opp 200 19 59 7 21 22 36 67 14 21 35 28 8 17 4 5
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota | |||
| Florida State |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Defense, Rathan-Mayes Highlight Win Over Colonials.
WASHINGTON, DC — Xavier Rathan-Mayes and CJ Walker both scored 11 points as Florida State used a suffocating defense to defeat short-handed George Washington 67-48 on Sunday in the BB&T Classic.
Dwayne Bacon added 10 points for the Seminoles (7-1), who have won three in a row since a Thanksgiving Day loss to Temple in the NIT Season Tip-Off.
"We felt if we didn't come here and play with a sense of urgency, there was a possibility things wouldn't turn out well," Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton said. "I thought our guys responded real well defensively, and in the first half I thought we executed very well offensively."
Florida State never trailed while badgering George Washington (5-4) with their size and length. The Colonials committed 18 turnovers and shot just 22.6 percent from the field and 17.4 percent from 3-point range. George Washington especially struggled in the first half, shooting 20 percent while committing 11 turnovers en route to a 35-19 deficit.
George Washington played without two of its regulars. Junior guard Yuta Watanabe, the team's second-leading scorer, missed his fourth consecutive game with a calf injury. Graduate student Patrick Steeves sat out his second game in a row with a knee injury.
Freshman Kevin Marfo led George Washington with a career-high 18 points.
"You could make all the excuses in the world --- we played yesterday, we have injuries, this that and the third," George Washington interim coach Maurice Joseph said. "We're not going to make excuses. We got our butts kicked. Now we have to see how we respond."
Florida State, which led as many as 35, dominated inside with a 34-18 scoring advantage in the paint.
The Seminoles kept Colonials forward Tyler Cavanaugh, the team's top scorer at 18.1 points per game, to just eight points and six rebounds and limited guard Jaren Sina to nine points on 2 of 9 shooting.
"We had a great mindset coming into this game," Rathan-Mayes said. "They have two main guys on their team in Sina and Cavanaugh, and we wanted to limit their touches, take away post catches and really make it tough on them. They were a two-headed snake and if we were able to cut that off, we were going to be able to hold them to a low field goal percentage and I think we did a great job of that."
BIG PICTURE
Florida State: Hamilton's team, which routinely visited the Washington area when Maryland was still in the ACC, showed off its
depth against George Washington. All 12 Seminoles who played scored in the rout.
George Washington: The Colonials, who edged South Florida 68-67 on Saturday, were overwhelmed by Florida State while playing their second game in a little more than 24 hours.
INJURY
Florida State freshman forward Jonathan Isaac, who started the Seminoles' first seven games and is averaging
15.1 points, sat out with a hip flexor.
TURNING POINT
After George Washington tied it at 5, Rathan-Mayes hit a 3-pointer with 14:07 left in the first half and Christ Koumadje followed
with a dunk two possessions later for the Seminoles. Florida State's lead never dipped to less than five the rest of the way.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
0 Phil Cofer f 14 1 5 0 0 0 0 2 0 4 4 0 0 0 0 0
4 Dwayne Bacon g 22 4 11 0 4 2 3 10 2 4 6 0 0 1 0 0
14 Terance Mann g 31 3 8 0 1 0 0 6 1 3 4 2 3 3 0 2
22 Xavier Rathan-Mayes g 22 4 8 3 5 0 0 11 0 6 6 1 5 2 0 2
50 Michael Ojo c 12 1 2 0 0 1 2 3 2 2 4 3 0 0 2 0
2 CJ Walker 18 4 7 1 3 2 2 11 1 0 1 1 1 2 0 3
3 Trent Forrest 18 1 3 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 2 1 5 0 0 2
5 PJ Savoy 12 2 5 2 4 0 0 6 0 1 1 2 1 2 0 0
11 Braian Angola-Rodas 17 1 2 1 2 0 0 3 1 1 2 2 0 0 0 1
21 Christ Koumadje 12 4 6 0 0 0 0 8 1 3 4 2 0 0 3 0
23 Jarquez Smith 14 1 5 0 0 0 1 2 1 3 4 5 2 0 1 0
40 Brandon Allen 8 1 4 1 3 0 0 3 0 2 2 1 0 2 0 0
Team 1 1 2
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 27 66 8 22 5 8 67 12 30 42 20 17 12 6 10
Opp 200 14 62 4 23 16 24 48 23 29 52 14 6 18 4 7
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| George Washington |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Smith, Savoy Spark Southern Miss Shellacking.
TALLAHASSEE, FL – Making his first start in two seasons, senior Jarquez Smith wasted no time setting the tone for Florida State’s most lopsided victory of the season, Tuesday night’s 98-49 shellacking of Southern Miss.
After rejecting a Michael Ramey 3-point attempt on the Golden Eagles first shot of the night – the 100th of his career - Smith saved the ball from going out of bounds. Smith’s reward for the effort was Dwayne Bacon’s assist for an uncontested 3-pointer to begin the onslaught.
Sandwiching a pair of 3-pointers around one from Bacon, Smith and the Seminoles (8-1) ran off to a 9-2 start and were never threatened by the over-matched Golden Eagles (3-4).
“That whole sequence felt great,” said Smith, whose season-high 14 points was his most productive offensive outing in two seasons. “I was just trying to get the offense going. Tonight is going to give me a big boost, especially the confidence. I know when I hit those two 3s and got that block it gave the team a lot of energy and from that point on we just built on it.”
On a night when Bacon was the lone usual suspect among scoring contributors, finishing with 13 points, the Seminoles received a career-high 27 points from sophomore junior college transfer PJ Savoy. Playing in just his third game following a preseason injury – his first at home – Savoy was responsible for seven of FSU’s 14 3-pointers, which ties for the sixth-most in program history.
PJ has not had an opportunity to show what he’s capable of doing,” FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. “We’ve all known he’s a really, really good shooter. I think you all saw a little bit of what I’ve been talking about.”
With forwards Jonathan Isaac and Phil Cofer unavailable, redshirt junior Brandon Allen made the most of early-game minutes, contributing a career-high 10 points aided by a pair of 3-pointers.
“The coaches have been persistently telling me, ‘Stay ready, keep working hard and keep your head up, You’ll get your chance,’” Allen said. “It was just a lot of fun. It felt really good getting in early. It was only a 10-point lead and we were trying to extend the lead.”
Allen’s runner near the midway mark of the first half began an 11-0 run, pushing the Seminoles’ lead to 21 points.
The Seminoles led 48-26 at the half, their largest midway margin of the season, as the Golden Eagles missed 20 of their first 30 shot attempts.
“In the three years that I’ve been at Southern Miss, they are the best team we’ve played,” said Southern Miss coach Doc Sadler. “This [FSU] team has a chance to be really, really good. I thought our guys tried but their pressure just ate us alive.
“We never got started and they got to the top of the hill fast and started going downhill quick.”
The second half featured more of the same at both ends for the Noles as Savoy heated up offensively and the defense continued to overwhelm FSU’s former Metro Conference rivals, who were making their first visit to the Donald L. Tucker Center since Feb. 26, 1991.
There was nothing nostalgic about the second half for Southern Miss, which turned the ball over 12 times on the way to 20 for the game and shot just 27 percent from the floor after intermission. Over the last four games, FSU’s opponents are shooting just 29 percent (71-of-242) from the floor.
“I was pleased with our effort,” Hamilton said. “We won a game we were supposed to win.”
Playing the second of four games in an eight-day stretch, Hamilton effectively managed his team’s minutes as only three players logged 20 or more.
“We moved the ball; made the extra pass,” Hamilton said, after his team dished out 23 assists on 36 field goals. “I thought we played tremendously unselfish. You like to see that type of chemistry developing with your team this early in the season.”
And that was evident from the start, thanks to the early play of Smith and those who followed his lead.
“We’ve been looking Quez to give us that spark,” Allen said of his veteran teammate. “He’s been coming off the bench and not quite giving us the impact that we thought he should, and maybe giving him that start tonight will get him jump-started. You could see it with our whole team…It shows a lot about our team, how we root for each other and we’re all in it together.”
Smith’s hook shot in the lane midway through the second half began a 14-0 FSU run as the Seminoles pushed their lead to 84-41 before closing the night with five 3-pointers over the final five minutes of the 51-point win.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
4 Dwayne Bacon g 24 5 12 1 5 2 2 13 1 4 5 1 2 1 0 1
14 Terance Mann g 19 3 3 0 0 1 2 7 2 1 3 1 2 1 0 3
22 Xavier Rathan-Mayes g 19 2 4 0 2 1 1 5 0 2 2 2 7 4 0 3
23 Jarquez Smith f 20 5 6 2 3 2 2 14 0 1 1 1 1 3 2 2
50 Michael Ojo c 17 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 1 5 6 4 0 0 2 0
2 CJ Walker 19 4 6 1 1 0 0 9 0 3 3 2 5 1 0 1
3 Trent Forrest 21 1 5 0 1 2 2 4 2 7 9 1 1 0 0 2
5 PJ Savoy 14 8 11 7 10 4 4 27 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
11 Braian Angola-Rodas 23 2 6 1 4 0 0 5 0 3 3 2 3 2 1 2
21 Christ Koumadje 14 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 2 0 2 1 3 0
40 Brandon Allen 10 4 5 2 3 0 0 10 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
Team 1 1 2
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 36 60 14 29 12 13 98 7 29 36 14 23 14 8 14
Opp 200 19 63 5 28 6 9 49 14 17 31 15 12 20 0 2
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Mississippi | |||
| Florida State |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Seminoles Defeat Nicholls State, 118-63.
By Tim Linafelt, Seminoles.com Senior Writer
TALLAHASSEE, FL – The Florida State basketball fans who stayed up late on Thursday night were rewarded with a little bit of history.
The Seminoles routed Nicholls State, 118-63, after a late-night tip-off at the Donald L. Tucker Center. In the process, they reached the highest single-game point total of coach Leonard Hamilton’s 15-year tenure and the most since scoring 133 against Central Florida in 1988.
Florida State is 9-1 for the first time since 2008-09 and hosts No. 21 Florida on Sunday at 4 p.m.
“Tonight was one of those games that we knew going into it that we would have this team outmanned,” said Hamilton, who moved into ninth place on the ACC’s all-time conference wins list with 265.
“We challenged them to see whether or not they could go out and play a game and not anybody take a possession off. We’re trying to develop that junkyard dog mentality that we’re taking every possession seriously.”
If the Seminoles didn’t do that on Thursday night, it was awfully hard to tell.
FSU had seven players score in double-figures but, in a testament to the Seminoles’ depth (and to Hamilton’s commitment to emptying his bench), no one scored more than P.J. Savoy’s 18.
Savoy, a sophomore junior-college transfer from Las Vegas, continued a torrid pace that started in Monday’s win over Southern Mississippi.
He made 6 of 14 3-point attempts in just 23 minutes on Thursday and has made 13 3-pointers in his last two games.
After missing FSU’s first six games with an injury, Savoy is now FSU’s third-leading average scorer with 12.8 points per game.
“Boy,” junior guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes said before stopping to chuckle and shake his head. “We were telling him, he’d better know that when he comes in the game, he’s on the (opponent’s) scouting report now. He’s doing a great job for us.”
And he was far from the only one.
The Seminoles shot a season-high 62.5 percent from the field, made 53.1 percent of their 3-point attempts and were even 11 of 12 from the free-throw line.
Rathan-Mayes and sophomore Dwayne Bacon each chipped in 16 points, while Rathan-Mayes briefly flirted with a triple-double by adding seven rebounds and seven assists.
Braian Angola-Rodas (14 points), Trent Forrest (13) Brandon Allen (11) and Michael Ojo (10) all reached double-digits as well.
Florida State scored a startling 52 fast-break points while racking up 32 assists.
“They’re the best team that I’ve ever coached against at attacking you on a miss to get to the paint,” Nicholls State coach Richie Riley said. “They’re so fast in transition. Bacon getting downhill, Rathan-Mayes getting downhill, it’s hard (to defend).”
A former Clemson assistant in his first year at Nicholls State, Riley has had a first-hand look at the Seminoles for the past few years.
And, from his perspective, it’s the Seminoles renewed commitment to defense that is making the difference for the so far this season.
“I’m really familiar with them,” Riley said. “They really guard you. I think Florida State this year is back to guarding like a lot of (Hamilton’s) traditional teams. They really defend you, and it made it tough for us.”
“Tough” may be an understatement. Florida State scored the game’s first 14 points and didn’t allow the Colonels to crack the scoreboard until a pair of free throws at the 13:52 mark of the first half.
Nicholls State didn’t score its first field goal until more than three minutes later. The Colonels finished with a 33.9 shooting percentage and made only four of their 23 3-point attempts.
And when Hamilton noticed a defensive lapse or two – as he did when Nicholls State went on a brief scoring run late in the first half – he didn’t hesitate to call timeout and settle things down.
“There’s no question that we’re getting the effort fundamentally,” Hamilton said. “We’re still making some mistakes, but that’s to be expected with the new players we have. I know they recognize when they make a mistake and they’re calling each other out. They’re communicating with each other.”
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
4 Dwayne Bacon g 23 6 10 1 2 3 3 16 0 5 5 3 4 0 0 1
14 Terance Mann g 18 1 3 0 1 2 2 4 0 1 1 0 0 2 0 1
22 Xavier Rathan-Mayes g 22 6 9 3 4 1 2 16 2 5 7 1 7 2 0 3
23 Jarquez Smith f 7 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
50 Michael Ojo c 16 5 5 0 0 0 0 10 1 1 2 3 0 2 3 0
2 CJ Walker 17 2 3 1 2 0 0 5 1 1 2 4 4 2 0 2
3 Trent Forrest 18 6 7 1 1 0 0 13 2 4 6 1 6 2 0 2
5 PJ Savoy 23 6 14 6 14 0 0 18 0 2 2 0 3 0 0 0
11 Braian Angola-Rodas 19 4 6 2 3 4 4 14 0 2 2 1 5 0 1 1
21 Christ Koumadje 20 4 6 0 0 1 1 9 2 3 5 4 0 1 3 0
40 Brandon Allen 17 4 7 3 5 0 0 11 0 2 2 2 3 0 0 0
Team 2 4 6
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 45 72 17 32 11 12 118 10 30 40 21 32 11 7 10
Opp 200 21 62 4 23 17 22 63 14 16 30 12 11 20 5 4
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicholls State | |||
| Florida State |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Seminoles, Bacon Take Down No. 21 Florida, 83-78.
By Tim Linafelt, Seminoles.com Senior Writer
TALLAHASSEE, FL – Last season, Dwayne Bacon beat the Florida Gators by making a mid-range jump shot with less than five seconds to play.
A year later, Bacon didn’t beat any buzzers, but the results were no less devastating.
A sophomore from Lakeland, Bacon scored 24 points – including 16 in the second half – to lead Florida State to an 83-78 victory over No. 21 Florida in the Fresh From Florida Sunshine Showdown on Sunday afternoon at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
FSU is 10-1 for the first time since 2008-09 and has won three straight over the Gators (7-3) for the first time since 2006-08.
“It means a lot for the school,” said sophomore forward Terance Mann, who earned his first career double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. “And, for the fans, they get to talk their stuff to the Florida fans.”
And talk they did.
As the clock ticked toward zero, chants of “Just like football” rained down from most of the 10,029 fans in attendance, a joyous jab in celebration of a Seminole sweep over Florida State’s fiercest rival.
Dating back to Nov. 26, FSU’s athletics programs are 4-0 against Florida. That stretch includes a 31-13 win in football, a 3-2 triumph in volleyball and an 83-58 victory in women’s basketball.
This is a big game for our school, our state,” Bacon said. “It’s always been the most important rivalry for Florida State. This is a big game because we see these guys every year and we play them once. It’s not like Miami, where we play them twice, there and at home. We play (UF) once. “It’s a great opportunity for me. I knew, coming here, getting a chance to play Florida was going to be a big dream.”
He’s been a nightmare for the Gators.
Bacon has scored 24 in each of his two games against UF, and it’s hard to decide which of his two performances were better.
He was virtually unstoppable on Sunday, especially in the second half where he shot 7 of 11 from the field.
And the box score doesn’t show the way Bacon hit off-balance jumpers with the shot clock winding down.
Or how he crossed up UF’s Canyon Barry for a layup and then drew a foul for a three-point play that extended FSU’s lead to 68-56 just a few moments after the Gators had cut their deficit to seven.
“He made some huge shots,” FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. “He’s a very good basketball player.”
Asked when he knew Bacon would be a problem, UF coach Mike White laughed and said, “When he walked on the court for warmups.”
“He’s really, really talented,” White continued. “He broke down our defense again.”
Florida State led 36-34 at halftime and, sparked by a 14-6 run to begin the second half, led by as much as 13 with 11:51 to go.
The Gators, however, rallied down the stretch and closed within three points on two separate occasions.
The late-game drama provided Mann the stage for his biggest play of the night: a leaping rebound over the head of Barry after UF sharpshooter KeVaughn Allen missed a 3-pointer that would have tied the game with 45 seconds on the clock.
Barry hit the floor and came up bleeding from his face, but officials ruled that it was Mann who had been fouled. He then made two free throws to extend the lead back to two possessions.
Terance has kind of turned out to be the leader,” Hamilton said. “All the tough, hard-nosed plays that have to be made, he always seems to come up with them.”
Florida made just one of its last five field-goal attempts and even that – a surprise 3-pointer from center John Egbunu – could only trim FSU’s lead to four.
Jonathan Isaac then hit two free throws with five seconds left to seal the game.
Isaac had nine points and six rebounds in his first game after missing the last three contests with an injury.
“We had some moments where that we were indecisive, but I thought we had quick recoveries,” Hamilton said. “We showed the ability to recover quick when we make mistakes. This is the type of game that will help you grow up a bit.”
Florida State emerges 4-0 from a stretch of four games in eight days, and, with a win over the Gators in the books, has a strong case to be ranked in this week’s top 25.
The Seminoles have a week off for final exams before heading south to take on Manhattan at the Orange Bowl Classic in Sunrise, Fla.
“The good thing about our team is we have so much room for improvement,” Hamilton said. “We still have a lot of growth. So I’m encouraged that the potential is there for us to keep getting better.”
