2018-19 Men's Basketball - Year In Review
Leonard Hamilton, Head Coach
Dennis Gates, Assistant Coach
Stan Jones, Associate Head Coach
Jacob Ridenhour, Director of Operations
Charlton Young, Assistant Coach
Click here to see individual photos
2018-19 Men's Basketball - Year In Review | |
| Coaching Staff Leonard Hamilton, Head Coach 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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Devin Vassell, 6-5, 170, G-F, Suwanee, Ga.
2019 Roster - By Name
L
T PY
R No Name Pos Hgt Wgt Cl Ltr Hometown (Prior School)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* 0 Phil Cofer F 6-8 230 Sr-R *** Fayetteville, Ga. (Whitewater)
* 3 Trent Forrest G 6-4 210 Jr ** Chipley (Chipley)
* 1 RaiQuan Gray F 6-8 260 Fr-R Fort Lauderdale (Dillard)
4 Ty Hands G 6-5 180 Fr (Palm Beach Lakes)
* 25 Mfiondu Kabengele F 6-10 250 So-R * Burlington, Ontario, Canada (Don Bosco Prep)
* 21 Christ Koumadje C 7-4 268 Sr *** N'Djamena, Chad (Montverde Academy)
* 20 Travis Light G 6-5 175 So-R * Vienna, Va. (Montverde Academy)
* 15 Justin Lindner G 6-1 180 Jr * Memphis, Tenn. (Christian Brothers)
* 14 Terance Mann G 6-7 215 Sr *** Lowell, Mass. (Tilton School)
* 33 Will Miles G 6-6 220 So-R * Orlando (Trinity Prep)
* 11 David Nichols G 6-0 185 Sr Chicago, Ill. (Mount Carmel/Albany)
10 Malik Osborne F 6-9 215 Fr-R Matteson, Ill. (Rich South/Rice)
* 13 Anthony Polite G 6-6 215 Fr-R Lugano, Switzerland (Saint Andrews)
* 35 Harrison Prieto F 6-8 230 So-R * Mandeville, La. (Saint Paul's)
* 5 PJ Savoy G 6-4 210 Sr ** Las Vegas, Nev. (Las Vegas/Sheridan College)
* 24 Devin Vassell G-F 6-5 170 Fr Suwanee, Ga. (Peachtree Ridge)
* 23 MJ Walker G 6-5 213 So * Jonesboro, Ga. (Jonesboro)
* 31 Wyatt Wilkes G 6-8 220 So Orlando (Winter Park)
2019 Roster - By Number
L
T PY
R No Name Pos Hgt Wgt Cl Ltr Hometown (Prior School)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* 0 Phil Cofer F 6-8 230 Sr-R *** Fayetteville, Ga. (Whitewater)
* 1 RaiQuan Gray F 6-8 260 Fr-R Fort Lauderdale (Dillard)
* 3 Trent Forrest G 6-4 210 Jr ** Chipley (Chipley)
4 Ty Hands G 6-5 180 Fr (Palm Beach Lakes)
* 5 PJ Savoy G 6-4 210 Sr ** Las Vegas, Nev. (Las Vegas/Sheridan College)
10 Malik Osborne F 6-9 215 Fr-R Matteson, Ill. (Rich South/Rice)
* 11 David Nichols G 6-0 185 Sr Chicago, Ill. (Mount Carmel/Albany)
* 13 Anthony Polite G 6-6 215 Fr-R Lugano, Switzerland (Saint Andrews)
* 14 Terance Mann G 6-7 215 Sr *** Lowell, Mass. (Tilton School)
* 15 Justin Lindner G 6-1 180 Jr * Memphis, Tenn. (Christian Brothers)
* 20 Travis Light G 6-5 175 So-R * Vienna, Va. (Montverde Academy)
* 21 Christ Koumadje C 7-4 268 Sr *** N'Djamena, Chad (Montverde Academy)
* 23 MJ Walker G 6-5 213 So * Jonesboro, Ga. (Jonesboro)
* 24 Devin Vassell G-F 6-5 170 Fr Suwanee, Ga. (Peachtree Ridge)
* 25 Mfiondu Kabengele F 6-10 250 So-R * Burlington, Ontario, Canada (Don Bosco Prep)
* 31 Wyatt Wilkes G 6-8 220 So Orlando (Winter Park)
* 33 Will Miles G 6-6 220 So-R * Orlando (Trinity Prep)
* 35 Harrison Prieto F 6-8 230 So-R * Mandeville, La. (Saint Paul's)
2018-19 Conference Awards
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mfiondu Kabengele Atlantic Coast Conference - Sixth Man
Atlantic Coast Conference - All-Conference - Honorable Mention
Atlantic Coast Conference - All-Tournament Team - 1st Team
Terance Mann Atlantic Coast Conference - All-Conference - Honorable Mention
Atlantic Coast Conference - All-Tournament Team - 2nd Team