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 Jonathan Isaac f 19 1 4 1 3 6 6 9 1 5 6 2 0 2 0 0
4 Dwayne Bacon g 31 9 18 0 4 6 7 24 1 2 3 1 2 2 0 1
14 Terance Mann g 31 6 10 0 0 4 8 16 2 8 10 1 2 3 0 1
22 Xavier Rathan-Mayes g 29 3 6 1 2 0 1 7 0 3 3 1 2 3 0 0
50 Michael Ojo c 16 1 4 0 0 6 6 8 4 3 7 3 1 0 1 0
0 Phil Cofer 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0
2 CJ Walker 7 0 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
3 Trent Forrest 21 3 5 0 0 2 2 8 0 1 1 1 1 2 0 0
5 PJ Savoy 5 1 3 1 3 0 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
11 Braian Angola-Rodas 12 2 4 1 2 1 1 6 1 4 5 1 2 0 0 1
21 Christ Koumadje 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 4 0 1 2 1
23 Jarquez Smith 12 1 2 0 0 0 2 2 1 3 4 2 0 0 0 0
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 27 59 4 15 25 33 83 11 31 42 17 10 14 4 4
Opp 200 29 62 4 16 16 25 78 9 24 33 24 9 9 2 5
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | |||
| Florida State |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Streak Reaches Seven After 83-66 Victory Over Jaspers.
SUNRISE, FL – Sophomore Dwayne Bacon scored a team-high 16 points and was one of three Florida State players in double figures, along with Xavier Rathan-Mayes (10) and Trent Forrest (10), as the 23rd-ranked Seminoles earned their seventh straight win, 83-66, over Manhattan at the MetroPCS Orange Bowl Basketball Classic. The victory moves Florida State to 11-1 on the season and marks the best 12-game start since the 2003-04 campaign.
Bacon, who earned Most Valuable Player honors at the event, led the way for the Seminole offense by hitting 4-of-11 from the floor and 8-of-11 at the free throw line in 26 minutes of play, as he has now topped double figures in 21 consecutive contests. Rathan-Mayes was also integral in the Florida State offense, hitting 3-of-6 from the floor, including one from long distance, while handing out a game-high five assists.
Forrest provided Florida State with a scoring punch off the bench, reaching double digits for the second time in his last three games as he finished 4-of-5 from the floor, grabbed three rebounds and finished with three assists. The Seminole trio of Phil Cofer, Jonathan Isaac and Terance Mann narrowly missed double figures as they scored nine points apiece, helping Florida State to finish 27-of-48 (56.3%) from the floor and 27-of-40 (67.5%) at the free throw line.
Isaac was not only a key cog on offense for Florida State, but he also crashed the boards for a game-high nine rebounds, which would have marked his third career double-double. One of eight Seminoles with multiple rebounds, Isaac was joined on the front line by Mann (five rebounds) and Bacon (four).
Holding a 46-41 advantage at the intermission, Bacon was responsible for the first four points of the second half for the Seminoles as the lead reached six in just under two minutes of play. A trey from Manhattan’s Zane Waterman quickly sliced the margin to three, but sound defense by Florida State that included a series of blocks by Jarquez Smith and a pair of steals by Forrest allowed Mann to score four of the next six points as the Seminole lead reached 56-47.
Rathan-Mayes fed his hot-handed teammate, Mann, who converted a layup and added a free throw as Florida State assumed a 12-point lead. Bacon sliced through the Manhattan defense for a pair of layups, stretching the lead to 64-50, as the Seminoles offense found its rhythm.
After a series of buckets by Rathan-Mayes helped provide Florida State with a 70-54 advantage Manhattan scored five unanswered, including a 3-pointer by Calvin Crawford to move within 11 at the 7:36 mark.
The Seminoles amped up their defensive efforts and added four points each by Bacon and Rathan-Mayes, while grabbing seven defensive rebounds and forcing two steals, as they put together a 10-2 run and built an 81-61 lead. Manhattan managed six of the final eight point of the game, receiving five points from Thomas Capuano, to complete the 16-point victory.
Michael Ojo helped get the Florida State rolling early by scoring six of the first 11 points as the Seminoles established a three-point advantage at the 15:50 mark. Cofer came off the bench and made his presence felt immediate in the Florida State lineup, contributing four points in the post, while PJ Savoy knocked down a 3-pointer to highlight a 14-7 run that resulted in a 25-15 Seminole lead.
Manhattan answered by scoring nine of the next 10 points, trimming the lead to two, behind four points from Aaron Walker Jr. and a key 3-pointer from Na’Quan Council. A free throw by Bacon briefly extended the Florida State lead to three before Council knocked down his second from long distance to bring the game to a 27-all deadlock.
Free throws from the combination of Isaac and Cofer brought the game to a 32-32 tie at the 5:18 mark of the opening frame. Those conversions, coupled with free throws by Forrest and Savoy and a layup by Mann highlighted an 8-2 run that stretched the Seminole lead to 42-34 with 1:26 left in the half.
The Jaspers answered by scoring seven of the final 11 points, including three from Council, but a jumper from Forrest as time expired gave Florida State a five-point advantage.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 Jonathan Isaac f 26 2 3 0 1 5 5 9 2 7 9 4 0 4 2 4
4 Dwayne Bacon f 26 4 11 0 0 8 11 16 4 0 4 3 1 3 0 1
14 Terance Mann g 26 4 5 0 0 1 2 9 1 4 5 2 3 2 0 1
22 Xavier Rathan-Mayes g 31 3 6 1 2 3 6 10 0 4 4 3 5 3 0 0
50 Michael Ojo c 9 3 3 0 0 1 2 7 1 0 1 2 0 1 1 0
0 Phil Cofer 16 2 3 0 0 5 6 9 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0
3 Trent Forrest 22 4 5 0 0 2 4 10 1 2 3 2 3 0 1 3
5 PJ Savoy 13 1 4 1 3 2 4 5 0 1 1 3 0 0 0 0
11 Braian Angola-Rodas 13 3 5 0 0 0 0 6 1 1 2 2 2 1 0 1
21 Christ Koumadje 8 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 3 3 2 0 1 0 0
23 Jarquez Smith 10 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 1 0 1 2 1
Team 1 1 2
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 27 48 2 6 27 40 83 12 25 37 25 14 16 6 11
Opp 200 21 52 9 24 16 24 67 10 13 23 31 10 18 0 7
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Manhattan College |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Seminoles Defeat Samford, Improve to 12-1.
By Tim Linafelt, Seminoles.com Senior Writer
TALLAHASSEE, FL – Leonard Hamilton sees plenty of room for his team to improve between now and next Wednesday, when his Florida State men’s basketball team begins ACC play against Wake Forest.
But, at 12-1 following Monday’s 76-68 win over Samford and off to the program’s best start in 13 years, it’s hard to find too much to complain about.
Sophomore Terance Mann scored a career-high 19 points and junior Xavier Rathan-Mayes added 15 points and five assists as the No. 21 Seminoles rolled to their eighth consecutive win on Monday afternoon at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
FSU enters its Christmas break 12-1 for the first time since 2003-04 and with its first eight-game winning streak since 2006.
“We are a team that’s still improving. I don’t think we’ve come close to reaching our potential,” Hamilton said. “Obviously, we’re pleased that we are 12-1 in the pre-conference. Now, it’s on. Let’s get the party started.”
Before the Seminoles could start planning their ACC party, they first had to tend to a Samford team that proved a more difficult matchup than perhaps initially expected.
The Bulldogs (7-4) came into the game having won four straight, and they frustrated the Seminoles by employing a defensive game plan like what Manhattan used against FSU over the weekend.
Samford coach Scott Padgett was an assistant under Manhattan’s Steve Masiello from 2010-12.
“There was a couple things I saw in the way Manhattan played it the other night that I thought we could tweak with and take some things away,” Padgett said. “We said, ‘You’re going to have to play in our half-court zone.”
That served to slow down the Seminoles in the first half, where they shot just 36.4 percent from the field and 21.4 percent from 3-point range.
Samford mixed up its offense too – Padgett said he has a play sheet with about 150 plays on it, but he called only one, a pick and roll, out of deference to FSU’s advantages in size and athleticism.
It may have been a show of respect (Padgett compared FSU’s post players to the “MonStars” from the hoops movie “Space Jam”), but it gave the Seminoles fits at times, and the Bulldogs held a two-point lead with a little more than five minutes to go in the first half.
“We prepared for them to do what they normally do, and they scratched their whole offense,” Mann said. “I guess that’s what they thought would work, and it worked for them for more than half the game.”
With FSU’s top two scorers, Dwayne Bacon and Jonathan Isaac, struggling early, FSU found relief in the form of Mann and Rathan-Mayes.
Those two combined to shoot 7 of 9 in the first half while the rest of their teammates were just 5 of 24.
Rathan-Mayes gave FSU a bit of breathing room with a last-second 3-pointer that bounced high off the rim before going through to give the Seminoles a 31-27 lead at the break.
“I don’t think we’ve struggled offensively like that in a while,” Rathan-Mayes said. “So it was a good lift for us, sending us into halftime with some confidence. I think we did a great job of responding and coming out in the second half and playing at a high level on both ends of the floor.”
Indeed, Florida State began the second half by pushing the tempo and scoring four quick points in transition.
Aided by a quick stretch of five points each from both Mann and Braian Angola-Rodas, the Seminoles outscored Samford 17-11 to start the second half and led 50-38 with 12:15 remaining.
That lead ballooned to as much as 17 before Samford whittled it down to seven late in the second half.
“We had a great game plan, I thought,” said Padgett, a former standout at Kentucky and eight-year NBA veteran. “I had a feeling it wasn’t going to be the best crowd with school being out. It’s a two o’clock game, weird time. I don’t even know if they know where Samford’s at. So we had some things going in our favor.”
Not enough, though.
Mann’s best highlight of the night came with a thundering, putback dunk off a Bacon miss with 1:34 to go.
Often used as a jack-of-all trades, Mann on Monday was the team’s best offensive threat. He shot 7 of 8 from the field and 5 of 6 from the free-throw line while also grabbing five rebounds.
Mann’s previous career best (18) came in a loss to Georgia Tech last season.
“I play to win,” Mann said. “I felt like the game was close, so I felt like I needed to step up and try to score more so we could push the lead.”
Bacon struggled from the floor (4 of 15) but still made five free throws to reach 14 points and extend his streak of double-digit scoring games to 23.
And Isaac continued to work himself back into rhythm after missing three games earlier this month with an injury. He had five points and four boards in 23 minutes.
“It’s good to be able to win with different guys stepping up,” Hamilton said. Bacon and Jonathan didn’t have their usual good nights. We didn’t get the ball inside to our big guys. But, then Terance and ‘X’ stepped up and gave us good play.”
With a nine-day break ahead, Hamilton said he expects the Seminoles to tighten up some small details while renewing their commitment to maximum effort.
If they can do that, he believes everything else will fall into place.
“Mentally, we’ve got to understand that games are not always going to be perfect. You’re not always going to play at your best. But if you’re fundamentally sound and play the right way, most of the time you can find a way to be the best you can be.
“And that’s what our goal will be.”
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 Jonathan Isaac f 22 2 6 0 3 1 2 5 2 2 4 3 0 2 1 0
4 Dwayne Bacon g 29 4 15 1 5 5 6 14 0 6 6 0 2 2 0 1
14 Terance Mann g 25 7 8 0 0 5 6 19 1 4 5 1 1 0 0 1
22 Xavier Rathan-Mayes g 31 6 10 3 6 0 0 15 0 4 4 1 5 2 0 0
50 Michael Ojo c 14 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 3 0 3 2 0 1 1 0
0 Phil Cofer 22 0 2 0 0 1 2 1 3 2 5 1 0 0 0 1
3 Trent Forrest 19 3 4 0 1 2 2 8 0 4 4 2 1 3 0 1
5 PJ Savoy 7 0 5 0 4 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0
11 Braian Angola-Rodas 10 3 5 1 1 0 0 7 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0
21 Christ Koumadje 10 0 2 0 0 1 2 1 1 2 3 0 0 0 1 0
23 Jarquez Smith 6 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 1 0 0
40 Brandon Allen 5 1 2 1 2 0 0 3 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
Team 4 2 6
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 27 64 6 22 16 22 76 14 27 41 15 11 12 3 4
Opp 200 24 56 9 25 11 12 68 5 25 30 19 12 14 1 3
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Samford | |||
| Florida State |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Bacon, Rathan-Mayes Tally 23 in 88-72 ACC Win Over Demon Deacons.
Bacon and Rathan-Mayes became the first set of Florida State teammates to top
the 20-point mark in the same contest since Bacon and Malik Beasley achieved the feat on March 21, 2015.
TALLAHASSEE, FL – Dwayne Bacon and Xavier Rathan-Mayes recorded 23 points each to lead 20th-ranked Florida State to an 88-72 victory over visiting Wake Forest in its Atlantic Coast Conference opener at the Donald L. Tucker Center on Wednesday evening. The victory in the first league game for both teams improves the Seminoles to 13-1 on the season and marks the best start since the 1988-89 campaign, when Florida State also won 13 of its first 14 contests.
Rathan-Mayes also topped the 1,000-point mark for his career, scoring five of the first eight Seminole points, as he joined his father Tharon Mayes became the first father-son duo to score 1,000 career points at the same ACC program.
Rathan-Mayes and Bacon were the catalysts for a decisive 17-0 second half run for the Seminoles that spanned 4:24 of the contest. Trailing by five, 66-61, at the 8:57 mark, Rathan-Mayes kick started the Florida State offense into overdrive with a 3-pointer from the corner.
Teammate Jonathan Isaac knocked down a long distance trey and Bacon added a free throw to move the Seminoles in front by four, 70-66, in just under two minutes. A Wake Forest (9-4, 0-1) turnover allowed Jarquez Smith to get into the open court, where he converted a jumper, and followed Bacon with a layup to stretch the advantage to eight, 74-66, with 5:32 left in the frame.
Rathan-Mayes added a jumper to provide the Seminoles their first double-digit lead of the afternoon before Bacon capped off the offensive spurt with a jumper as Florida State led 78-66. Isaac and Rathan-Mayes contributed four points each down the stretch as the Seminoles topped the 80-point mark for the 12th time this season.
Bacon and Rathan-Mayes became the first set of Florida State teammates to top the 20-point mark in the same contest since Bacon and Malik Beasley achieved the feat on March 21, 2015 against Davidson. Bacon finished one point short of his season high after knocking down 8-of-15 from the floor and 6-of-7 from the free throw line. Meanwhile, Rathan-Mayes established a season high in points by virtue of knocking down 7-of-10 from the floor, including two from beyond the arc, and hitting 7-of-10 at the free throw line.
Isaac narrowly missed his third career double-double, finishing with 12 points and a game-high nine rebounds, including seven on the offensive glass. He reached double figures for the eighth time by hitting 4-of-11 from the floor, including a pair of 3-pointers, and was a perfect 2-of-2 from the free throw line.
Freshman CJ Walker also topped the double-digit plateau as he tied his season-high in points (13) after hitting 4-of-8 from the field and 3-of-6 from beyond the arc.
Florida State overcame a tough shooting first half, where the Seminoles managed just 12-of-29 (41.4%) from the floor, to hit 16-of-26 (61.5%) from the field and 14-of-17 (82.4%) at the free throw line in the second half. FSU’s offense was an effective 28-of-55 (50.9%) from the floor as it drained 9-of-25 (36%) from 3-point range.
The Seminoles converted at least 20 free throws for the sixth time this season as they finished 23-of-31 (74.2%) at the stripe. Led by Isaac’s nine rebounds, Florida State finished with a 35-31 edge on the glass, resulting in 11 second chance points and 28 points in the paint.
Rathan-Mayes and Bacon provided a bulk of the Florida State offense in the opening frame, combining for 20 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the floor that included a pair of 3-pointers.
Wake Forest used five points from Dino Mitoglou to establish a 16-8 advantage just over four minutes into the contest. The Seminoles began their rally with a dunk by Christ Koumadje peppered in a series of 3-pointers from Isaac and Walker, while turning up their defensive pressure, to forge ahead 21-19 at the 11:08 mark.
The Demon Deacons converted a pair of long distance conversions from Mitchell Wilbekin and Brandon Childress and capitalized on five points from Bryant Crawford to regain the lead 31-24 with 8:14 left in the frame.
Rathan-Mayes ended the scoring drought for Florida State, scoring four unanswered, as he and Bacon combined for 12 of the next 15 points to provide the Seminoles with a 39-38 lead with 2:09 remaining in the first. Childress capped off first half scoring with a pair of free throws as Wake Forest took a one-point lead into the half.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 Jonathan Isaac f 26 4 11 2 6 2 2 12 2 7 9 1 2 2 2 2
4 Dwayne Bacon g 29 8 15 1 5 6 7 23 0 3 3 2 1 1 0 2
14 Terance Mann g 31 2 4 0 1 0 0 4 1 1 2 2 2 3 0 2
22 Xavier Rathan-Mayes g 29 7 10 2 5 7 10 23 1 6 7 1 2 1 0 3
50 Michael Ojo c 10 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 2 1 3 2 0 0 0 0
0 Phil Cofer 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 0
2 CJ Walker 13 4 8 3 6 2 2 13 2 0 2 1 1 0 0 0
3 Trent Forrest 14 0 0 0 0 3 4 3 0 3 3 1 1 2 0 2
5 PJ Savoy 4 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
11 Braian Angola-Rodas 10 1 2 1 1 1 2 4 0 1 1 2 0 1 0 0
21 Christ Koumadje 10 1 1 0 0 0 2 2 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 0
23 Jarquez Smith 11 1 3 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 2 3 1 0 1 0
Team 0 1 1 1
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 28 55 9 25 23 31 88 8 27 35 17 11 13 4 11
Opp 200 26 60 10 21 10 16 72 9 22 31 20 14 16 2 8
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wake Forest | |||
| Florida State |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Bacon Cinches 60-58 Win Over Cavaliers with Clutch Three.
Sophomore Dwayne Bacon tallied a career-high 29 points by converting 6-of-9
3-pointers-including the game-winner.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – Sophomore Dwayne Bacon scored a career-high 29 points by converting 6-of-9 3-pointers—including the game-winner—as 20th-ranked Florida State posted a 60-58 victory over 11th-ranked Virginia on Saturday afternoon. The win moves the Seminoles to 14-1 for the first time in program history, extends the current winning streak to 13 straight and maintains a perfect 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference record.
Bacon put the Seminoles in front 56-51 with a 3-pointer at the 2:07 remaining in the contest, but Virginia (11-2, 1-1 ACC) answered with a layup by Isaiah Wilkins that sliced the deficit to three just over a minute later. Jonathan Isaac converted a block and went 1-of-2 from the free throw line to give Florida State a 57-53 advantage with 25 seconds remaining.
The Cavaliers used two free throws by Devon Hall and a 3-pointer off the hand of Kyle Guy to score the next five unanswered, assuming a 58-57 lead with 10 seconds remaining. Without calling a timeout, Florida State head coach Leonard Hamilton turned to the hot-handed Bacon, who came through with a clutch 3-pointer with four seconds remaining in the game as the Seminoles improved to 4-0 on the road this season.