All-Conference - 2
2018-19 Award Winners
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stan Jones A Step Up Assistant Coaches Hall of Fame
Award Winners - 1
2018-19 Noles in the Pros
Name No Pos Team
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dwayne Bacon 7 G Charlotte Hornets
Malik Beasley 25 G Denver Nuggets
Jonathan Isaac 1 F Orlando Magic
Okaro White 15 F Washington Wizards
Noles in the Pros - 4
2019 Schedule and Results
GAME |
SCORE |
AP |
USA |
AP |
USA |
||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | |||||||||||||
| Tulane | |||||||||||||
| Canisius College | |||||||||||||
| Alabama-Birmingham Advocare Invitational, Lake Buena Vista |
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| Louisiana State OT, Advocare Invitational, Lake Buena Vista |
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| Villanova Advocare Invitational, Lake Buena Vista |
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| Purdue ACC-Big Ten Challenge |
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| Troy | |||||||||||||
| Connecticut Never Forget Tribute Classic, Newark, N.J. |
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| SE Missouri State | |||||||||||||
| North Florida | |||||||||||||
| Saint Louis Ornage Bowl Classic, Sunrise |
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| Winthrop | |||||||||||||
| Virginia | |||||||||||||
| Miami | |||||||||||||
| Duke | |||||||||||||
| Pittsburgh | |||||||||||||
| Boston College | |||||||||||||
| Clemson | |||||||||||||
| Miami | |||||||||||||
| Georgia Tech | |||||||||||||
| Syracuse | |||||||||||||
| Louisville OT |
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| Wake Forest | |||||||||||||
| Georgia Tech | |||||||||||||
| Clemson | |||||||||||||
| North Carolina | |||||||||||||
| Notre Dame | |||||||||||||
| North Carolina State | |||||||||||||
| Virginia Tech OT |
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| Wake Forest | |||||||||||||
| Virginia Tech OT, ACC, Charlotte, N.C. |
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| Virginia ACC, Charlotte, N.C. |
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| Duke ACC Championship, Charlotte, N.C. |
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| Vermont NCAA, Hartford, Conn. |
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| Murray State NCAA, Hartford, Conn. |
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| Gonzaga Sweet 16, NCAA, Anaheim, Calif. |
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EOY StatsRef Conference games in bold Overall Home Away Neutral ------------------------------------------------ FSU record is 29- 8 15- 1 6- 4 8- 3 vs ACC 13- 5 8- 1 5- 4 0- 0 Against Top 25 6- 5 3- 1 0- 2 3- 2 Final AP - 10 Final USA - 13
2018-19 Atlantic Coast Conference Results 1t Virginia 16- 2 35- 3 1t North Carolina 16- 2 29- 7 3 Duke 14- 4 32- 6 4 Florida State 13- 5 29- 8 5 Virginia Tech 12- 6 27- 9 6t Louisville 10- 8 20-14 6t Syracuse 10- 8 20-14 8t North Carolina State 9- 9 24-12 8t Clemson 9- 9 20-14 10 Georgia Tech 6-12 14-18 11t Boston College 5-13 14-17 11t Miami 5-13 14-19 13 Wake Forest 4-14 11-20 14t Notre Dame 3-15 14-19 14t Pittsburgh 3-15 14-19
2018-19 CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT, Charlotte, N.C. Date Score Comments ========== ================================================== ================================== 03/12/2019 (12)Miami 79, (13)Wake Forest 71 Round 1 03/12/2019 (15)Notre Dame 78, (10)Georgia Tech 71 Round 1 03/12/2019 (14)Pittsburgh 80, (11)Boston College 70 Round 1 03/13/2019 (8)North Carolina State 59, (9)Clemson 58 Round 2 03/13/2019 (5)Virginia Tech 71, (12)Miami 56 Round 2 03/13/2019 (7)Louisville 75, (15)Notre Dame 53 Round 2 03/13/2019 (6)Syracuse 73, (14)Pittsburgh 59 Round 2 03/14/2019 (1)Virginia 59, (8)North Carolina State 43 Round 3 03/14/2019 (4)Florida State 65, (5)Virginia Tech 63 Round 3, OT 03/14/2019 (2)North Carolina 83, (7)Louisville 70 Round 3 03/14/2019 (3)Duke 84, (6)Syracuse 72 Round 3 03/15/2019 (4)Florida State 69, (1)Virginia 59 Round 4 03/15/2019 (3)Duke 74, (2)North Carolina 73 Round 4 03/16/2019 (3)Duke 73, (4)Florida State 63 Round 5
2018-19 - 30 Point Club
Name Date Opponent FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- None2018-19 - 15 Rebound Club
Name Date Opponent O-REB D-REB TOTAL ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ None2018-19 - 10 Assist Club
Name Date Opponent Assists ------------------------------------------------------------------ Trent Forrest 02/05/2019 Syracuse 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
====================================================================================================================================
Mfiondu Kabengele 37 0 798 164 327 .502 24 65 .369 137 180 .761 489 13.2 79 141 220 5.9 96 5 11 48 56 21
Terance Mann 37 36 1173 147 291 .505 30 77 .390 98 124 .790 422 11.4 92 148 240 6.5 83 1 94 65 12 25
Trent Forrest 37 36 1106 112 255 .439 7 30 .233 113 145 .779 344 9.3 29 136 165 4.5 60 0 138 74 9 69
MJ Walker 35 34 907 85 250 .340 44 134 .328 49 63 .778 263 7.5 14 64 78 2.2 92 2 56 68 6 29
Christ Koumadje 37 37 574 106 169 .627 0 1 .000 32 55 .582 244 6.6 74 132 206 5.6 74 0 8 44 52 8
David Nichols 35 1 607 77 199 .387 35 110 .318 34 49 .694 223 6.4 9 50 59 1.7 77 1 59 49 2 23
PJ Savoy 37 18 542 68 187 .364 52 158 .329 32 39 .821 220 5.9 7 37 44 1.2 44 0 18 30 4 17
Phil Cofer 22 19 575 61 156 .391 29 83 .349 12 21 .571 163 7.4 13 63 76 3.5 30 0 18 31 2 3
Devin Vassell 33 0 353 52 119 .437 26 62 .419 19 28 .679 149 4.5 13 38 51 1.5 30 0 21 12 10 18
RaiQuan Gray 36 4 441 50 115 .435 10 32 .313 31 43 .721 141 3.9 23 60 83 2.3 62 0 27 33 6 29
Anthony Polite 30 0 324 26 68 .382 11 46 .239 17 22 .773 80 2.7 16 32 48 1.6 39 0 19 17 1 18
Wyatt Wilkes 15 0 57 8 21 .381 4 15 .267 2 3 .667 22 1.5 4 7 11 0.7 9 0 2 5 1 3
Harrison Prieto 9 0 17 4 6 .667 0 0 .000 0 0 .000 8 0.9 3 5 8 0.9 5 0 0 2 0 0
Justin Lindner 6 0 10 0 1 .000 0 1 .000 2 4 .500 2 0.3 1 1 2 0.3 1 0 4 2 0 1
Will Miles 6 0 7 0 3 .000 0 1 .000 1 2 .500 1 0.2 0 1 1 0.2 3 0 0 2 0 1
Travis Light 6 0 9 0 4 .000 0 4 .000 0 0 .000 0 0.0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Team 46 53 99 11
====================================================================================================================================
FSU 37 960 2171 .442 272 819 .332 579 778 .744 2771 74.9 423 968 1391 37.6 705 9 475 493 161 266
Opp 37 842 2066 .408 269 803 .335 532 737 .722 2485 67.2 358 865 1223 33.1 682 13 369 528 113 203
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Reptile Rout: Men’s Hoops Hammers Florida, 81-60.
by Tim Linafelt, Senior Writer
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – There were a few departures, some old faces in new places and one major contributor sidelined with an injury.