“In a situation like that, which we work on in practice a lot, if you call a timeout that gives them a shot to set their defense,” described Bacon. “The ball was on the run, the floor was spread, and we could not have had a better opportunity than what we had. I was afraid that if I called a timeout, as good as a defensive team as they have, that would not have been a very good decision.
“I knew I had messed up when Kyle Guy had missed the shot and I didn’t go all the way to the baseline, so when he hit it I wrapped around got it back,” Bacon described of his game-winning shot. “I saw that he [Wilkins] was on me, baiting me to drive, so I stepped back and knocked it down.”
Joining Bacon in double-digit scoring was Xavier Rathan-Mayes who contributed 10 points by virtue of hitting 2-of-5 from the floor and 5-of-6 at the free throw line. Among other significant offensive contributors included Terance Mann (six points), Phil Cofer (five) and Isaac (five). Florida State was a collective 20-of-49 (40.8%) from the floor, hitting eight 3-pointers in the process, hitting 13-of-29 (46.4%) from the field in the second half.
“The difference in the game was our guys showing a little more maturity, maintaining poise, and we had a guy, Mr. Bacon, with a hot hand,” said Hamilton. “We went to him repeatedly and he pulled us out. Seventy percent of all games in the ACC are decided by four points or less, and we are fortunate that our kids got the ball to the right guy when the game came down the stretch.”
Isaac controlled glass with a game-high nine rebounds as he pulled down three offensive rebounds. Fifth-year senior Michael Ojo added six rebounds, while Cofer and Rathan-Mayes hauled in four each to give the Seminoles a 35-34 advantage in rebounding.
Facing its largest halftime deficit of the season, seven points, Florida State opened the second half by putting together a 12-5 run to pull the game even at 35. Bacon kick-started the offense with a jumper just 36 seconds into the half and added two 3-pointers and a free throw to account for nine of the 12 points in the run.
Virginia moved in front by four on two occasions, including a 44-40 advantage at just over the midway point of the second half on a bucket by Marial Shayok, as the two teams battled for the lead. However, Bacon rallied the Seminoles by scoring five unanswered to give Florida State its first lead since a 19-18 advantage deep in the opening frame.
Solid defense by the Seminoles combined with the offensive production of Bacon and Isaac, who came through with a pair of free throws at the 4:50 mark, kept Virginia within striking distance. Bacon keyed the Florida State push down the stretch with a series of key buckets that provided a 53-51 advantage as teammate Trent Forrest added a steal to keep the Cavaliers’ offense off-balance.
“The University of Virginia is one of the more difficult teams for us to prepare for because they are so disciplined, they do such a great job of executing their offense, they take certain things away from you on the defensive end, and they just about controlled the game by taking certain things away from us on the offensive end,” added Hamilton. “Defensively, I thought we had a pretty good game plan, but obviously if you look at how they shot the ball from the floor and how easily they were able to be patient, score, and get the ball to certain players that they wanted to get shots, you see it’s a difficult preparation for us.”
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 Jonathan Isaac f 27 1 6 0 1 3 5 5 3 6 9 1 0 1 2 0
4 Dwayne Bacon g 28 11 18 6 9 1 4 29 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 2
14 Terance Mann g 24 2 4 0 0 2 6 6 0 3 3 4 2 2 0 1
22 Xavier Rathan-Mayes g 27 2 5 1 2 5 6 10 0 4 4 4 3 0 0 0
50 Michael Ojo c 17 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 6 0 0 2 0 0
0 Phil Cofer 13 2 4 1 2 0 0 5 1 3 4 0 0 0 0 0
2 CJ Walker 9 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1
3 Trent Forrest 22 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 1 2 1 0 2
11 Braian Angola-Rodas 10 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
21 Christ Koumadje 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0
23 Jarquez Smith 15 1 2 0 0 1 3 3 2 1 3 1 0 2 1 0
Team 2 1 3 1
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 20 49 8 15 12 24 60 12 23 35 15 8 12 3 6
Opp 200 23 51 9 16 3 5 58 6 28 34 18 8 13 6 3
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Virginia |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Record-Streaking Noles Take Down Hokies, 93-78.
By Bob Thomas, FSU Sports Information
TALLAHASSEE, FL – Leonard Hamilton’s Florida State basketball team made a little history Sunday at the Donald L. Tucker Center, and there was no shortage of contributing factors to the 93-78 victory over Virginia Tech.
Terance Mann scored a career-high 22 points but he excitedly spoke afterward about the contributions from the bench, which produced 35 points as the No. 12 Seminoles (15-1) improved to 3-0 in Atlantic Coast Conference play for the first time in 26 years of league play by turning back the No. 21 Hokies (12-3, 1-2 ACC).
“They’re amazing,” Mann said. “They’re what we need. They’re why we’re here, really. They come in off the bench and bring all that energy, scoring, defense; they bring everything. They’re like a second starting unit and it’s what we love and what we need.”
In addition to matching the school record with their 11th consecutive victory, the Noles recorded their third win – and second consecutive – over a nationally ranked opponent this season. They will carry that momentum into Tuesday night’s home showdown No. 8 Duke (8 p.m.), which will be the third of six consecutive games against top 25 opponents.
“Tonight was just a game where they were a little short-handed,” FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said, noting the Hokies played without guard Seth Allen. “We were able to sustain effort. They had some foul trouble…We beat a very good basketball team that was just a little short-handed.”
Virginia Tech coach Buzz Williams was not nearly as guarded in his evaluation of Hamilton’s squad.
“I think this is the best team he’s ever had,” said Williams, whose team has dropped two straight after opening ACC play with a win over Duke. “They can play a lot of different ways. I don’t necessarily look at it as a platoon. If you are platooning there are obviously a lot of different options. I just think they’re ultra-talented.”
The Noles and Hokies spent the first eight minutes trading baskets and lead changes – there were seven – before FSU turned up the heat on the defensive end and sprinted away to a 48-37 halftime lead.
Trailing 20-16 following Ahmed Hill’s 3-pointer at 12:36, FSU held Virginia Tech scoreless for nearly four minutes. Back-to-back baskets by Seminole reserves Jarquez Smith and Christ Koumadje knotted the score. The 7-foot-4 Koumadje triggered the go-ahead score by grabbing a Hill lobe attempt from the air and feeding Bacon for a runout layup and a 22-20 lead with 9:48 to play in the first half.
Though the Hokies briefly forged a tie on a pair of Zach LeDay free throws, they never regained their early offensive flow. A Bacon runner and Mann’s second 3-pointer of the game restored order as Virginia Tech never had a possession with a chance to tie or take the lead the rest of the way.
A pair of three-pointers by PJ Savoy, who had 11 points in seven minutes of action, enabled the Noles to maintain their cushion heading to the locker room, but it was FSU’s depth and defensive intensity had everything to do with the Hokies’ demise.
Virginia Tech was just 6-of-17 from the floor after knocking down seven of its first 10 attempts and further hurt its cause with eight turnovers over the final 12 minutes of the half. Not only did the Noles turn 10 first half Hokie turnovers into 15 points, they also outscored their visitors 13-4 in fastbreak points.
“If your offense is not helping your defense, that means your offense is hurting your defense and live-ball turnovers definitely do that,” Williams said. “They’re just so aggressive defensively. They hawk the ball. Off the ball, their length for sure maybe hurries shots.”
The Hokies came into the game leading the ACC in three-point field goal percentage and averaging nine a game from beyond the arc, made just 4-of-15.
It certainly didn’t hurt to have fresh legs on defense as the Noles deployed 13 different players over the course of the game – 10 who recorded double-digit minutes – while Virginia Tech played just six players 10 or more minutes.
“We’re so deep and all of the guys that are playing minutes bring a different type of energy and we know that once that person comes in, we have that expectation to bring energy to the table,” said Smith, who scored 12 points, blocked two shots and snared four rebounds in 17 minutes of reserve work. “We know they’re going to do it.
“The guys on the first wave [of reserves] take pride in bringing more energy, once they’ve been worn down by the first group. We try to rev it up and once we get tired, we’ve got another group coming back in to pick up right where we left off.”
In addition to Smith, Savoy added 11 points off the bench, while CJ Walker pitched in seven more.
Bacon, the reigning ACC Player of the Week, extended his streak of double-digit scoring games to 25 games with 17 points. Freshman Jonathan Isaac pitched in 13 points and eight rebounds; one shy of Mann’s game and career-high matching nine boards.
Trailing 11 at the break, the Hokies only once whittled the deficit to single digits in the second half. Ty Outlaw’s dunk off a turnover cut the margin to 55-47 with 14:54 to play, but the Noles countered with a reserve-led 19-8 run over the next six-plus minutes to salt the victory away.
“We were able to put some fresh guys in late in the second half that gave us a tremendous amount of energy, got some steals, got a couple baskets and kept that momentum going,” Hamilton said.
As for his teams’ momentum – and record-setting start to the season – Hamilton wasn’t willing to revel in its accomplishments.
“I’ve got to keep things in perspective,” said the 15-year FSU veteran coach. “In order for these three games to mean something, we’ve got to continue winning. No one is going to the NCAA Tournament winning only three conference games, so I realize we still have a lot of work to do.”
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 Jonathan Isaac f 26 4 7 0 1 5 6 13 2 6 8 2 2 1 1 1
4 Dwayne Bacon g 31 6 16 0 3 5 5 17 3 3 6 3 1 4 1 2
14 Terance Mann g 28 7 11 2 2 6 8 22 3 6 9 2 1 1 0 1
22 Xavier Rathan-Mayes g 22 1 4 0 1 2 4 4 0 1 1 3 8 1 1 0
50 Michael Ojo c 11 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 1
0 Phil Cofer 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 1 0 0
2 CJ Walker 13 2 4 1 3 2 2 7 1 1 2 2 0 0 0 1
3 Trent Forrest 18 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 2 2 0 2
5 PJ Savoy 7 4 7 3 6 0 1 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
11 Braian Angola-Rodas 12 1 1 0 0 1 2 3 2 2 4 1 3 0 0 0
21 Christ Koumadje 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 2
23 Jarquez Smith 17 4 6 1 1 3 4 12 2 2 4 1 0 0 2 0
40 Brandon Allen 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Team 0 2 2 1
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 31 63 7 17 24 32 93 14 25 39 20 17 13 6 11
Opp 200 28 62 4 15 18 26 78 13 21 34 25 7 16 4 7
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia Tech | |||
| Florida State |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Rathan-Mayes Explodes for 21, Highlights Win Over No. 7 Duke.
The 88-72 win by ninth-ranked FSU over seventh-ranked Duke extends the
program-record winning streak to 12.
By Tim Linafelt, Seminoles.com Senior Writer
TALLAHASSEE, FL -- The Florida State men’s basketball team had beaten Duke before, exactly nine times since the two first met in 1955.
Some of those wins were among the most memorable and momentous in program history – upsets that stunned the college basketball world or close victories that sparked the Seminoles to big things later in the season.
None of those nine wins, however, were anything like the 10th.
Because what happened here at the Donald L. Tucker Center on Tuesday night wasn’t an upset. It wasn’t a fluke. And, truth be told, it wasn’t all that surprising to anyone who has been following the Seminoles this season.
No. 9 Florida State routed No. 7 Duke, 88-72 and, on this night at least, the gap between the two teams was as wide as the final score indicates.
Now 16-1 on the season and winners of a school-record 12 straight games, the Seminoles have evolved from a nice team on a hot start into one of the major stories in college basketball.
And they’ll have an opportunity to make yet another statement when they visit No. 11 North Carolina on Saturday.
“We knew we could win the game,” sophomore guard Dwayne Bacon said. “We just came out and played a regular game. A lot of people were hyping it up because Duke is Duke, but we’re comfortable with our team. We know what we can do.”
Indeed, perhaps the most remarkable thing about Florida State’s effort on Tuesday night is how normal it looked.
The Seminoles beat the Blue Devils the same way they’ve beaten almost every other opponent this season – with unselfish attitudes spread across depth that so far has been unmatched in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
For the second straight game, FSU coach Leonard Hamilton used 12 different players, 10 of whom scored at least two points.
Junior guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes paced the Seminoles with 21 points – 18 in the second half – while Bacon and sophomore Terance Mann each added 13 points.
Only five Seminoles – Bacon, Rathan-Mayes, Mann, Jarquez Smith and Jonathan Isaac – played at least 20 minutes, and only Bacon played more than 30.
Meanwhile Duke, already shorthanded in the absence of star forward Amile Jefferson, started to crack midway through the second half. The Blue Devils rarely strayed from a seven-man rotation. Guard Luke Kennard never left the floor, while forward Jayson Tatum and guard Grayson Allen played 38 and 36 minutes respectively.
With FSU constantly sending waves of fresh reinforcements, the Seminoles stretched a four-point halftime lead to double-digits midway through the second half.
After the game, interim Duke coach Jeff Capel was asked if the Seminoles’ depth made them hard to scout. But Capel, filling in while Mike Krzyzewski recovers from back surgery, said the answer is much simpler than that.
“What makes them hard to prepare for is how good they are,” Capel said. “No matter what you do, you can’t simulate that in a practice. We can’t simulate their athleticism, their length, the relentless pressure they constantly put on you, and then the waves of guys they bring in. You can’t simulate that. That’s what makes it hard.”
A rowdy home crowd that ranked among the best of the Hamilton era didn’t make things any easier for the Blue Devils.
An announced attendance of 11,675 – many of whom were in their seats 45 minutes before the 8 p.m. tip – created a thick energy in the Tucker Center, standing and cheering after dunks and blocks, and making sure to boo Duke’s Allen every time he touched the ball.
Yes, every single time.
“I thought (the atmosphere) was extremely motivating for our players,” Hamilton said. “You’d like to see this every night. This is a little dose of the same medicine we get when we go and play at every arena in the ACC. … We’re just fortunate to create that same atmosphere here in Tallahassee, and hopefully that’s something that will continue to grow.”
The Seminoles steadily added to their lead in the second half, using several highlight reel-worthy passes and dunks to add some style points.
When Isaac finished off an alley-oop feed from Rathan-Mayes, Capel sat down and the Duke bench reflected what everyone in the crowd had sensed: this one was over.
The Seminoles led by as much as 17 with about a minute to go in the game. Their 16-point margin of victory was their largest ever over Duke (the previous was five, on multiple occasions) and their third-biggest win over a top-10 team.
By the time the clock ran out, FSU had topped Duke in shooting percentage (53.0-41.1), 3-point percentage (35.7-29.2), rebounding (38-30), points in the paint (56-28), second-chance points (19-7), fast-break points (13-4) and points off of turnovers (22-12).
And, of course, bench points, where the Seminoles outscored the Blue Devils 21-4.
“We’ve got a deep, deep team,” Bacon said. “We’ve got a lot of guys that can do so many different things with the ball. We keep playing and keep winning.”
Florida State is 4-0 in ACC play for the first time ever and thus far has made quick work of a supposed gauntlet of six straight games against ranked teams.
Through the first three of that stretch – against No. 11 Virginia, No. 21 Virginia Tech and No. 7 Duke – the Seminoles are 3-0 with an average margin of victory of 11 points.
FSU will next hit the road Saturday for a visit to Chapel Hill, N.C., where it will look for its first win over UNC at the Dean Smith Center since 2010.
“We’ve got to keep playing to each other, keep playing with our confidence,” Bacon said. “Keep playing as a team, unselfish, have one another’s back.
“Just keep playing like we’ve been playing all year and we’ll be fine.”
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 Jonathan Isaac f 20 4 7 0 1 3 4 11 1 4 5 2 1 1 1 2
4 Dwayne Bacon g 33 6 15 1 2 0 0 13 3 3 6 3 5 7 0 2
14 Terance Mann g 26 6 7 0 0 1 2 13 5 2 7 3 1 2 0 1
22 Xavier Rathan-Mayes g 28 7 13 2 4 5 7 21 2 0 2 2 3 1 0 0
50 Michael Ojo c 13 4 5 0 0 1 1 9 1 0 1 3 0 0 0 0
0 Phil Cofer 11 1 4 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0
2 CJ Walker 10 0 0 0 0 2 4 2 0 1 1 3 1 0 0 0
3 Trent Forrest 10 1 1 0 0 1 2 3 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0
5 PJ Savoy 9 2 4 2 4 0 0 6 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0
11 Braian Angola-Rodas 13 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 3 0 2 1 0 0
21 Christ Koumadje 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
23 Jarquez Smith 22 4 7 0 2 0 0 8 1 4 5 3 1 0 3 1
Team 1 5 6
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 35 66 5 14 13 20 88 14 24 38 21 15 14 4 6
Opp 200 23 56 7 24 19 26 72 10 20 30 21 10 16 2 5
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duke | |||
| Florida State |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Bacon, Isaac Lead Charge As FSU Men Fall Short At UNC.
CHAPEL HILL, NC – Dwayne Bacon scored 18 points and Jonathan Isaac recorded his third double-double (17 points, 12 rebounds), but it was the trio of Joel Berry (26 points), Justin Jackson (22) and Isaiah Hicks (22) that helped 11th-ranked North Carolina (16-3, 4-1 ACC) emerge with a 96-83 victory in the Dean E. Smith Center over the ninth-ranked visiting Seminoles (16-2, 4-1 ACC) in a battle for supremacy in the Atlantic Coast Conference on Saturday afternoon.
Bacon extended his double-digit scoring streak to 27 consecutive games as he knocked down 7-of-16 from the field and 3-of-8 from beyond the arc. Isaac emerged with his fourth double figure scoring performance in ACC action and 11th on the campaign by virtue of hitting 6-of-11 from the floor, which included a team-high two 3-pointers. Isaac was also a force on the boards with 12 rebounds, grabbing 11 defensive boards, as he finished one short of his season high in rebounds.
Terance Mann and PJ Savoy, who contributed 10 points each, were also instrumental in Florida State’s offensive success. Mann knocked down 4-of-7 field goals, hit 2-for-4 at the free throw line, and pulled down five rebounds (two offensive). Savoy anchored the Seminoles’ bench with double figures, hitting 4-of-6 from the floor, including a pair of 3-pointers, while climbing the glass for three rebounds.
Junior Xavier Rathan-Mayes handed out a game-high six assists to go along with six points, quarterbacking a Florida State offensive attack that was 31-of-67 (46.3%) from the field and 9-of-28 (32.1%) from beyond the arc. While the Seminoles shot well throughout the contest they struggled from the free throw line, hitting just 12-of-26 (46.2%), while North Carolina managed to convert 26-of-37 (70.3%) at the charity stripe.
“I thought North Carolina came out extremely energized and that Isaiah Hicks was very aggressive early in the game which put us back on our heels a little bit,” said Leonard Hamilton. “I thought we did a poor job of responding to the level of energy that North Carolina played with early. We settled down a little bit and made a run. But obviously anytime you shoot as poorly as we did from the foul line against a team that is really energized, it makes it very challenging. That is a team that is a very aggressive team and you have to give them a lot of credit. They deserved the victory.”
Facing only its fourth deficit at the intermission, 50-41, Florida State clawed its way to within five by scoring 15 of the first 24 points in a 5:06 stretch of the second half. Rathan-Mayes began the rally with a 3-pointer and Isaac followed by scoring seven straight for the Seminoles who sliced North Carolina advantage to 58-52.
Hicks pushed the Tar Heel lead to seven, but back-to-back dunks by Jarquez Smith and Mann fired up the Florida State offense which trimmed the margin to 59-56.
Jackson was responsible for two 3-pointers, highlighting a 12-2 North Carolina run that stretched the Tar Heel lead back to double figures, 71-58, with 11:34 remaining. Isaac got the Seminole offense back on track with a four-point play on an assist from CJ Walker.
A steal and dunk by Mann, coupled with a free throw by Smith allowed Florida State to trim the margin to 73-67 at just over the midway point of the half. The Seminoles continued to make up ground on North Carolina, using a three-point play by Walker and a long distance conversion by Bacon to pull within three, 76-73, with 7:56 remaining.
North Carolina countered six points and a blocked shot from Bacon with five points, two rebounds and a steal by Theo Pinson as it regained a double figure lead 91-80. The Tar Heels scored five of the final eight points to complete the victory and move into a first place tie for the league lead in the standings with Florida State.
After a sluggish start which resulted in seven unanswered North Carolina points, the tandem of Michael Ojo and Isaac provided five quick points on back-to-back possessions as the Seminoles trailed 9-5. The Tar Heel lead eventually grew to 20-11, but a bucket by Isaac and two free throws from Trent Forrest made for a seven-point advantage, 22-15.
Savoy kick started the Florida State offense into high gear with a 3-pointer and following four points by Mann and a dunk from Savoy the game reached a 27-27 tie. The Seminoles used that momentum along with Bacon and Walker to assume their first lead, 29-27, with 7:12 left in the first half.
A back-and-forth battle for the lead ensued between the two teams, with neither able to lead by more than three, before five straight points by Berry extended the North Carolina advantage to 42-37. Florida State amped up its defensive efforts and used buckets by Savoy and Ojo to move within two, 43-41, before a 7-0 run by the Tar Heels closed out the opening half.
“There is no question that Carolina is a very good basketball team,” added Hamilton. “They are one of the top two or three teams in our league. But what is happening is that this is an ACC race this year where when the ball goes up, rank doesn’t really seem to matter. You are going to have hard fought games regardless of who you play and that is just the nature of this league. It is a new ACC. There are no longer just two or three dominant teams.”
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 Jonathan Isaac f 27 6 11 2 5 3 4 17 1 11 12 4 2 0 0 3
4 Dwayne Bacon g 30 7 16 3 8 1 1 18 0 2 2 2 2 3 1 1
14 Terance Mann g 21 4 7 0 1 2 4 10 2 3 5 4 1 0 0 1
22 Xavier Rathan-Mayes g 24 2 6 1 4 1 4 6 1 0 1 2 6 5 0 2
50 Michael Ojo c 14 2 4 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0
0 Phil Cofer 14 1 3 0 0 0 0 2 2 1 3 1 1 1 0 0
2 CJ Walker 14 2 8 1 4 1 3 6 0 0 0 2 1 1 1 0
3 Trent Forrest 5 0 1 0 1 3 4 3 0 2 2 4 1 2 0 0
5 PJ Savoy 15 4 6 2 4 0 2 10 1 2 3 0 0 0 0 1
11 Braian Angola-Rodas 14 0 2 0 1 0 2 0 0 1 1 2 1 2 0 0
21 Christ Koumadje 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 2 0 0 0 0
23 Jarquez Smith 18 3 3 0 0 1 2 7 2 0 2 3 0 1 1 0
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 31 67 9 28 12 26 83 9 25 34 27 15 15 5 8
Opp 200 31 73 8 18 26 37 96 21 35 56 22 12 15 0 8
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| North Carolina |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Isaac Rises Up As Noles Drop Irish, 83-80.
By Tim Linafelt, Seminoles.com Senior Writer
TALLAHASSEE, FL – Of all the astounding things Jonathan Isaac did here on Wednesday night – and there were many – the most impressive might have had nothing to do with his jumping ability or his speed or the way he plays like a guard in a forward’s body.
With 11 seconds to play and Florida State clinging to a four-point lead against a Notre Dame team that seemingly could not miss, Isaac, a freshman from Naples, calmly drained two free-throws that gave FSU some welcome breathing room and assured that the Seminoles would beat the Fighting Irish.
Those two free-throws – which capped off a perfect 7 for 7 night at the line – put an exclamation point on what was likely the best game of Isaac’s young career: 23 points, 10 rebounds and seven blocked shots in No. 10 FSU’s 83-80 victory over No. 15 Notre Dame.
“It was great,” Isaac said. “My teammates are in my head at the free-throw line, (telling me) I got this, telling me that they believe in me to make these shots. So, I just stepped up to the line with ultimate confidence and knocked them down.”
Isaac’s growing confidence is great news for the Seminoles (17-2, 5-1 ACC) and a potential nightmare for the rest of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
A former five-star prospect and high-school All-American, Isaac had shown flashes of brilliance throughout the first few weeks of the season. But never anything like this.
After 17 points and 12 boards in last week’s loss at North Carolina, Isaac is riding back-to-back double-doubles.
The UNC game, which dealt FSU its first loss in nearly two months, left Isaac unsatisfied.
But he felt a lot better after this one. Not only did Isaac erupt on the stat sheet, but he seemed to give the Seminoles exactly what they needed to hand Notre Dame its first blemish in conference play.
There were, of course, the free throws. But there were also the two second-half 3-pointers that Irish coach Mike Brey called “back-breaking.” And there were the 10 rebounds that helped the Seminoles enjoy an advantage on the glass and strike for 14 second-chance points.
And there were the seven blocks that frustrated the Irish and ensured that almost all of Notre Dame’s offense came from outside.
It was enough to have Brey joking after the game that Isaac should be a surefire pro.
“Jonathan is locked into the game,” FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. “And what we have intentionally done with him is not try to pressure him to force shots or create things. We’re letting him mature at the right pace. His pace.
“I think he’s gaining more confidence. He doesn’t feel any pressure other than he’s growing and maturing and looking for opportunities to affect the game. It’s organic.”
And, as it turns out, Florida State needed every last bit of it to topple the Fighting Irish.
Notre Dame entered with a reputation as one of the nation’s best 3-point and free-throw shooting teams.
To say that the Fighting Irish lived up to that reputation would be a historic understatement.
Led by 18 points from senior guard Steve Vasturia, Notre Dame shot an eye-rubbing 15 of 21 from 3-point range.
That includes four from Vasturia and forward VJ Beachem and three from guard Matt Farrell.
A few times, Notre Dame’s quick ball movement led to an open look from beyond the arc. But far more often, in Hamilton’s estimation, the Irish just knocked down difficult shots. Over and over again.
“I’ve never seen a team shoot 15 of 21 from 3, period,” Hamilton said. “I’ve never witnessed it. It’s hard to shoot 71 percent from 3 if you’re in the gym by yourself and nobody’s guarding you at all. And we gave some pretty good contests. … We had a lot of guys jumping to the moon and it didn’t seem to matter.”
And it nearly helped the Irish win a game that might otherwise have been a blowout in FSU’s favor.
Because despite their red-hot shooting from perimeter, Notre Dame wilted in the face of the Seminoles’ size and depth and shot just 12 of 37 from inside 3-point range.
Florida State blocked 11 shots and allowed the Irish only 24 points in the paint.
“We beat a very good basketball team,” Hamilton said. “A team that I’m sure is going to give a lot of teams problems throughout the remainder of the year.”
Despite FSU holding advantages seemingly across the board, Notre Dame’s 3-point shooting kept things close in the second half and even allowed the Irish to take a brief lead with about six minutes to go.
But FSU got contributions from Isaac, as well as guards Xavier Rathan-Mayes and C.J. Walker down the stretch that helped seal the victory.
Walker scored all nine of his points in the second half, including a pair of free-throws in the final minute.
And Rathan-Mayes scored six of his eight points in the final four minutes, two of which came from off-balance shots that bounced off the rim and in.
“Mayes, I thought, because he's been in a lot of wins, with his two drives, those were dagger kind of buckets for us,” Brey said.
From there, the Seminoles had just one key task: make free throws. That was a sore spot on Saturday, when they missed 14 free-throws in a 13-point loss at North Carolina.
This time, however, things were different as Walker and Isaac combined to make six straight from the line in the final 25 seconds to seal the victory.
With those points in hand, not even a last-gasp Irish 3-pointer – as contested and off-balance as any all night – could change the outcome.
"It was very satisfying, just to show that we can close," Rathan-Mayes said. "We did such a good job of that. We struggled with it in North Carolina."
The win is FSU’s 13th in its last 14 games. The Seminoles are 17-2 overall, tied with Notre Dame and UNC for first place in the ACC and now have five wins over ranked opponents this season.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 Jonathan Isaac f 25 7 9 2 2 7 7 23 3 7 10 1 1 5 7 1
4 Dwayne Bacon g 31 5 13 1 3 0 3 11 0 4 4 5 2 3 0 1
14 Terance Mann g 21 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 4
22 Xavier Rathan-Mayes g 29 4 7 0 1 0 0 8 0 3 3 1 7 1 0 2
50 Michael Ojo c 8 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 1 2 0 3 1 0
0 Phil Cofer 7 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 1 3 4 0 0 0 0 0
2 CJ Walker 18 3 5 1 2 2 3 9 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 0
3 Trent Forrest 10 2 4 0 0 0 0 4 2 0 2 2 1 0 0 0
5 PJ Savoy 14 3 7 3 6 3 3 12 0 1 1 2 0 0 1 0
11 Braian Angola-Rodas 3 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
21 Christ Koumadje 7 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 2 1 0 1 0 0
23 Jarquez Smith 21 3 6 0 1 4 7 10 4 1 5 3 1 0 1 0
40 Brandon Allen 6 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Team 2 2
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 30 60 7 17 16 23 83 11 23 34 18 15 16 11 8
Opp 200 27 58 15 21 11 15 80 8 21 29 21 18 18 2 6
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notre Dame | |||
| Florida State |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
FSU Men Continue To Soar In 73-68 Win Over Louisville.
By Tim Linafelt, Seminoles.com Senior Writer
TALLAHASSEE, FL – The day started with Florida State president John Thrasher leading FSU’s pep band, Seminole sound, in a pre-game rendition of the FSU Fight Song.
About three hours later, after the clock ran out on No. 10 Florida State’s 73-68 win over No. 12 Louisville, that same space behind the basket was flooded with trumpet and tuba players, spillovers from the student section and, most noticeably, a line of Seminole basketball players, all of them coming together to celebrate the latest triumph in a season full of them.
In front of a third-straight sell-out crowd at the Donald L. Tucker Center, the Seminoles raced out to a 14-0 lead – raising the decibel levels to uncommon heights along the way – and then held off a series of Louisville rallies to improve to 17-2 overall, 6-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
“We’re a tough team,” sophomore guard Dwayne Bacon said. “We’ve got a lot of guys that can play, 10 guys that can start. We believe in our entire team. Our coaches believe in our entire team.”
And for good reason. On Dec. 30, FSU visited Virginia for the first of six straight games against ranked opponents, the first time an ACC team had embarked on such a run since Maryland in 1992-93.
The Seminoles beat the No. 12 Cavaliers that day, then reeled off victories over No. 21 Virginia Tech and No. 7 Duke and No. 15 Notre Dame before topping the Cardinals on Saturday.
With only a setback at No. 11 North Carolina last week, the Seminoles emerged from one of the most difficult runs in recent college basketball history with five victories.
“Nobody thought that we would be in this situation (after) this stretch,” Bacon said. “Nobody thought we would be top-10 in the country. Nobody thought we would go 5-1 in the six games against six ranked teams. Everybody doubted us. Nobody thought we would have the record we have today.”
“Us-against-the-world” is one of the most overused clichés in sports, but, in this case, Bacon may be right: The media picked FSU eighth in the ACC preseason poll, behind four teams the Seminoles have already beaten.
Safe to say they’ve picked up a few believers since then.
“They’re a great talent with great coaching,” Louisville coach Rick Pitino said. “They do a lot. They can beat you off the bounce one-one. They make their free throws. They have great shot-blocking ability and size. They have a lottery pick (Jonathan Isaac) as freshman. Bacon is a first-rounder.
“So, there’s really not a weakness.”
Indeed, not only did Florida State beat a ranked opponent for the sixth time this season, but the Seminoles did it in yet another different fashion.
Whereas FSU has typically worn down its opponents with a 12-man rotation, the Seminoles on Saturday ran into an opponent that could nearly match them player for player.
FSU used 12 different players on Saturday, Louisville 11.
And in a startling role-reversal, FSU’s bench was outscored 40-11 – the first time that’s happened in six games.
Not to worry. Sometimes having good depth means having good starters, and the Seminoles’ starters shined on Saturday.
Freshman Jonathan Isaac had 16 points and 10 rebounds to become the first FSU freshman with three straight double-doubles since Corey Louis in 1994-95. Isaac’s 10th rebound came with less than 30 seconds left, as he thwarted a layup attempt with less than 30 seconds to play and the Seminoles leading by four.
“He’s a guy,” FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said, “who is kind of growing up in front of our eyes. … He’s a special kind of guy.”
Bacon, meanwhile, chipped in 16 points and three rebounds and Terance Mann, who was shut out in both points and rebounds during Wednesday’s win over Notre Dame, bounced back with 15 points and three boards.
Even center Michael Ojo, bolstered by a 6 of 7 effort from the free-throw line, reached double-digits with 10 points and six rebounds.
“It wasn’t a night for our bench, but it was a night for our starters,” Bacon said. “And we came through.”
After trailing by as much as 16-2, Louisville controlled much of the action heading into halftime and went into the break trailing by six.
The Cardinals often threatened down the stretch, but, in what Bacon called a testament to FSU’s resilience, never could finish their rally.
On three separate occasions, Louisville cut its deficit two just one point in the second half.
Both times, however, FSU answered with quick scoring runs that brought the crowd back to life and threw the Cardinals out of sync.
As usual, several Seminoles took turns in the spotlight: When Louisville made it 54-53 with 11 minutes to go, FSU hit five straight free throws – two from Jarquez Smith and three from Jonathan Isaac, fouled from 3-point range – to get some breathing room.
Then, when Louisville hit back with a five-point run of its own to make it 59-58 just minutes later, freshman C.J. Walker stemmed the tide with a falling, off-balance reverse layup that led to a 3-pointer from Xavier Rathan-Mayes.
Finally, when Louisville’s Jaylen Johnson threw down a dunk to bring the Cardinals within 69-68 at the 2-minute mark, FSU responded by tightening up on defense and coming through at the free-throw line.
Johnson’s dunk turned out to be the Cardinals’ final points of the game and their only made field goal in the last 3:50.
Bacon and Isaac, meanwhile, each made a pair of free-throws in the final minutes to provide the final margin.
“We believe in each other,” Hamilton said. “And I think that’s allowed them to maintain some focus. We work on last-minute situations, not a whole lot, but enough for the guys to understand what we expect of them.
“Each game takes on a different personality. Today we had to be really, really be focused for the entire 40 minutes and not have any of those spells where you have three or four possessions where you make poor decisions, and I thought we eliminated most of those.”
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 Jonathan Isaac f 28 4 7 1 2 7 7 16 0 10 10 2 2 0 2 0
4 Dwayne Bacon g 33 6 17 2 8 2 2 16 0 3 3 0 2 1 0 1
14 Terance Mann g 29 6 10 0 1 3 9 15 2 1 3 3 0 0 2 0
22 Xavier Rathan-Mayes g 32 2 8 1 2 0 1 5 2 2 4 1 3 2 0 0
50 Michael Ojo c 15 2 5 0 0 6 7 10 2 4 6 1 1 0 1 1
0 Phil Cofer 11 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 1
2 CJ Walker 10 1 3 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 1 2 0 2 0 0
3 Trent Forrest 11 0 3 0 1 2 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
5 PJ Savoy 7 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
21 Christ Koumadje 12 1 2 0 0 2 4 4 2 0 2 5 0 0 2 0
23 Jarquez Smith 12 0 1 0 0 3 4 3 2 4 6 3 1 0 1 0
40 Brandon Allen 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Team 2 3 5
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 22 60 4 16 25 36 73 12 28 40 19 9 7 8 3
Opp 200 25 65 2 13 16 24 68 15 28 43 26 7 10 4 3
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Louisville | |||
| Florida State |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Too Much Tech As FSU Men Fall In Atlanta.
By Tim Linafelt, Seminoles.com Senior Writer
ATLANTA, GA – The wave of upsets that swept across the country and turned college basketball on its head this week made its way to Atlanta on Wednesday.
And the Florida State Seminoles could do little to stand against it.
FSU, ranked No. 6 nationally and winner of 14 of its last 15 games, lost in stunning fashion, 78-56, to unranked Georgia Tech here at McCamish Pavilion.
The Seminoles’ defeat came just 24 hours after No. 1 Villanova, No. 2 Kansas and No. 4 Kentucky all lost on Tuesday night. Elsewhere Wednesday, No. 16 Creighton suffered a defeat to unranked Georgetown.
“I think that’s every coach’s concern: you hope you don’t have one of these days, and (you hope) you don’t run into a team that’s having a great day,” FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. “It inevitably always seems to happen to every team every year. I hope this is the only one that we’re going to have.”
The Seminoles (18-3, 6-2 ACC) certainly hadn’t had one like it this season.
With Georgia Tech defending with a variety of zone looks, FSU took an eye-popping 71 shots from the field, yet made only 20. That amounts to a season-low 28.2 percent, a number dragged down further by a 6-for-25 effort from 3-point range.
The Yellow Jackets took their first double-digit lead less than four minutes into the game and never looked back.
“It was crazy. It was something that we’ve never experienced before,” junior guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes said. “Tonight, we were just completely out of it. We couldn’t make anything to save our lives.”
While result perhaps could have been predicted – the Yellow Jackets (12-8, 4-4 ACC) had throttled No. 9 North Carolina at home earlier this season and had otherwise played to a number of close defeats – the fashion in which Georgia Tech won came as a shock.
Saddled by several early fouls and a chilly night from the floor, the Seminoles scored just 15 points in the first half on the way to their largest deficit of the season.