Still, this year’s Florida State men’s basketball team looks a lot like the one from last year.
Which is to say that the Seminoles are quick and aggressive on offense, both tireless and tall on defense and, perhaps above all else, relentlessly deep.
And, like their predecessors, these Seminoles can lay claim to a lopsided victory over the Florida Gators.
P.J. Savoy scored 20 points on 5-of-7 3-point shooting and Trent Forrest added another 13 as No. 15 Florida State opened its season with an 81-60 rout of rival Florida in front of 11,103 fans at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
FSU’s dominance reflected its recent run of supremacy over the Gators. The Seminoles extended their school-record winning streak against UF to five, and their 21-point margin of victory was their highest in the series since a 74-52 victory in 1969.
“These types of games, early in the year, are very difficult for both teams,” FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. “I thought our defense was a little bit better. P.J. gave us some good looks. And we were able to get some deflections and steals and got some easy baskets.”
Hamilton’s point is well taken: The Seminoles had never under Hamilton started a season with an opponent of Florida’s caliber. And while a rivalry game is good for building hype, it’s not necessarily great for a coach’s blood pressure.
By the end of this one, though, Florida’s Mike White was the only coach facing difficult questions about his team.
“I’m a little bit shell-shocked, to be honest,” White said. “I did not see that coming.”
Fair enough, given the speed at which Florida State (1-0) turned what was a close game early in the first half into a full-blown rout.
Leading 10-9 at the 13:27 mark of the first half, the Seminoles used a barrage of jumpers and free throws to build an 11-point lead at halftime. They then continued with a 14-4 run out of the break and then braced themselves for a UF (0-1) rally that never materialized.
Florida State’s lead would balloon to as many as 35 points, threatening a 49-year-old record for margin of victory in the series, before Hamilton emptied his bench and the Gators trimmed their deficit.
“We played a good basketball game tonight, against a good basketball team,” Hamilton said. “But we still have a long way to go.”
Maybe, but the Seminoles at least seem like they’ll be building on a solid foundation.
Staying true to Hamilton’s calling card, FSU proved the quality of its depth by logging minutes for 11 different players. All 11 scored.
Savoy led the way, draining 3-pointers at a 71.4-percent clip to reach his highest point total in nearly two years. But thanks to a sharp, quick-passing offense, the Seminoles were able to create looks for just about everybody.
Sophomore M.J. Walker found his shooting stroke, knocking down two 3-pointers to snap a drought that spanned eight games dating back to last season.
“It felt good, man,” Walker said. “It gave me some momentum.”
Forrest made 3 of 4 from the field, connected on all six of his free throws and also dished five assists.
And Terance Mann quietly flirted with a double-double (nine points, nine rebounds) while grabbing one of FSU’s nine steals.
All told, FSU shot 47.9 from the field, made 11 of 23 3-pointers (47.8 percent) and added 20 points in the paint.
And when the Seminoles weren’t finishing at the basket, they were often headed to the free-throw line, where they finished an eye-popping 24 of 34.
Not bad for a team whose leading scorer from last year – senior forward Phil Cofer – watched from the bench while recovering from a foot injury.
“This was a big game,” Savoy said. “Prepping for it all week. We knew coming in that they were coming in with their best shot, and we had to counter it. All the shots they threw, we countered them.”
“Tonight, I thought that the respect that we have for the University of Florida brought us mentally and emotionally together,” Hamilton added. “Sometimes we had some moments, last year, where we played excellent basketball and we faltered on it.”
Not this time.
With their overwhelming height advantage and what they said was a perfect game plan, the Seminoles frustrated Florida’s offense from the opening tip.
The Gators shot a paltry 24.0 percent from the field in the first half, a figure hindered in large part by the fact that they couldn’t get any looks near the basket.
Florida took 25 shots in the first half, 15 of them were from 3-point range. And as shots continually missed and FSU’s lead steadily grew, the Seminoles could feel their opponent’s frustration mounting.
“Sometimes their head will be down, and you’ll see them arguing with a teammate or stuff like that,” Walker said. “And when you see that, sometimes you feel like you’ve got them.”
“Oh yeah,” Savoy added. “We could tell. We know, probably about when we were up 39-22, that we had them.”