“They just hit all their shots and we missed all our shots early,” sophomore guard Terance Mann said. “That got it going and we couldn’t bounce back after that.”
FSU missed 18 straight field goals in the first half and went scoreless for more than eight minutes. During that span, the Yellow Jackets extended what had been a 19-11 lead to 38-12 two minutes before halftime.
The Seminoles were down 41-15 at the break and fell to their biggest hole – 29 points – when Tech made a 3-pointer to begin the second half.
“We couldn’t stop their run,” Mann said. “They hit a lot of tough shots. A lot of tough, contested shots.”
FSU fared a little better in the second half. The Seminoles more than doubled their first-half output, improved their shooting percentage (albeit from 24.0 in the first to 35.7 in the second) and outscored the Jackets by four points during the final 20 minutes.
But it didn’t amount to much in the wake of the first half.
“That was very disappointing, early on,” Hamilton said. “We had so many fouls, it kind of put us back on our heels. And I just thought, offensively, we sputtered. We didn’t move the ball very well. We didn’t cut very hard. And when we had looks, it wasn’t our day to finish.”
Sophomore guard Dwayne Bacon scored 12 points – all in the second half – to lead FSU and reach double-digits for the 30th consecutive game.
Trent Forrest added seven points and six rebounds, Jonathan Isaac had six points and eight boards, and Jarquez Smith and P.J. Savoy had six points each.
Georgia Tech, meanwhile, got the bulk of its scoring from three players.
Aided by 14 free throws, freshman Josh Okogie had 35 points, 14 rebounds and five assists. Only two other Yellow Jackets, Ben Lammers (18 points, 11 rebounds) and Quinton Stephens (13 points, 5 rebounds) scored more than five.
“I think you have those days where you’re just not quite as sharp and you run in to a team that’s playing exceptionally well,” Hamilton said. “And that’s a bad combination.”
The Seminoles have yet to lose back-to-back games this season, a trend they will look to continue Saturday at Syracuse.
At 12-9, 4-4, the Orange is off to one of the worst starts of coach Jim Boeheim’s tenure. FSU is looking for its first win at Syracuse since 1997.
“We can’t go back and fix it. We can’t play Georgia Tech again tonight,” Rathan-Mayes said. “So we’ve got to learn and just move on."
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 Jonathan Isaac f 25 3 10 0 4 0 0 6 3 5 8 1 1 0 2 0
4 Dwayne Bacon g 27 4 15 3 7 1 2 12 0 1 1 1 1 3 0 2
14 Terance Mann g 21 0 3 0 0 2 2 2 1 4 5 3 3 0 0 0
22 Xavier Rathan-Mayes g 27 2 8 1 3 0 1 5 1 2 3 3 2 1 0 0
50 Michael Ojo c 7 1 2 0 0 3 3 5 1 0 1 2 0 0 1 0
0 Phil Cofer 11 1 4 0 1 0 1 2 2 0 2 0 0 2 0 0
2 CJ Walker 13 0 6 0 2 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0
3 Trent Forrest 19 2 5 0 0 3 3 7 1 5 6 1 1 0 0 4
5 PJ Savoy 13 2 8 2 7 0 2 6 3 1 4 1 0 1 0 0
11 Braian Angola-Rodas 7 1 3 0 0 1 1 3 0 3 3 1 1 1 0 0
21 Christ Koumadje 11 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 1 3 0 0 0 0
23 Jarquez Smith 13 3 4 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 4 0 1 2 1
40 Brandon Allen 6 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0
Team 1 2 3
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 20 71 6 25 10 16 56 14 25 39 21 10 9 5 7
Opp 200 26 61 5 16 21 31 78 14 39 53 19 20 12 6 5
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Georgia Tech |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Noles Rally But Fall Short At Syracuse.
SYRACUSE, NY -- A furious second-half rally by the Florida State men's basketball team gave Syracuse a scare, but it wasn't enough to erase an 18-point, halftime deficit.
Dwayne Bacon and Jonathan Isaac each had 19 points and Xavier Rathan-Mayes 16 as the No. 6 Seminoles fell, 82-72, to the Orange on Saturday afternoon at the Carrier Dome. FSU has lost back-to-back games for the first time this season.
Syracuse (13-9, 5-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) won its second straight close game and gained its first victory over a ranked team.
A week ago, Florida State (18-4, 6-3 ACC) wrapped up a six-game stretch of consecutive games against ranked teams, and the Seminoles won five of those games to vault into a tie for first place in the ACC standings with North Carolina at 6-1. A 78-56 loss at Georgia Tech on Wednesday night was an eye-opener, as was Syracuse's dominant first half.
The Orange finished off the victory from the free-throw line, with John Gillon hitting 10 in the final 3 minutes as he became a force with his aggressive drives through the lane.
Florida State trailed by 18 at the break, but Isaac had nine points to start the second half and Bacon and Rathan-Mayes each hit a 3-pointer to close the gap to 49-41 less than four minutes into the second period. The Seminoles hit five of their first six 3-pointers, one by Rathan-Mayes narrowing the Syracuse lead to 54-51 with 12:24 left.
The Orange extended its lead to 69-62 at 5:19 on White's 3 off a court-long pass from Roberson. Rathan-Mayes' fourth 3 of the game cut the lead back to four with 4:08 left.
But the Seminoles were never able to take a lead despite a combined 26 points from Isaac and Bacon in the period.
After the Orange gained an early seven-point lead with some sparkling defense, the Seminoles rallied with a seven-point surge. The Orange then took control, just as it had against Pittsburgh three weeks ago in the opening period in an 11-point win.
Syracuse had a 16-4 run to gain a double-digit lead late in the first half. Lydon had five points and Roberson four to key a surge that gave Syracuse a 33-20 lead. But it was the defense that sparkled. Syracuse forced 11 turnovers, blocked eight shots, and out-rebounded the taller Seminoles 25-20 and nearly matched them on the offensive glass, where FSU is accustomed to dominating.
Roberson's layup in the final minute gave the Orange a 44-26 halftime lead, but the Seminoles weren't about to go away quietly.
Tyler Lydon had 14 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high six blocks for Syracuse and Roberson had 10 points and seven rebounds.
The last time teams played was in last year's regular-season finale in what was widely regarded as a must-win game for Syracuse to make the NCAA Tournament. The Orange lost 78-73 on the road but made the tournament and went all the way to the national semifinals.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 Jonathan Isaac g 28 5 9 1 2 8 10 19 3 9 12 4 0 2 2 0
4 Dwayne Bacon g 33 8 18 3 7 0 0 19 2 2 4 3 0 2 0 0
14 Terance Mann f 25 0 3 0 0 3 4 3 3 0 3 3 2 2 0 0
22 Xavier Rathan-Mayes f 32 5 10 4 9 2 6 16 2 0 2 4 5 2 0 0
50 Michael Ojo c 6 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 0 1 0 0
0 Phil Cofer 6 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0
2 CJ Walker 9 1 3 0 2 1 2 3 0 0 0 2 1 1 0 2
3 Trent Forrest 9 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5 PJ Savoy 2 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0
11 Braian Angola-Rodas 7 1 3 1 2 1 2 4 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
21 Christ Koumadje 7 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 2 0 0 1 1 2
23 Jarquez Smith 27 2 3 0 1 2 2 6 5 4 9 4 4 2 1 0
40 Brandon Allen 9 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
Team 1 3 4
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 23 60 9 25 17 26 72 17 22 39 21 14 15 4 6
Opp 200 25 58 9 24 23 30 82 16 26 42 20 20 16 9 11
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Syracuse |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Clamp Down, Turnaround In Coral Gables.
CORAL GABLES, FL -- Jonathan Isaac scored 15 points and No. 15 Florida State held Miami scoreless for more than 6 1/2 minutes in the second half to snap a two-game skid by winning 75-57 on Wednesday night.
Isaac shot 5 for 7 and added seven rebounds and three steals in 25 minutes. Dwayne Bacon also had 15 points, and Xavier Rathan-Mayes added 13, including three 3-pointers.
The Seminoles (19-4, 7-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) lost to unranked teams twice last week after going 5-1 during a stretch against opponents that were all ranked. Florida State had dropped three in a row to Miami (14-7, 4-5).
The Hurricanes were outscored 44-23 in the second half and lost for only the second time in their past 25 home games. Bruce Brown had 17 points to lead the Hurricanes, who went 2 for 11 from 3-point range.
Florida State held Miami without a point for 6:37 early in the second half, forcing five turnovers while scoring 13 consecutive points to take a 47-36 lead.
Isaac made an acrobatic layup, a 3-pointer and two free throws on consecutive possessions to put the Seminoles ahead 58-46.
Florida State trailed by seven points in the first half and was down 34-31 at halftime. Miami took a 36-34 lead a minute into the second half but didn't score again until the 12:20 mark.
BIG PICTURE
Florida State: The efficient Seminoles shot 52 percent and went 14 for 15 from the free throw line.
Miami: Brown, coming off a 30-point game against North Carolina, shot 4 for 10 and was 0 for 1 from 3-point range. He had four turnovers.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 Jonathan Isaac f 25 5 7 1 1 4 4 15 3 4 7 1 2 1 1 3
4 Dwayne Bacon g 32 6 16 1 4 2 2 15 0 1 1 1 3 1 0 0
14 Terance Mann g 29 4 6 1 2 2 2 11 3 0 3 4 2 0 0 1
22 Xavier Rathan-Mayes g 32 4 8 3 7 2 2 13 0 3 3 1 4 2 0 2
50 Michael Ojo c 18 1 1 0 0 3 3 5 1 1 2 3 0 2 1 3
0 Phil Cofer 13 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 1 2 3 1 0 0 0 0
2 CJ Walker 8 1 3 0 1 0 0 2 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 1
3 Trent Forrest 11 1 3 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 1
5 PJ Savoy 4 1 1 1 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
11 Braian Angola-Rodas 5 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
21 Christ Koumadje 6 2 2 0 0 0 0 4 0 2 2 2 0 1 0 0
23 Jarquez Smith 17 1 2 0 1 1 2 3 0 1 1 3 0 0 2 0
Team 1 2 3
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 27 52 7 18 14 15 75 10 17 27 19 12 9 4 11
Opp 200 19 42 2 11 17 22 57 10 16 26 11 5 14 1 5
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Miami |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
No. 15 Men's Basketball Tops Clemson, 109-61.
Behind a career-high 29 points from sophomore Dwayne Bacon, No. 15 Florida State rolled to a 109-61
win over Clemson on Sunday in the Donald L. Tucker.
TALLAHASSEE, FL - Behind a career-high 29 points from sophomore Dwayne Bacon, No. 15 Florida State rolled to a 109-61 win over Clemson on Sunday in the Donald L. Tucker Center.
The 6-6 guard out of Lakeland, Fla. had his way with the Tigers on a day where the entire team seemed inspired to play some of the best basketball the Seminoles have shown in the 2016-17 season.
As a team, FSU shot 66.1% from the floor, a school record for an ACC game. The Noles shot a blistering 57% (17-30) from beyond the arc, with the number of threes made also being a school record in ACC play. Additionally, the 109 points were the most scored in an ACC game by FSU since 1999 and the 48-point margin of victory was largest ever in a conference game by the school.
“Today was one of those days it seemed as though everything was going right for our team,” coach Leonard Hamilton said following the game. “Our guys were connected both defensively and offensively. We shot the ball very well and defended very well.
In the first half, leading 11-8, the Seminoles went on a 9-0 run, extending the lead to 12 and never looking back. Freshman guard, CJ Walker, provided an instant spark of the bench, burying a triple and then finishing the sequence with a physical layup in transition, resulting in a bucket and a foul.
The story on the day however, was Bacon who recorded 18 points in the first half on 6 of 8 shooting, including 3 of 4 from beyond the arc, his 33rd straight game with double figures. His back-to-back threes put FSU up double digits after Clemson cut the lead to six midway through the period.
“When I’m in the zone, I just block everything else out,” Bacon said smiling as he reflected on the big afternoon. “I was just feeling it today.”
“The team realized he had the hot hand and were moving the ball well to take advantage of a night where he was clicking on all cylinders,” Hamilton added.
With Bacon leading the charge, the Seminoles used a 20-2 run late in the first half in route to a 51-25 halftime lead, slamming the door shut on the Tigers.
While the offense was firing on all cylinders, FSU was equally as effective on the defensive end of the floor, holding the Tigers to under 35% shooting in the first half and just over 39% for the entire game.
“The little things on defense matter,” sophomore guard Terance Mann said. “When you expect to win and have that mentality, you do all the things necessary to play well.”
The Seminoles are at their best when they’re deflecting passes and getting out into transition for easy buckets. On Sunday, FSU forced Clemson into 22 turnovers, propelling them into 35 points. The Noles also blocked five shots, giving them numerous opportunities to get out and run, reflected by their 18 fast break points.
FSU racked up 58 more points in the second half as the energy did not let up, especially from Bacon who continued to pile it on.
On a few occasions, Bacon brought the 10,868 in attendance to their feet with long distance shots that seemingly were thrown in from Doak Campbell Stadium. FSU’s scoring leader would finish the game 10 of 14 from the floor, including 6 of 9 from deep.
“Get him the ball,” Mann said laughing on his thoughts of seeing Bacon in the zone. “That’s all you think about.”
“It’s not just threes, it’s the range from which he makes shots,” Clemson coach Brad Brownell added. “He’s got size and strength to get to the rim, a tremendous player.”
Bacon’s hot night was contagious to his teammates as the Seminoles made 17 threes in the game, shooting nearly 57% (17-30) from beyond the arc.
FSU finished the game shooting over 66% from the floor on 26 assists. The FSU bench was strong yet again, outscoring Clemson’s unit 55-26. Braian Angola-Rodas and Mann added 12 and 11 points, respectively for FSU. The win moves Florida State to 20-4 (8-3 ACC) on the year, the fastest the program has ever reached 20 wins in a season.
The Noles next continue their two-game home stand on Wednesday against NC State as they look to build on two straight strong performances.
“We’re constantly trying to challenge them both physically and emotionally to go that level that separates good teams from great ones,” Hamilton said.
“I think this team is starting to become who they will end up being and the best part is, there is still plenty of room left from improvement.”
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 Jonathan Isaac f 19 1 4 0 2 0 0 2 2 3 5 3 0 1 1 1
4 Dwayne Bacon g 26 10 14 6 9 3 3 29 0 3 3 0 2 3 0 0
14 Terance Mann g 17 4 6 1 1 2 2 11 2 2 4 1 4 1 0 1
22 Xavier Rathan-Mayes g 25 3 6 0 2 0 0 6 0 2 2 1 9 1 0 2
50 Michael Ojo c 10 2 4 0 0 2 2 6 1 0 1 2 0 0 1 0
0 Phil Cofer 17 2 3 1 2 1 2 6 0 1 1 2 0 1 0 0
2 CJ Walker 15 3 3 2 2 0 1 8 0 0 0 2 6 1 0 0
3 Trent Forrest 13 3 4 0 1 0 0 6 0 2 2 0 1 1 0 3
5 PJ Savoy 11 2 6 1 5 1 1 6 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 1
11 Braian Angola-Rodas 14 4 4 3 3 1 1 12 0 3 3 1 3 1 0 0
21 Christ Koumadje 14 3 3 0 0 0 0 6 1 0 1 3 0 1 2 0
23 Jarquez Smith 12 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 3 3 2 1 2 0 1
40 Brandon Allen 7 3 4 3 3 0 0 9 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0
Team 1 1 2 1
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 41 62 17 30 10 12 109 7 22 29 18 26 14 5 9
Opp 200 21 56 8 21 11 19 61 15 15 30 15 11 22 3 6
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clemson | |||
| Florida State |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Isaac Soars, Defense Roars As FSU Men Throttle NC State.
By Tim Linafelt, Seminoles.com Senior Writer
TALLAHASSEE, FL – In a matchup of two star freshmen with NBA aspirations, score this round to Jonathan Isaac and the Florida State Seminoles.
Three days removed from a quiet outing against Clemson, Isaac roared back with 21 points and seven rebounds to lift No. 14 FSU to a 95-71 rout of the North Carolina State Wolfpack in front of 9,432 fans at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
Isaac outdueled NC State freshman Dennis Smith Jr., a potential lottery pick who on Wednesday matched a season-low with just eight points.
“This game, I felt like I came out a little more aggressively,” Isaac said. “My teammates found me and I made shots.”
Dwayne Bacon added 19 points and nine rebounds, and Terance Mann flirted with a double-double (eight points, 10 boards) for FSU, which has won three straight to improve to 21-4 overall and 9-3 in the ACC. With six games to play, the Seminoles have already surpassed their conference win total from each of the last two seasons.
NC State (14-11, 3-9) dropped its fourth consecutive game.
“I thought that the effort was a direct reflection of the respect we had for them,” FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. “We knew we had to do something to not give them the opportunity to get those wide open looks.”
In front of nearly two dozen professional scouts, Isaac scored FSU’s first seven points as the Seminoles built a double-digit lead less than seven minutes into the game.
And he scored from all over the floor, knocking down 3-pointers, dunks and mid-range shots on his way to a 60-percent shooting night.
Perhaps his most impressive sequence came late in the first half, when he drove to his left and, after being fouled, lost his balance and threw up a prayer of a layup attempt on his way to the floor.
The shot rolled in, Isaac added the ensuing free throw and FSU led 41-21 with 3:41 to go in the first half. The Seminoles would eventually lead by as much as 26.
“I tried to keep my eye on the basket and just get it up there,” Isaac said with a grin. “When that’s going in, you know you’re having a good night.”
The same could not be said for NC State’s Smith, the talented guard who came into Wednesday’s game with two triple-doubles and a pair of 30-point games this season.
Led by an aggressive effort from Xavier Rathan-Mayes, the Seminoles harassed and hounded Smith all night, often bringing a second defender to double-team him even as he carried the ball down the floor.
With the Seminoles funneling the ball out of Smith’s hands, he finished the first half with zero points on 0 of 4 shooting.
“Our game plan was to be as disruptive as possible,” Hamilton said. “…There’s very few times that you face a guy who potentially is as dominating as this youngster is. He’s outstanding.”
By the time the Wolfpack adjusted in the second period, it was too late to mount a rally of any significance.
Smith, who entered the game averaging nearly 20 points per contest, took just eight shots and made only four of them, although he did contribute eight assists. Terry Henderson led the Wolfpack with 17 points, while Maverick Rowan and Abdul-Malik Abu each chipped in 16.
“(Smith) is one of the top scorers in our league, and I wanted to take the challenge upon myself,” Rathan-Mayes said. “I’ve been given the assignment to be the one who starts our defense, to be the head of our defense, to be a guy that is constantly turning people in the backcourt, constantly putting pressure on opposing offenses. And I’ve taken that to heart.”
NC State went on one extended run – a 13-3 swing midway through the second half – that cut FSU’s lead to 16 points with 7:34 to go. Otherwise, the Seminoles never had much to worry about.
That’s thanks in large part to an overwhelming advantage on the glass, where FSU outrebounded the Wolfpack 49-25 and turned 21 offensive boards into 19 second-chance points.
Mann’s 10 rebounds led the Seminoles, but Bacon (nine), Isaac (seven), and Michael Ojo (six) weren’t far behind.
Of the 13 Seminoles to play on Wednesday, all but three grabbed at least one rebound.
“I thought today the difference in the game was their rebounding,” NC State coach Mark Gottfried said. “They’ve got length, they’ve got depth, they’re big on the perimeter, on the wings. Today, I just thought they whipped us on the glass.”
FSU also took care of the ball, racking up 20 assists against just seven turnovers.
Three of those assists belonged to Ojo, the senior center known more for his physical presence than for his deft touch with the ball. He nearly matched a season high with 11 points and six rebounds.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 Jonathan Isaac f 24 6 10 1 2 8 11 21 4 3 7 2 0 1 1 1
4 Dwayne Bacon g 30 6 15 2 7 5 7 19 1 8 9 2 2 2 1 0
14 Terance Mann g 23 4 7 0 1 0 1 8 6 4 10 1 5 0 0 0
22 Xavier Rathan-Mayes g 29 4 7 0 1 0 2 8 0 3 3 2 4 1 0 2
50 Michael Ojo c 21 4 7 0 0 3 4 11 4 2 6 2 3 0 1 2
0 Phil Cofer 14 3 5 2 2 0 0 8 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 0
2 CJ Walker 11 0 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 2 3 0 2 1 0 0
3 Trent Forrest 9 1 3 0 0 1 2 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0
5 PJ Savoy 10 2 4 2 4 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
11 Braian Angola-Rodas 7 1 2 0 0 2 2 4 1 1 2 2 1 0 0 0
21 Christ Koumadje 9 2 2 0 0 1 2 5 1 1 2 1 0 0 1 0
23 Jarquez Smith 11 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 4 2 1 1 1 0
40 Brandon Allen 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
Team 0 2 2
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 34 70 7 18 20 31 95 21 28 49 16 20 7 6 5
Opp 200 28 60 5 21 10 17 71 8 17 25 23 13 11 2 0
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Carolina State | |||
| Florida State |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Colson's Career Day Leads Irish Past No. 14 Florida State.
SOUTH BEND, IN -- Bonzie Colson scored a career-high 33 points and grabbed 13 rebounds Saturday to help Notre Dame avenge a January loss to Florida State with an 82-74 win over the No. 14 Seminoles.
After snapping a four-game losing streak earlier in the week against Wake Forest, the Fighting Irish have now won two straight to remain in the hunt for the top-four finish in the ACC and a double-bye in the league's postseason tournament.
Matt Farrell added 15 points and nine assists for Notre Dame (19-7, 8-5 ACC) and Steve Vasturia chipped in with 15 points and seven boards.
Coming off a dominant three-game winning streak during which they won by an average of 33 points, the Seminoles (21-5, 9-4) found themselves by down 11 points in the first half and had no answer in the second half for Colson, who scored 20 after the break.
Terrance Mann led Florida State with 15 points and Dwayne Bacon and Trent Forrest each had 12.
Colson eclipsed 1,000 points for his Irish career, and the ACC's leading rebounder also recorded his 16th double-double of the season.
Colson nearly blew the lid off Purcell Pavilion with a personal 7-0 run, highlighted by a three-point play and a tip-in of a V.J. Beachem missed 3, pushing Notre Dame's lead to 17 points with 15:39 to play.
Florida State got within 12 on a Jarquez Smith alley-oop dunk, but Colson hit a pair of free throws then threw down a two-handed slam on a feed from Farrell, and followed with a layup on another give from Farrell with six minutes to play.
In Florida State's win over the Irish, freshman Jonathan Isaac had 23 points, 10 rebounds and seven blocks, but in the rematch, Isaac failed to score in the first half and finished with just four points.
The Seminoles struggled to shoot from anywhere outside the paint, going just 3 of 15 from 3-point range and 7 of 22 from the free throw line. Notre Dame, the nation's best free throw shooting team, hit 19 of 21.
Freshman guard T.J. Gibbs made his first career start for the Irish, who ran out their fourth different starting five in the last four games.
BIG PICTURE
The Seminoles lost to Notre Dame for just the second time in six meetings and fell a half game behind North Carolina atop the ACC standings, with the Tar Heels scheduled to play next on Wednesday at North Carolina State.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 Jonathan Isaac f 32 2 6 0 2 0 0 4 1 5 6 2 1 2 1 3
4 Dwayne Bacon g 30 5 13 0 4 2 6 12 0 6 6 2 1 0 0 0
14 Terance Mann g 33 7 9 0 0 1 2 15 2 2 4 0 1 1 1 1
22 Xavier Rathan-Mayes g 27 4 10 1 4 2 7 11 0 1 1 3 3 2 1 1
50 Michael Ojo c 9 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 3 3 2 0 1 1 0
0 Phil Cofer 12 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 3 0 1 0 0
2 CJ Walker 15 3 10 2 4 0 1 8 1 2 3 3 3 1 0 1
3 Trent Forrest 19 5 8 0 0 2 6 12 2 2 4 0 1 0 0 2
5 PJ Savoy 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
11 Braian Angola-Rodas 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
21 Christ Koumadje 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
23 Jarquez Smith 17 3 5 0 0 0 0 6 1 4 5 3 0 0 2 0
Team 1 1
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 31 66 3 15 7 22 72 9 25 34 19 10 9 6 8
Opp 200 29 59 7 22 19 21 84 7 34 41 17 15 13 4 6
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Notre Dame |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
FSU Men Plagued By Panthers.
By Tim Linafelt, Seminoles.com Senior Writer
PITTSBURGH, PA – After a day like the one the Florida State men's basketball team had today at Pittsburgh, it might be tempting to forget about it as quickly as possible and focus solely on the next game.
And given that the Seminoles play again in less than 48 hours, it would be easy to do.
To do that, however, would be to skip over some hard but necessary lessons. And the Seminoles were in the mood to learn following an 80-66 defeat to the Pittsburgh Panthers on Saturday at the Petersen Events Center.
"It's not that I don't like the quick turnaround," freshman forward Jonathan Isaac said. "It's that I don't want to just walk away from this loss. This is one that I want to rewatch before I move on."
The Seminoles (21-6, 9-5 ACC) have lost back-to-back games for just the second time this season and fell to 4-6 in games played away from the Donald L. Tucker Center.
That’s where they’ll be when they host Boston College on Monday.
“We’ve just got to be better,” junior guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes said. “We’ve got to execute at a higher level. We’ve got to move the basketball. And it starts defensively. We’re not playing defense the way we know how to play defense.”
That’s evidenced by Pitt shooting 51 percent from the field, as well as a damaging 45.5 percent from 3-point range.
The Panthers’ proficiency from range provided separation in a game in which the Seminoles held advantages in rebounding, bench points and points in the paint.
“That’s not an easy team to play – at all,” said Pitt coach Kevin Stallings, whose team has won three of its last four after an eight-game losing streak.
Rathan-Mayes led the Seminoles with 12 points, while Isaac chipped in 11 and Terance Mann had 10.
The most startling line on the box score, however, belonged to FSU’s Dwayne Bacon, who finished with zero points on an 0 for 4 night from the field.
Bacon, the team’s leading scorer who came into the contest averaging 17.4 points per game, had reached double digits in 35 consecutive games.
“I just think that every one of our guys will have one of those nights where they don’t play particularly well,” FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. “It just happened to be his night. I don’t think it was anything different that they did to him.”
Pitt’s Stallings echoed that sentiment.
“I don’t want to take a lot of credit for that,” he said. “I think maybe he just had an off day. Because, again, a guy goes scoreless, we don’t throw shutouts very often.”
Pitt (15-12, 4-10), meanwhile, enjoyed a performance from Sheldon Jeter that may have been just as unlikely as Bacon’s struggles.
A senior forward known more for his rebounding than scoring, Jeter on Saturday had a career-high 29 points while making 12 of his 14 field-goal attempts. That’s nearly 22 points better than his season average (7.6 point per game).
Jeter’s outburst meant that FSU could take little solace in slowing down Pitt’s dynamic duo of Jamel Artis (16 points) and Michael Young (11 points), both of whom finished well below their season averages.
“It was hard for our big guys to match up with (Jeter),” Hamilton said. “We didn’t have a matchup, so we went to a smaller lineup. And they gave us some energy but we couldn’t get over the hump.”
Thanks to an offense that took care of the ball and limited FSU’s transition offense, Pitt led by four at halftime and by as much as 15 after opening the second half on a 17-6 run.
But Florida State then bounced back and scored 19 of the next 25 points, a stretch which included a 10-0 run sparked by back-to-back buckets from Braian Angola-Rodas.
Rathan-Mayes’ layup with 6:19 to go brought the Seminoles to within two points, and had the 10,525 in attendance mostly quiet.
But Pitt scored on its next possession and, following FSU misses at the free-throw line and near the basket, extended its lead to seven when Jeter drained one of his four 3-pointers.
FSU made just one of its final 10 shot attempts while being outscored 14-4 over the final five-plus minutes.
“You use a lot of energy, sometimes, cutting into that lead,” Hamilton said. “And (Pitt) is real smart, they’re and older, more mature and I thought over time they regained their composure and executed.”
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 Jonathan Isaac f 29 4 8 2 4 1 3 11 1 5 6 3 1 1 3 1
4 Dwayne Bacon g 20 0 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 2 1 1 2 0 1
14 Terance Mann g 25 4 8 0 1 2 2 10 5 2 7 4 0 1 0 0
22 Xavier Rathan-Mayes g 31 5 12 2 7 0 1 12 0 1 1 1 6 1 0 1
50 Michael Ojo c 12 3 4 0 0 2 4 8 2 0 2 1 0 1 0 0
0 Phil Cofer 23 2 3 0 1 0 0 4 0 6 6 1 1 0 0 0
2 CJ Walker 16 1 4 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 4 1 1 0 0
3 Trent Forrest 16 1 3 0 0 2 2 4 0 0 0 1 2 2 0 1
5 PJ Savoy 4 1 1 0 0 2 2 4 0 2 2 1 0 0 0 0
11 Braian Angola-Rodas 10 2 4 1 1 0 0 5 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 1
21 Christ Koumadje 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
23 Jarquez Smith 12 2 5 0 0 0 1 4 0 2 2 2 0 0 1 0
Team 2 2
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 26 57 5 18 9 15 66 10 21 31 21 12 9 5 5
Opp 200 26 51 10 22 18 22 80 7 23 30 17 14 8 2 6
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Pittsburgh |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Bacon Reaches Milestone As No. 19 Men Top Boston College, 104-72.
By Ariya Massoudi, Seminoles.com Contributor
TALLAHASSEE, FL - Defense turns into instant offense.
That’s been the mindset of Florida State’s basketball team this season. It’s one of the main reasons the Seminoles won 22 games on the year.
Such was the case again Monday night against Boston College as the No. 19-ranked Noles cruised to a 104-72 victory over the Eagles in front of 9,609 fans at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
The Seminoles (22-6, 10-5 ACC) held the Eagles to 38.8 percent shooting and generated 15 turnovers which led to multiple transition opportunities, an area in which the Noles thrive.
“We got after it on the defensive end,” FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. “It gave us the opportunity to get out in transition and move the ball.”
Xavier Rathan-Mayes was excellent defensively, routinely pressuring the Eagles’ point guards 94 feet from the basket and disrupting their offense. The redshirt junior drew the praise of his coaches and teammates after the game, as well as Boston College coach Jim Christian.
“He doesn’t get enough credit for his defense,” Christian said. “He’s the best on-ball pressure defender in the ACC, he’s the straw that stirs the drink for them.”
Rathan-Mayes’ own coach agreed, claiming his guard deserved a spot on the All-ACC Defensive Team when the season ends.
“If he’s not an all-defensive guard, then I don’t know who is, because he’s done a tremendous job,” Hamilton said.
Rathan-Mayes helped the Seminoles hold the Eagles to just 32.4 percent shooting in the first half and only 31 points at the break.
“I came into this season wanting to be a leader on the defensive end and really challenged myself to be (ACC) defensive player of the year,” Rathan-Mayes said. “I take that mindset into every game, to be disruptive and stop opposing guards.”
Rathan-Mayes finished the contest with seven points and 10 assists, committing zero turnovers in the process.
Dwayne Bacon scored 16 points on the evening, becoming the 46th Seminole to reach the 1,000-point mark for a career. Bacon joined Bob Sura as the school’s only sophomores to attain the achievement and – in game No. 62 of his career at FSU – the 14th fastest to accomplish the feat.
The sophomore out of Lakeland, Fla., buried a 3-pointer early in the second half to join the club and led the Noles in scoring on the evening.
“He had a tough night the other night (at Pittsburgh),” Rathan-Mayes said. “I wanted him involved early and wanted to make him the focal part of the offense. He shot the ball great.”
FSU, as it has done all season at home, raced out to a quick start, leading 11-4 by the under-16 media timeout. The Seminoles used their massive interior-post advantage over the Eagles, feeding Michael Ojo for two early baskets.
“It’s about how we start. When we’re getting deflections early it gives us energy, which helps our offense,” Jonathan Isaac said. “That then helps our defense even more, it goes hand in hand.”
The Seminoles put the Eagles away for good later in the first half on the backs of a 12-2 run and another 10-2 run, led by P.J. Savoy’s hot-shooting half. The sophomore hit 3 of 4 from beyond the arc on his way to 11 points to lead all scorers into halftime as FSU held a 55-31 advantage.
Savoy finished the game with 15 points off the bench, which combined to outscore Boston College’s bench 59-2 in the game.
“It’s the ‘boom-squad,’ baby, that’s what they do,” said Isaac, who scored 14 points. “They’ve been a big part of our team all season.”
In the second half, FSU continued to put its foot on the gas pedal, getting stops and leaking out into transition for a number of highlight-reel dunks.
A pair of free-throws from Brandon Allen with 3:16 left in the game gave the Seminoles at least 100 points for the fifth time this season. Florida State finished the night shooting over 54 percent from the floor, while burying 12 3-pointers to aid the offensive onslaught. The Noles also generated 26 assists to just eight turnovers on the evening. The win makes FSU 17-0 at home this season and moves the Seminoles back into fourth place in the ACC standings.
Next up, FSU heads back on the road to face Clemson on Saturday, hoping to shift the same level of energy and focus away from the Donald L. Tucker Center.
“We have to generate the energy among ourselves,” Rathan Mayes said. “It’ll start with preparation this week, and we have to start with the defense to create our energy.”
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 Jonathan Isaac f 23 6 10 1 2 1 1 14 0 4 4 2 2 1 2 1
4 Dwayne Bacon g 26 6 15 4 7 0 2 16 2 3 5 0 4 2 0 0
14 Terance Mann g 15 2 4 0 0 0 0 4 1 2 3 2 0 0 0 1
22 Xavier Rathan-Mayes g 24 3 4 1 2 0 0 7 1 4 5 1 10 0 0 1
50 Michael Ojo c 11 2 3 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0
0 Phil Cofer 10 1 2 0 1 2 2 4 0 1 1 0 1 3 1 0
2 CJ Walker 12 3 6 1 4 2 2 9 0 4 4 2 1 0 0 0
3 Trent Forrest 15 2 3 0 0 0 0 4 0 4 4 1 1 1 0 1
5 PJ Savoy 13 4 9 3 8 4 4 15 0 2 2 1 1 0 0 3
11 Braian Angola-Rodas 14 2 3 2 2 3 3 9 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0
21 Christ Koumadje 16 2 4 0 1 0 0 4 0 4 4 0 0 0 0 0
23 Jarquez Smith 12 5 6 0 0 0 1 10 2 2 4 2 1 1 0 0
40 Brandon Allen 9 1 3 0 2 2 2 4 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0
Team 1 1
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 39 72 12 29 14 17 104 6 32 38 14 26 8 3 7
Opp 200 26 67 10 31 10 15 72 11 27 38 16 12 15 2 4
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boston College | |||
| Florida State |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Rathan-Mayes, FSU Men Rally For Key Road Win At Clemson.
Xavier Rathan-Mayes scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half and the Seminoles
scored the game's final five points on the way to a 76-74 victory over the Clemson Tigers.
By Tim Linafelt, Seminoles.com Senior Writer
CLEMSON, SC – The Florida State men’s basketball team led for more than 31 minutes here at Clemson’s Littlejohn Coliseum, and the Seminoles never trailed by more than three points.
And yet, FSU still rallied for one of its most impressive and important victories of the season.
Facing a hostile crowd and a Clemson team desperate for a resume-boosting win, No. 19 Florida State erased a three-point deficit with two minutes to go and scored the game’s final five points on the way to a 76-74 victory over the Tigers.
Xavier Rathan-Mayes scored 13 of his team-high 15 points in the second half, Jonathan Isaac added 14 and Dwayne Bacon chipped in 12 for the Seminoles, who won on the road for the first time in their last three tries.
Florida State (23-6, 11-5 ACC) visits No. 10 Duke on Tuesday.
“That felt great,” Isaac said. … “That’s been our Achilles heel, so with everybody saying, ‘They can’t win on the road,' it just felt extra great because we proved them wrong.”
Rathan-Mayes sparked FSU’s late rally with a pair of free throws followed by a falling, hard layup that put the Seminoles on top for good with 1:22 on the clock.
FSU’s defense, meanwhile, did not allow the Tigers to make any of their final five attempts from the floor.
Isaac blocked Clemson’s Shelton Mitchell near the basket with 11 seconds to play, then, after Trent Forrest made a free throw to stretch FSU’s lead to two points, the Seminoles disrupted Marcquise Reed’s last-second shot attempt and forced it short off the front of the rim.
Rathan-Mayes grabbed the rebound, the clock ran out and the Seminoles could finally exhale.
“They called a timeout,” Isaac said, “and we just locked in, in the huddle, and said, ‘We’re not going to give up anything else.’”
And so they didn’t. Clemson went the final two minutes, six seconds with a single point, and the Tigers finished the game on a 2-for-10 cold streak from the floor.
“(Clemson) probably played well enough to win the game,” FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. “We just were fortunate to make a couple plays at the end that gave us a chance.”
Saturday’s game was a far cry from the first meeting between the two, when FSU raced out to a double-digit lead and handed the Tigers a 48-point defeat three weeks ago in Tallahassee.
Hamilton insisted that the lopsided result was an aberration and that the Tigers (14-14, 4-12) were much better than their record suggested.