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
3 Trent Forrest g 25 3 4 1 1 6 6 13 0 1 1 3 5 2 0 1
5 PJ Savoy g 27 5 7 5 7 5 8 20 0 3 3 2 1 2 1 0
14 Terance Mann g 27 3 5 1 1 2 3 9 3 6 9 1 0 2 0 1
21 Christ Koumadje c 21 4 8 0 0 1 2 9 1 4 5 1 0 0 1 1
23 MJ Walker g 31 3 7 2 4 2 3 10 0 2 2 3 3 1 0 2
1 RaiQuan Gray 13 1 3 0 1 0 0 2 1 1 2 4 0 1 0 0
11 David Nichols 17 1 5 0 3 1 2 3 0 1 1 2 1 3 0 2
13 Anthony Polite 9 1 2 1 2 2 4 5 0 1 1 2 0 1 0 0
15 Justin Lindner 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
20 Travis Light 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
24 Devin Vassell 6 1 4 1 3 0 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
25 Mfiondu Kabengele 15 0 1 0 0 5 6 5 0 1 1 2 0 2 0 1
31 Wyatt Wilkes 5 1 2 0 1 0 0 2 1 2 3 1 0 1 0 0
33 Will Miles 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
35 Harrison Prieto 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
Team 1 4 5
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 23 48 11 23 24 34 81 7 26 33 22 10 16 2 9
Opp 200 20 54 6 24 14 21 60 9 21 30 26 9 16 3 5
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | |||
| Florida State |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Mann’s Double-Double Lifts No. 15 Noles Past Tulane.
by Blake VonCannon
NEW ORLEANS, La. — A trip to the “Big Easy” for Florida State’s first true road game didn’t quite live up to its name, but the No. 15 Seminoles still had more than enough to handle Tulane, 80-69.
In a game that struggled to find flow behind a combined 25 first half fouls and 22 turnovers, Florida State would need to go to its roots in order to remain perfect on the year.
The Seminoles relied on their seniors to ride out the surge of the Green Wave. Senior forward Terance Mann scored 21 points and had 10 rebounds, and senior swingman P.J. Savoy tallied 14 points on 3-of-6 shooting from distance on the night.
Tulane bounced out to an early lead in the contest behind freshman Kevin Zhang, who looked the part of a more experienced player. Zhang hit two 3-pointers to put Tulane up 12-8 with 14:45 left in the half.
Trailing 20-18 with 10:38 in the first half, the Noles called upon their bench for a spark. Redshirt freshman guard Anthony Polite scored off of a feed from Mann to put the Noles up 21-20.
Later in the half, redshirt sophomore forward Mfiondu Kabengele would use a nice spin move to earn a layup and the foul, putting the score at 33-29 with 6:44 to play.
Kabengele impressed again off the bench, proving to be one of the top Seminoles in such a role. He finished with 12 points and four rebounds on 4-for-8 shooting in 21 minutes of action.
With Tulane consistently hanging around in the first half, the Seminoles went to the Leonard Hamilton special to set the tone for the rest of the game — stingy defense.
After Tulane made a layup with 7:33 left in the first half, Florida State held the Green Wave without a field goal for the remainder of the period.
FSU, meanwhile, scored 13 first-half points from 13 Tulane turnovers to take a 39-35 lead at the break.
The Seminoles came out firing in the second half behind a balanced performance by junior point guard Trent Forrest.
Forrest assisted senior center Christ Koumadje on a hook shot layup to put the Noles up six.
On the very next play, Forrest stole a Tulane pass and took it coast-to-coast for a layup. He would then follow finding Savoy on the next play in the corner for three, putting the Seminoles up by 11.
Forrest continued to prove to be one of the best all-around performers in the ACC, finishing with 13 points, seven rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocks. Forrest earned his 17thcareer game with at least three steals and tied a career high with two blocks.
The Seminoles shot 55.6 percent in the second half while holding the Green Wave to just 40.6 percent. Outside of Zhang, who shot 7-10 in the half, FSU locked down Tulane to 6-22 shooting.
A brief Tulane run cut FSU’s lead to nine midway through the second half, but the Seminoles’ used their overwhelming size advantage to pull away.
Forrest would drive to the hoop and use a nice wrap around pass to Christ Koumadje for a near backboard-breaking slam.
Koumadje continued to control the paint, a trait he has brought to the Seminoles for four years. Koumadje finished with eight points, four rebounds and a block in 11 minutes of action.