They proved him right on Saturday.
Despite holding the lead for much of the game, the Seminoles were never up by more than seven points. FSU held a 38-37 advantage at halftime and survived 11 lead changes over the final 20 minutes.
Clemson, which fell in heartbreaking fashion to Virginia Tech earlier this week, lost its ninth game by six or fewer points.
“When you look back at the fact that they’ve lost nine game by less than six points, it says an awful lot,” Hamilton said. “That they’re awful close.”
More significant, though, was the way this one differed from the Seminoles’ recent outings on the road.
FSU was sharp and energized from the opening tip-off and avoided the type of pitfalls that led to double-digit deficits at Notre Dame and Pittsburgh earlier this month.
The Seminoles shot well from the field (24-53, 45.3 percent) and were excellent from the free-throw line, where they connected on 23 of their 28 attempts.
And FSU’s depth, a hallmark of its success throughout the season, rose to the occasion after several Seminoles fell into foul trouble.
With Terance Mann fouling out near the end of the game and Michael Ojo limited by four fouls, the Seminoles got crunch-time contributions from Forrest (nine points, five rebounds) as well as extended minutes from Jarquez Smith, Christ Koumadje, Braian Angola-Rodas and Phil Cofer.
“That’s one of the strengths of our team – that we’ve been able to get guys in foul trouble and maintain a certain quality of play because of the quality of our depth,” Hamilton said.
Even despite a disjointed few moments near the end of the first half, the Seminoles went into the break holding a lead on the road for the first time this season.
Then, when Clemson went on its late run and brought the 9,000 fans in attendance to a roar, the Seminoles responded in a way they hadn’t since winning at Virginia nearly two months ago.
That was thanks in large part to Rathan-Mayes, who in addition to providing a scoring spark, once again guided the Seminoles with a steady hand from the point.
The junior dished seven assists, committed just one turnover and made 5 of his 6 free-throw attempts.
Dating back to Monday's game at Boston College, Rathan-Mayes has 17 assists against one turnover.
"They were doing a great job of kind of denying (Bacon) and they were doing the same thing with Jon," Rathan-Mayes said. "So I was able to be a little more aggressive. My teammates did such a great job of allowing me to do what I do, whether it’s getting guys involved or scoring the basketball."
A win Saturday also allowed the Seminoles to keep pace in the ACC standings, where they remain in second place and two games behind North Carolina.
With two games left in the regular season, FSU remains in the thick of the race for a top-four seed and a double-bye in next month's ACC tournament.
“It was a big win for us,” Forrest said. “We know that home wins are big. But getting road wins help your resume a lot. So that was one of the biggest parts about this win – getting a good, solid road win.”
And, along with it, a fresh boost of confidence as they prepare to play in one of the toughest environments in college basketball.
The Seminoles will be looking for their first win at Duke’s Cameron Indoor Stadium since 2012. And the Blue Devils are still smarting from an 88-72 loss in Tallahassee earlier this season.
“We got that stigma out of our head of, ‘Can’t win on the road.’ That’s big,” Isaac said. “But now it’s non-stop. We’ve got to refocus and get ready for Duke on the road.”
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 Jonathan Isaac f 29 5 8 2 3 2 2 14 1 2 3 3 1 1 1 0
4 Dwayne Bacon f 31 3 14 1 6 5 5 12 0 3 3 2 1 3 0 1
14 Terance Mann g 19 2 2 1 1 0 0 5 3 1 4 5 2 1 0 3
22 Xavier Rathan-Mayes g 35 5 12 0 3 5 6 15 0 4 4 3 7 1 0 1
50 Michael Ojo c 10 2 3 0 0 4 4 8 3 0 3 4 0 0 0 0
0 Phil Cofer 9 1 1 1 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0
2 CJ Walker 3 0 1 0 1 0 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
3 Trent Forrest 22 2 4 0 0 5 7 9 1 4 5 2 2 0 1 1
5 PJ Savoy 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0
11 Braian Angola-Rodas 9 1 3 0 2 0 0 2 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 0
21 Christ Koumadje 10 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 2 1 3 1 0 0 1 0
23 Jarquez Smith 19 2 4 0 0 2 2 6 0 2 2 3 0 3 0 1
Team 2 2 4
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 24 53 5 17 23 28 76 13 20 33 28 13 10 4 7
Opp 200 22 49 4 11 26 32 74 10 19 29 21 8 11 1 5
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Clemson |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
FSU Men Rally Late But Fall Short At Duke, 75-70.
By Tim Linafelt, Seminoles.com Senior Writer
DURHAM, NC – There might never be an ideal time to play at Duke’s Cameron Indoor Stadium.
But in case the Florida State men’s basketball team didn’t have a steep enough hill to climb, here’s what the Seminoles were up against on Tuesday night:
The Blue Devils were celebrating Senior Night and bidding farewell to program stalwarts Amile Jefferson and Matt Jones. Duke also was a little bit angry and a little bit desperate for a win after two consecutive losses.
Finally, the Blue Devils had a chance to pay back the Seminoles for a lopsided rout in Tallahassee earlier this season. And they didn’t let that chance go to waste.
Starting for the limited Grayson Allen, Duke freshman Frank Jackson scored 14 of his 22 points in the second half as the 17th-ranked Blue Devils topped No. 19 Florida State, 75-70, in front of 9,314 fans at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Dwayne Bacon scored 19 points, including 16 in the second half, to lead Florida State (23-7, 11-6 ACC). Xavier Rathan-Mayes added 15 while Jonathan Isaac and Braian Angola-Rodas each had eight.
The loss drops FSU to fifth place in the ACC standings, a half-game behind Louisville and Notre Dame, and after Duke via tiebreaker.
FSU, however, can leap back into the top four with a win over Miami at home in Saturday's regular-season finale (4 p.m., ACC Network). The top four finishers receive a double-bye in the ACC tournament.
Duke (23-7, 11-6) closes its campaign Saturday at North Carolina.
“We have nobody to blame but ourselves tonight,” FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. “You’ve got to be at your very best to be successful against a team of this caliber. And tonight we were not at our best.”
Indeed, the Seminoles required a frantic rally in the game’s waning moments to provide a close final score.
FSU trailed by as much as 19 points in the second half and could never cut its deficit to within two possessions down the stretch.
Twice the Seminoles cut Duke’s lead to eight points when the game was still in the balance, but the Blue Devils had a response each time.
First when Duke’s Luke Kennard answered a Bacon 3-pointer with a deep 3 of his own. And again a few minutes later when FSU surrendered two offensive rebounds – including one after a free-throw miss – that led to a pair of free throws by Kennard and another double-digit deficit.
The Blue Devils turned 14 offensive boards into 17 second-chance points.
"That’s a huge win for us," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "Guys were playing so hard for both teams. That’s why you have more turnovers (26) than assists (15) by both teams. It was physical, tough-minded. It was a man’s game."
Sparked by Bacon’s 11 points in the final 3:22, the Seminoles outscored 12-6 in the final four minutes to provide the final margin.
If nothing else, it was an encouraging, albeit brief, return to form for Bacon, who had his highest output since scoring 19 against North Carolina State on Feb. 8.
“I’ve just got to get myself going earlier,” Bacon said. “That’s kind of on me to get myself involved in the offense.”
FSU had plenty of chances in the early goings, but, in frustrating fashion, struggled to finish near the basket.
For weeks, Hamilton had preached the need for his team to increase its post touches and let the offense flow through the Seminoles’ typical height advantage.
The Seminoles did just that on Monday, often finding big men Michael Ojo, Jarquez Smith and Christ Koumadje with pretty passes that led to high-percentage chances in the paint.
The only problem? The ball wouldn’t cooperate.
FSU’s three centers combined to shoot 1 for 10 from the floor, including 0 for 7 in the first half.
That, combined with 12 defensive rebounds by the Blue Devils in the first period, helped them stretch what was a one-point game with 8:39 to go in the half into a 15-point gap a few minutes later.
“For whatever reason, we couldn’t finish our layups in the first half, and I thought our offensive execution is not nearly what it had been,” Hamilton said. “We had a lot of easy opportunities. We just didn’t make layups. And they built a lead and now we’ve got to dig ourselves out of a ditch.”
That ditch got even bigger in the second half thanks to Duke’s Jackson, a former McDonald’s All-American who came into the contest averaging 9.9 points per game.
With Allen nursing an ankle injury, Jackson stepped up and shot 8 of 15 from the field to reach a new career scoring high.
Jackson, who scored just three points against FSU in Tallahassee on Jan. 10, did most of his damage early in the second half, when he erupted for 13 points and five straight made shots in the span of just 3:31.
Jackson’s last 3-pointer – he made three – gave Duke a 49-30 lead with 15:37 to go in the game.
“The first game, he didn’t really do much against us, but he came out and showed the world that he can play,” Bacon said. “That’s what guys at Duke do. There’s always going to be a guy that you don’t expect that shows up big time. He went on a scoring rampage and we didn’t know what to do because, at the time, we didn’t expect it.”
After playing three of its last four games on the road, FSU is headed home in search of a perfect home slate. The Seminoles are 17-0 at the Donald L. Tucker Center this season, and haven’t made it through a whole season unscathed at home since 1975-76.
Then it’s off to Brooklyn for the ACC tournament, where the Seminoles say they wouldn’t mind a rematch with the Blue Devils.
“We were right there,” Rathan-Mayes said. “We did a really good job of fighting back, staying in the game and continuing to fight, no matter what the score was and what calls we got.
“We hope we can see them again in the tournament on a neutral court.”
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 Jonathan Isaac f 25 3 7 1 3 1 2 8 2 6 8 2 1 1 0 0
4 Dwayne Bacon g 31 6 9 2 4 5 5 19 2 1 3 4 3 3 0 0
14 Terance Mann g 24 1 6 1 2 0 0 3 2 1 3 1 0 0 0 1
22 Xavier Rathan-Mayes g 31 7 13 0 0 1 3 15 0 1 1 2 1 2 0 0
50 Michael Ojo c 10 1 5 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 4 1 0 0 1 0
0 Phil Cofer 11 2 3 0 1 0 0 4 0 1 1 3 0 0 0 0
2 CJ Walker 15 1 4 0 0 1 2 3 0 4 4 2 1 2 0 1
3 Trent Forrest 19 2 5 0 0 1 1 5 6 3 9 2 2 2 0 0
5 PJ Savoy 9 1 2 1 2 0 0 3 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1
11 Braian Angola-Rodas 12 3 6 0 1 2 2 8 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 1
21 Christ Koumadje 6 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
23 Jarquez Smith 7 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 1 0 2 0 0
Team 1 1
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 27 65 5 13 11 17 70 17 21 38 19 8 12 3 4
Opp 200 27 59 7 18 14 19 75 14 24 38 16 7 14 6 5
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Duke |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Kings Of Their Castle: FSU Men Top Miami, Finish Perfect At Home.
As of Saturday afternoon, there's no denying Florida State's home-court.
By Tim Linafelt, Seminoles.com Senior Writer
TALLAHASSEE, FL – A few days before Florida State’s home finale against Miami, coach Leonard Hamilton and senior Jarquez Smith were discussing Smith’s future.
Make that the distant future.
“I said, ‘When you’re sitting there in the rocking chair, weighing about 350 pounds and you have your kid, you’ll tell them that y’all won 50 games in a row,” Hamilton said with a laugh. “The fish always gets bigger.”
As it stands, the fish is already pretty big.
Fifteenth-ranked Florida State put the finishing touches on one of the best regular seasons in program history Saturday, cruising to a 66-57 victory over No. 25 Miami on Senior Day at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
The victory brings several milestones and accolades for the Seminoles. Among them:
“We just came out and got it done.”
When the clock hit zero, Ojo led the Seminoles (24-7, 12-6 ACC) for a victory lap around the floor – first to high-five the band and student sections, and then to meet with fans who poured into the arena’s lower bowl hoping for pictures and autographs.
All told, they lingered on the court for a half-hour or more.
Hey, sometimes the moment is worth savoring.
“You see me smiling,” Ojo said. “This is something that you look back 10 years, 20 years from now, you have good memories talking about it to your kids and your friends.”
With FSU’s Dwayne Bacon and Miami’s Davon Reed trading early baskets, the Seminoles went into the break with a three-point lead despite being outshot from the field and surrendering five 3-pointers in the first half.
Bacon would go on to score a game-high 23 points – his second-highest total of the season – and Reed finished right behind him with 22.
“It’s a good day,” Bacon said. “The ACC is the toughest conference in the country. We’ve got the best teams in this conference … and we just proved a point this year that we can be a top team at all times.”
In search of a defensive spark, the Seminoles flustered the Hurricanes (20-10, 10-8) by switching to a zone defense in the second half.
The move paid off: Miami shot a paltry 7 of 22 (31.8 percent) from the field in the second period and suffered through scoring droughts of 5:41, 4:02 and 2:37.
That allowed FSU to steadily extend its lead, which reached as high as 11 points when Bacon threw down an alley-oop from Terance Mann with 4:16 to go in the game.
“(The zone) was a little more effective than I had anticipated, to be very honest with you,” Hamilton said. “Because they really shoot the ball well from the perimeter. I just think that taking some time off the clock and giving them a different look just made them think a little and took them away from driving by us and getting in the paint.”
FSU outscored Miami 30-16 in the paint and enjoyed a 17-7 advantage in points off of turnovers.
“When you lose by nine, that 17 to 7 is the big difference,” Miami coach Jim Larranaga said. “And we had 13 turnovers and they only had nine. So that was the game."
The Hurricanes gave the Seminoles a slight scare late, using a 9-2 run to trim their deficit to just four with 19 second remaining.
Bacon, however, went to the basket for a three-point play at the other end, and Rathan-Mayes hit another layup to provide the final margin.
Next stop for FSU: The Barclays Center in Brooklyn, where it played in the NIT season tip-off in November.
The Seminoles went 1-1 in games there, with a loss to Temple and a win over Illinois.
“We want to make sure that we milk this season for all we can get out of it,” Hamilton said. “I enjoy it. I’m happy. I’m excited. But the most important thing here is let’s not be satisfied with where we are now. Let’s go see if we can do other things that will give us even fonder memories.”
And maybe a bigger fish.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 Jonathan Isaac f 20 0 3 0 2 2 2 2 0 3 3 3 1 1 1 0
4 Dwayne Bacon g 33 8 17 2 8 5 7 23 0 2 2 2 2 1 0 1
22 Xavier Rathan-Mayes g 29 3 7 1 4 0 2 7 0 2 2 1 4 2 1 0
23 Jarquez Smith f 16 5 10 0 0 1 1 11 3 2 5 1 1 1 0 0
50 Michael Ojo c 13 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 4 2 0 1 1 0
0 Phil Cofer 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0
2 CJ Walker 15 1 4 0 1 1 1 3 1 1 2 1 1 0 0 1
3 Trent Forrest 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 0
5 PJ Savoy 5 1 3 1 3 0 0 3 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0
11 Braian Angola-Rodas 9 1 3 0 1 2 2 4 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
14 Terance Mann 33 3 5 0 0 1 2 7 4 2 6 2 2 2 0 1
21 Christ Koumadje 14 3 3 0 0 0 0 6 1 1 2 4 0 0 1 0
Team 1 2 3
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 25 57 4 19 12 17 66 11 23 34 16 13 9 4 3
Opp 200 18 43 8 17 13 19 57 4 23 27 14 9 13 2 4
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miami | |||
| Florida State |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Going Deep: Noles' Depth Wears Down Hokies In 74-68 Win.
By Tim Linafelt, Seminoles.com Senior Writer
NEW YORK, NY – Terance Mann knew the ball was coming his way.
Jonathan Isaac had just thrown a long, one-armed heave to Xavier Rathan-Mayes, and Rathan-Mayes could easily have put in a layup to polish off Florida State’s victory over Virginia Tech here in the ACC tournament quarterfinals.
But in the city of Broadway and bright lights, a little showmanship is sometimes in order.
So Rathan-Mayes threw back a pass to the trailing Mann, and the sophomore threw down a thunderous, two-handed dunk that emphatically pushed the Seminoles past the Hokies, 74-68, and into the semifinal round for the first time since 2012.
FSU will face Notre Dame Friday at 9:30 p.m., at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The winner of that game will meet North Carolina or Duke in Saturday’s championship game.
“We’ve got that connection, me and ‘X,’” said Mann, a Brooklyn native who had 16 friends and family members in attendance Thursday.
“If he’s on the break ahead of me, he’ll drop it back.”
And, as a result, the Seminoles (25-7) dropped the Hokies (22-10), who despite playing their second game in as many nights with one of the shortest benches in college basketball, found ways to frustrate FSU throughout.
But as the game wore on, FSU’s depth proved too much for Virginia Tech. After building an eight-point lead midway through the first half, the Hokies lost steam late in the period and, by the time they recovered late in the second, had too steep a hill to climb.
That’s thanks in large part to Florida State’s 12-man rotation, but also to the star tandem of Dwayne Bacon and Jonathan Isaac.
Behind 17 points and seven rebounds from Bacon, as well as 11 points and 12 boards by Isaac, FSU launched separate runs of 10-0 and 16-1 to break open a 15-point lead in the second half.
“There’s always a point in the game where we heighten our aggressiveness,” Isaac said. “And we can smell blood.”
Early on, though, it was Virginia Tech that looked primed for an upset run.
While FSU’s usual scoring threats sputtered in the game’s opening moments, the Hokies used a barrage of 3-point shooting to put the Seminoles in an early hole.
Led by Seth Allen and Justin Robinson, who each made three 3-pointers in the first half, Virginia Tech shot 7 of 15 from distance.
That helped the Hokies negate some of FSU’s size and build an 18-10 lead with 10:11 to go in the first half.
Florida State missing 14 of its first 20 shots from the field didn’t help, either.
“We were just kind of lethargic, we weren’t quite sure of ourselves,” Hamilton said. “But I knew that once the jitters wore off, we would be OK.”
Those jitters started to wear off right around the eight-minute mark of the first half, when Christ Koumadje sparked the Seminoles with a dunk that led to an 8-3 run and brought FSU to within one point.
The Seminoles went into halftime trailing by just two and, given the way they started, feeling good about their chances in the second half.
“I was definitely confident, especially after the first half, to be in that position,” Isaac said. “Knowing they had played yesterday and we have so much depth, to be down two at halftime, I knew at some point we were going to wear them down.”
Added Bacon, “We’ve got a lot of guys that can play at a crazy speed all game. They don’t have that. … They got tired.”
With FSU rolling 12 deep and Virginia Tech’s seven-man bench saddled by foul trouble, the Seminoles scored 10 of the first 13 points in the second half and took their first lead when Mann drained a 3-pointer with 8:49 to go.
As the Seminoles played more aggressively on offense and tightened up on defense, they built a lead as big as 68-53 before the Hokies rallied with a late, 10-point run.
The Hokies made just 1 of their 10 3-point attempts in the second half and finished 38.5 percent from the field.
“There was a period there when (we) got really excited and turned it up a notch,” Hamilton said. “Got good rebounds, got good putbacks, tip-ins, got some deflections and steals. And I thought that really gave us a chance to play with a lot more confidence down the stretch.”
And that confidence came in handy at the free-throw line, where the Seminoles made four of their five attempts in the final minute to preserve the win.
FSU’s fresher legs and bigger bodies led to a staggering 45-18 rebounding advantage. That includes 18 offensive boards that led to 16 second-chance points.
And thanks to strong efforts by Cofer (six points), Michael Ojo (six points) and Christ Koumadje (five points), the Seminoles outscored Virginia Tech 42-20 in the paint.
“I thought the quality of our depth kind of stepped up and raised its head in the second half,” Hamilton said. “We were fresher, played with a lot more energy.”
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 Jonathan Isaac f 32 4 13 1 4 2 2 11 5 7 12 2 1 1 2 1
4 Dwayne Bacon g 30 4 17 0 5 9 10 17 1 6 7 3 0 1 0 3
14 Terance Mann g 30 5 7 1 1 0 0 11 6 3 9 1 1 2 0 1
22 Xavier Rathan-Mayes g 28 4 11 1 4 0 1 9 1 3 4 1 6 3 0 1
50 Michael Ojo c 8 3 5 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 3 0 0 1 2
0 Phil Cofer 18 2 3 0 0 2 2 6 0 3 3 2 0 0 0 1
2 CJ Walker 12 1 3 0 1 1 2 3 0 2 2 3 4 1 0 1
3 Trent Forrest 7 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
5 PJ Savoy 5 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
11 Braian Angola-Rodas 11 2 2 0 0 2 2 6 2 1 3 0 0 1 0 0
21 Christ Koumadje 10 1 1 0 0 3 4 5 0 1 1 1 0 0 2 0
23 Jarquez Smith 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 2 0 1 1 1
Team 2 2
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 26 65 3 16 19 23 74 18 27 45 19 12 10 6 12
Opp 200 20 52 8 25 20 25 68 8 23 31 18 14 15 0 3
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Virginia Tech |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Angola-Rodas Erupts But Noles' Rally Falls Short In ACC Semis.
By Tim Linafelt, Seminoles.com Senior Writer
NEW YORK, NY – For all the shots that Braian Angola-Rodas made here on Friday night – and he made several, a career-high five to be exact – it was the last one he missed that left him shaking his head.
With 33 seconds to play and the Seminoles trailing by five in their ACC tournament semifinal against Notre Dame, Angola-Rodas pulled up for a 3-point shot that, had it gone in, would have cut FSU’s deficit to one possession for the first time since early in the first half.
Angola-Rodas had already made four shots from 3-point range as part of a startling 17-point outburst, and this one looked good, too. But instead of finding the net, the ball bounced a little too strong off the back of the rim and fell away.
The Fighting Irish then went on to solidify their lead at the free-throw line and close out a 77-73 victory at the Barclays Center.
“When it came out of my hands, I was like, ‘It’s going in,’” Angola-Rodas said. “Then it just went in and out.”
Dwayne Bacon scored 18 points and Jonathan Isaac added 15 rebounds for FSU, which will return to Tallahassee today and learn its NCAA tournament destination on Sunday.
Notre Dame will meet Duke in Saturday’s ACC championship game.
“What we have to do is move on to the next level,” FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. “Each time you falter, there's a possibility that you can grow and learn from it. Hopefully, that's what we'll do this time. We normally bounce back pretty good.”
That FSU was even in position to give the Irish a scare is a testament to the Seminoles’ second-half resolve and to Angola-Rodas’ surprising heroics.
A junior guard who averages 11.5 minutes per game, Angola-Rodas logged 24 minutes on Friday. And he made the most of them by erupting for a new career scoring high, all of which came in the second half.
With FSU attempting to rally from a 16-point halftime deficit, Angola-Rodas scored 10 straight points and accounted for 16 of 17 during an extended stretch.
“The coaches kept telling me to stay aggressive and my teammates gave me the ball in the right spots to hit some shots,” he said. “After I hit the first one I was like, ‘Keep going, keep going.’ I was trying to keep us in the game.”
The only trouble? As Angola-Rodas made shot after shot, so, too, did the Fighting Irish.
In what’s become a frustrating trend for Florida State, Notre Dame once again tormented the Seminoles from the 3-point line.
Led by four 3-pointers from Steve Vasturia and three apiece by Matt Farrell and Matt Ryan, the Fighting Irish hit 13 of 27 (48.1 percent) from beyond the arc.
Eight of those 3s came in the first half, which, along with FSU’s own shooting struggles, allowed the Irish to lead by as much as 18 points before the break.
“We lost to a team that played extremely well, a team that shot the ball exceptionally well – as well as any team that we played this year,” Hamilton said.
“And that’s kind of what Notre Dame does.”
Especially against the Seminoles. In three games against FSU this season, Notre Dame has made 35 of 70 (50 percent) 3-point attempts. The Irish usually average 38.7 percent.
With the Fighting Irish shooting so well from outside, it was only a matter of time before FSU’s defense was forced to pay more attention to the perimeter and less attention to All-ACC forward Bonzie Colson.
In an effort to corral Colson, who scored 33 against FSU last month, Hamilton started Phil Cofer in place of Michael Ojo, with the hope that a smaller, more athletic lineup might keep Colson off-balance.
And, for a while, it worked. FSU held Colson without a single field-goal attempt for the game’s first 10:39. But as the Irish drained one 3-pointer after another, the Seminoles had no choice but to focus their efforts outward.
When they did, Colson took advantage. He broke through for 11 points before halftime on his way to a team-high 18.
“Once everybody else starts hitting shots then you’ve kind of got to worry about them, and then Bonzie gets going,” FSU sophomore Terance Mann said. “They’re a very good team. They’re put together very well.”
The Seminoles were much better in the second half, but each time they threatened to complete their rally, the Irish had a response.
FSU trailed by 14 at the start of Angola-Rodas’ run midway through the second half. By the time it was over, though, it had had trimmed its deficit to just eight thanks to a string of 3-pointers by Vasturia, Ryan and Rex Pflueger.
“Every time they made a run in the second half, we really answered,” Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
0 Phil Cofer f 11 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 2 0 1 2 0 1
1 Jonathan Isaac f 35 2 7 0 2 1 3 5 1 14 15 2 2 4 2 1
4 Dwayne Bacon g 30 9 14 0 2 0 0 18 2 7 9 1 0 4 0 0
14 Terance Mann g 25 3 5 0 1 1 1 7 1 0 1 1 0 3 0 0
22 Xavier Rathan-Mayes g 32 5 12 1 3 2 3 13 0 3 3 3 5 1 0 1
2 CJ Walker 8 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
3 Trent Forrest 11 1 3 0 0 1 1 3 1 1 2 0 0 1 0 1
5 PJ Savoy 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
11 Braian Angola-Rodas 24 5 8 4 7 3 4 17 0 1 1 4 2 0 0 0
21 Christ Koumadje 14 0 3 0 0 1 2 1 1 1 2 3 0 1 0 0
23 Jarquez Smith 8 2 2 0 0 1 2 5 1 1 2 2 0 0 0 0
50 Michael Ojo 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 1 0 1 0 0
Team 2 2
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 29 57 5 15 10 16 73 9 32 41 17 10 18 2 4
Opp 200 28 59 13 27 8 13 77 3 20 23 14 17 9 4 8
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Notre Dame |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Bacon, Noles Advance With 86-80 Win Over FGCU.
Playing its first NCAA tournament game in five years, FSU out-shot, out-rebounded and, most
notably, out-dunked Florida Gulf Coast on the way to a 86-80 win.
By Tim Linafelt, Seminoles.com Senior Writer
ORLANDO, FL – Terance Mann couldn’t see it, but he could hear it.
With a little more than a minute to go in the first half of Florida State’s game against Florida Gulf Coast in the first round of the NCAA tournament, FSU sophomore Dwayne Bacon went to the basket and threw down a one-handed jam that rivals any of the highlights he’s produced during his two seasons in Tallahassee.
That dunk, one of nine for FSU, stemmed the tide of an earlier FGCU run and helped propel the No. 3-seed Seminoles to an 86-80 victory over the 14th-seeded Eagles here at the Amway Center.
It also brought out the loudest roar from a lively crowd of 15,869 fans, most of which was evenly divided between FSU and FGCU supporters.
“I didn’t get to see it because everyone stood up,” Mann said with a laugh. “And I was looking over and I heard everybody go crazy. I saw where he took off from, and it was a big-time dunk.”
Dunk City, meet Dunk State.
FGCU earned its "Dunk City" nickname thanks to a high-flying style that sparked a surprise run to the Sweet 16 in 2013.
But in a matchup between two of three most dunk-heavy teams in the country, FSU out-dunked – as well as out-shot, out-rebounded, out-blocked and otherwise out-played – Florida Gulf Coast on the way to its first NCAA tournament win since 2012.
The Seminoles will meet No. 11-seed Xavier, which upset seventh-seeded Maryland earlier in the day, at 6:10 p.m. on Saturday.
“They’re ‘Dunk City,’ but I think our team leads the nation in dunks,” FSU freshman Jonathan Isaac said. “That’s what we do. We’re long and athletic, and we dunk the ball, too.”
Bacon’s dunk accounted for two of his 25 points, which led the team and marked his second-highest total of the year. Isaac added 17 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and three blocks.
“(Bacon) has been our go-to guy all year,” FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. “… He made good decisions with the ball, and we’re going to need more of that from him as we move through the remainder of the tournament.”
FSU took advantage of the game’s frantic pace, capitalizing on its edges in speed, height, athleticism and depth to build a lead as big as 12 points near the end of the second half.
The Seminoles scored 12 fast-break to FGCU’s four, and also out-scored the Eagles in the paint, 44-36.
FGCU came into the game averaging more than 40 points per game in the paint, but struggled to find clean looks against an FSU defense that blocked nine shots.
As a result, The Eagles attempted 28 3-pointers. They came into the game averaging 18.
“Because they’re so big, it’s hard to finish at the rim,” FGCU coach Joe Dooley said. “We’ve been very good at points in the paint, but attacking the paint against those guys (is difficult).”
The game, however, did feature a few tense moments.
The Seminoles led by nine with 47 seconds to play, but saw their lead whittled away thanks to a handful of missed free throws.
FSU connected on just 61.5 percent of its free-throw attempts, and was 5 of 8 at the line in the game’s final minute.
The Eagles twice cut their deficit to five during that stretch but could get no closer.
“Obviously, when we hit our free throws we don’t have an issue,” FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. “We didn’t shoot free throws very well down the stretch. And if you don’t knock those free throws down, you can put yourself in a position where this stuff can happen.
“It makes everything look bad.”
Well, maybe not everything.
For long stretches on Thursday, Florida State looked every bit like the team that won 25 games and finished second in the Atlantic Coast Conference standings.
Despite a cold night from 3-point range, the Seminoles still finished 30 of 54 (55.6 percent) from the field and enjoyed a 46-26 rebounding advantage.
With their usual offense being funneled outside, the Eagles launched 70 shot attempts and made just 29.
“We had a little run there where we had about five or six stops in a row,” Hamilton said. “And we were able to get some separation.”
Next up for FSU is its first matchup with the Xavier Musketeers since 1958.
With Thursday’s game stretching until near midnight and postgame interviews creeping toward 1 a.m., the Seminoles will have about 36 hours to rest, regroup and prepare for an unfamiliar opponent.
Not that anyone in the Florida State locker room was complaining.
“That’s exactly what ‘March Madness’ is about, man,” Isaac said. “FGCU just gave us their best punch. We were able to withstand it, and we’ve got to go right back to the drawing board and take Xavier’s best punch.”
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 Jonathan Isaac f 34 5 8 1 3 6 9 17 0 10 10 2 5 2 3 2
4 Dwayne Bacon g 34 11 17 0 3 3 4 25 0 9 9 0 2 3 0 2
14 Terance Mann g 26 3 5 0 0 5 7 11 1 4 5 4 0 1 0 0
22 Xavier Rathan-Mayes g 33 2 7 1 4 5 10 10 2 3 5 1 5 3 0 1
50 Michael Ojo c 11 3 4 0 0 0 0 6 1 1 2 4 0 2 2 1
0 Phil Cofer 7 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 2 1 0 1 0 0
2 CJ Walker 7 1 2 0 0 2 4 4 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
3 Trent Forrest 8 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 1 0 1 2 0 0
5 PJ Savoy 2 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1
11 Braian Angola-Rodas 11 0 2 0 1 2 3 2 0 3 3 1 3 0 0 0
21 Christ Koumadje 21 3 4 0 0 1 2 7 1 2 3 1 0 1 4 2
23 Jarquez Smith 6 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0
Team 3 3 6
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 30 54 2 13 24 39 86 9 37 46 19 16 16 9 9
Opp 200 29 70 8 28 14 20 80 7 19 26 23 18 11 1 6
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Florida Gulf Coast |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Sharpshooting Xavier Halts Noles' Tourney Run.
By Tim Linafelt, Seminoles.com Senior Writer
ORLANDO, FL – Just a few minutes into Florida State’s game against Xavier in the second round of the NCAA tournament, the Musketeers’ game plan was startlingly clear:
Shoot a bushel of 3-pointers and make the Seminoles do the same.
Unfortunately for FSU, that plan worked to ruthless perfection.
Thanks to a sharp offense and a blistering shooting performance, 11th-seeded Xavier beat No. 3-seed FSU, 91-66, Saturday at the Amway Center to advance to the Sweet Sixteen.
The Musketeers, who came into the game ranked 220th nationally in 3-point field goal percentage (34.2), made 11 of 17 (64.7 percent) from beyond the arc against the Seminoles.
FSU, meanwhile, was as cold from deep as Xavier was hot. The Seminoles made just 4 of 21 3-point attempts and were 6 of 34 (17.6 percent) from distance in their two games at the NCAA tournament.
“The difference of the game was that they shot exceptionally well from the 3 and we shot exceptionally poorly. I thought that was the equalizer,” FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. “Most of the time, teams will shoot what they normally shoot, from a percentage standpoint.”
If Xavier had done that, then the Seminoles might be the ones headed to San Jose, Calif., for the Sweet Sixteen.
Instead, the experienced Musketeers knifed the ball through Florida State’s defense, often making an extra pass to find an open shooter at the perimeter.
Xavier missed its first 3-point attempt, then proceeded to make its next five, with five different players dealing the damage.
“It was tough,” said Dwayne Bacon, who led the Seminoles with 20 points and five rebounds. “They were making the second or third or fourth extra pass and then it was just a wide open 3. That’s something that you can knock down in your sleep.”
FSU, meanwhile, was the exact opposite. Xavier Rathan-Mayes connected from 3-point range to give the Seminoles their first points of the game, seemingly a good omen for a team that had struggled with its 3-point shooting as of late.
After that, though, Florida State’s shooters combined to miss their next 11 attempts from distance.
And with the Musketeers committed to a packed-in zone defense that denied FSU’s drives to the interior, the Seminoles felt they had little choice than to try shoot them out of it.
Several of FSU’s 3-point attempts came with a clean look at the basket, and several more appeared good before rimming out.
As the misses added up, Xavier’s lead ballooned to as much as 15 points in the first half.
“If you knock down a couple 3s, then they don’t have the luxury of packing it in like that,” Hamilton said. “They did a very good job with their strategy of rolling the dice and saying they didn’t think we could make enough 3s. And they were right.”
When Florida State mounted its best rally of the game, a 16-5 run that trimmed its deficit to four points late in the first half, Xavier answered with – what else? – a 3-pointer.
“They couldn’t miss,” Rathan-Mayes said.
And as a result, the Seminoles couldn’t rely on the usual pillars that made them so successful this season.
With post touches hard to come by, the Seminoles were out-scored in the paint, 36-26, with centers Michael Ojo, Phil Cofer and Jarquez Smith combining for just two shot attempts.
On the other end, Xavier’s precise passing and gaudy shooting percentage made it difficult for FSU to create turnovers and score in transition.
The Musketeers finished with 20 assists against nine turnovers, and FSU accounted for only two fast-break points.
“Most of the time, we’re able to get deflections and steals to generate offense from our defense,” Hamilton said. “And, tonight, we were not able to generate any offense from our defense because they were very, very precise with the ball. … And that’s to their credit.”
Florida State opened the second half with a 10-point deficit, but, despite a better showing from its offense, could never get much closer.
A seven-minute FSU shooting drought midway through the second period helped Xavier steadily build its lead, and the Musketeers used a 14-6 run over the final few minutes to provide the final margin.
The game brought a difficult end to an otherwise memorable season.
With a final record of 26-9, the Seminoles fell just one win short of matching the school’s all-time mark for victories in a single season.
FSU posted seven wins over ranked opponents, finished tied for second in the brutal Atlantic Coast Conference and matched its highest-ever seeding in the NCAA tournament.
The Seminoles afterward said that they’d one day be able to move past this loss and appreciate what they’ve accomplished over the last six months.
They only wished they didn’t have to do it so soon.
“I’m very happy – and I know Ojo is too,” said Jarquez Smith, one of two seniors playing in the NCAA tournament for the first time. “And as soon as we get over getting out of the tournament, as soon as we get over being sad, we’re going to look back and rejoice over how good we did this year.”
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 Jonathan Isaac f 33 4 7 0 1 0 1 8 1 11 12 5 1 0 1 1
4 Dwayne Bacon g 34 9 18 0 5 2 2 20 2 3 5 2 3 2 0 1
14 Terance Mann g 20 0 2 0 2 1 2 1 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 1
22 Xavier Rathan-Mayes g 33 7 15 1 5 1 3 16 3 4 7 4 3 4 0 1
50 Michael Ojo c 15 0 0 0 0 4 4 4 1 1 2 1 0 1 0 0
0 Phil Cofer 9 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 2 0 1 0 0
2 CJ Walker 9 0 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0
3 Trent Forrest 9 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
5 PJ Savoy 14 2 5 2 4 4 5 10 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 3
11 Braian Angola-Rodas 11 1 5 1 3 2 2 5 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0
21 Christ Koumadje 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
23 Jarquez Smith 7 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 2 2 0 0 0 0
40 Brandon Allen 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Team 1 1 2
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 24 60 4 21 14 19 66 11 22 33 24 10 9 3 7
Opp 200 30 54 11 17 20 26 91 7 29 36 20 20 9 3 4
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Xavier |