The Seminoles went on to score their final 21 points from either the paint or the free throw line, putting a bow on top of their first road victory of the season.
Mann put the exclamation point on the night grabbing his 10threbound as time expired. The 20-10 game marked his third career double-double and first career game of at least 20 points and 10 rebounds.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
3 Trent Forrest g 33 4 7 0 1 5 6 13 2 5 7 1 5 2 2 3
5 PJ Savoy g 35 3 6 3 6 5 6 14 0 1 1 1 0 3 0 0
14 Terance Mann g 36 9 17 1 2 2 3 21 4 6 10 0 3 0 0 1
21 Christ Koumadje c 11 4 5 0 0 0 0 8 2 2 4 3 0 2 1 0
23 MJ Walker g 33 2 9 1 4 0 2 5 1 3 4 2 1 3 0 1
1 RaiQuan Gray 6 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 3 2 1 0 1
11 David Nichols 9 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 1 0 0 0
13 Anthony Polite 11 2 4 1 3 0 0 5 0 1 1 2 1 0 0 1
25 Mfiondu Kabengele 21 4 8 0 1 4 7 12 0 5 5 4 1 2 1 1
31 Wyatt Wilkes 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
35 Harrison Prieto 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 3 0 0 0 0
Team 3 3
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 29 60 6 19 16 24 80 13 24 37 21 14 14 4 8
Opp 200 23 52 8 23 15 24 69 8 21 29 22 16 18 4 4
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Tulane |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Kabengele, Noles Rout Canisius.
by Tim Linafelt, Senior Writer
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Ignore, for a moment, the final score and consider that No. 13 Florida State on Monday played a team that has two professional-quality guards, that won its conference’s regular-season title a year ago and that narrowly missed out on the NCAA tournament.
Then consider that the Seminoles trailed midway through the first half and led by as few as six points in the second.
Factor in all of things, then look at the final score – Florida State 93, Canisius 61 – and it might not be too much of stretch to call this the most impressive win of FSU’s young season.
And yes, that includes the Seminoles’ throttling of Florida two weeks ago.
“The score was not an accurate representation of how hard that game was for us,” FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. “This is the hardest, toughest 30-point victory I’ve ever been a part of.”
Indeed, FSU (3-0) on Monday played its first game in eight days and, at least in the early goings, it showed.
Saddled with some sloppiness on offense, the Seminoles made just five of their first 14 field-goal attempts and trailed, 12-10, six minutes into the game.
That’s when Mfiondu Kabengele made his first of several impacts.
After grabbing a defensive rebound, guard Trent Forrest dished a long pass to the 6-10 Kabengele, who then threw down a thunderous dunk that brought the Tucker Center to its feet and sent an overmatched Canisius defender flying to the floor.
Kabengele drew a foul and made his free throw for the first points of a 14-3 FSU run that put the Seminoles up by double digits.
“Plays like that just always bring energy to the team,” said Kabengele, who came off the bench to score a career-high 18 points.
“It was awesome,” Forrest said. “I mean, we know what type of player ‘Fi’ is …When he’s running, he gets behind the defense and he finishes plays really well.”
The Seminoles took a 15-point lead into halftime and appeared to be cruising toward an easy win.
But the Golden Griffins (1-2) outscored FSU 14-4 to start the second half, cutting the Seminoles’ lead to just six after a turnover.
“I feel like was definitely a good test for us,” Forrest said. “The pace they were playing at, it was tearing at us, honestly. You get tired real quick.”
In need of another spark, the Seminoles turned again to Kabengele.
He stemmed the tide with another dunk, followed with another three-point play at the basket then put back an offensive rebound. All in the span of about 58 seconds.
It was all part of an 11-0 FSU run and, by the time it had finished, the Seminoles led by 15 and never looked back.
“‘Fi’ is a monster,’” said sophomore guard M.J. Walker, who chipped in 12 points on 4 of 7 shooting. “Those plays like that … his potential is amazing.”
As usual, Hamilton used his full bench – 11 players in total – as the Seminoles pulled away.
Every Seminole that checked into the game scored at least four points, and FSU finished with a 51-11 advantage in bench points.
“That’s a lot in anybody’s book,” Hamilton said.
“The guys who came in the game for them appeared to be jumping on a train that was already moving,” Canisius coach Reggie Witherspoon said. “Whoosh – full-speed intensity.”
Canisius’ Malik Johnson led all scorers with 20 points on the strength of a 5 of 6 effort from the 3-point line.
The Seminoles, however, finished with healthy advantages in shooting percentage (53-42), free-throw attempts (30-15), rebounds (40-15) and points in the paint (44-20).
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
3 Trent Forrest g 29 3 7 0 0 2 2 8 0 5 5 1 6 1 0 2
5 PJ Savoy g 22 0 2 0 2 2 2 2 0 1 1 0 0 2 0 1
14 Terance Mann g 28 4 9 1 1 3 3 12 3 2 5 0 4 2 0 0
21 Christ Koumadje c 17 4 6 0 0 0 0 8 2 7 9 3 0 1 1 0
23 MJ Walker g 24 4 7 3 4 1 3 12 3 1 4 3 2 4 0 2
1 RaiQuan Gray 12 0 0 0 0 4 4 4 1 2 3 0 2 1 0 0
11 David Nichols 17 2 4 0 1 0 0 4 0 0 0 2 2 1 1 0
13 Anthony Polite 13 2 3 1 2 4 4 9 0 2 2 2 2 0 0 1
24 Devin Vassell 14 4 7 0 1 2 2 10 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 3
25 Mfiondu Kabengele 19 6 12 0 1 6 10 18 3 3 6 2 1 1 0 0
31 Wyatt Wilkes 5 2 2 2 2 0 0 6 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 0
Team 1 2 3
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 31 59 7 14 24 30 93 14 26 40 15 19 15 3 9
Opp 200 22 52 8 21 9 15 61 8 17 25 23 10 19 6 4
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canisius College | |||
| Florida State |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Mann’s 17 Points Lead Noles To Another Blowout Win.
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Sparks flew in the magic kingdom as No. 14 Florida State opened the first bracketed round of the AdvoCare Invitational with an 81-63 win over Alabama-Birmingham.
Bolstered by a 5-for-5 night from the field and a 6-of-7 effort at the free-throw line, forward Terance Mann scored a game-high 17 points. The senior has scored in double digits in each of FSU’s last three games.
The Seminoles (4-0, 0-0) relied upon their signature stingy defense to blow past the Blazers (3-1,0-0), holding UAB to 19 of 58 from the field (33 percent) and 2-14 (14 percent) from the 3-point line.
Both marks were a season-best for the Noles, and their two 3-point shots allowed were the least by an FSU team since Fordham made just one on Nov. 17, 2018.
After a slow start that saw scoreless basketball for the first 2:30, FSU senior PJ Savoy found his stride, connecting on back-to-back 3-point baskets to earn the game’s first points.
With the game tied 8-8 five minutes into the first half, senior Christ Koumadje catapulted an 11-1 run that held UAB without a field goal for 6:18.
Off an inbound lob, Koumadje threw down a heavy dunk that put the Noles up 14-11. A few possessions later, he had yet another slam that extended the lead to five.
Koumadje used his size and strength to dominate the paint all night. He finished with 12 points, a career-high tying nine rebounds and three blocks. His three blocks put him over 100 blocks for his career.
The Noles would run through the first half off of a balanced scoring attack that saw nine different Seminoles score at least one basket. Fresh off a 10-point showing against Canisius, freshman Devin Vassell hit a corner 3-point shot to put FSU up 27-15 at the 7:01 mark Later in the first, fifth-year senior guard David Nichols drove hard right on a pump fake with 5 and drew contact on his lay-up, earning an and-one bucket to put the Noles up 30-20.
Redshirt sophomore Mfiondu Kabengele continued his impressive start as a key member off the bench, finishing with 10 points, good for his third double-digit outing of the season and the 14th of his career.
Vassell, meanwhile, continued the host start to his career in Tallahassee. The promising freshman finished with nine points on 3-of-5 shooting, including a perfect 2-for-2 from the 3-point point line.
He also finished with three rebounds and two steals.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
3 Trent Forrest g 30 1 2 0 0 3 3 5 0 11 11 1 3 6 0 0
5 PJ Savoy g 19 3 7 2 6 2 2 10 0 3 3 4 1 2 1 1
14 Terance Mann g 26 5 5 1 1 6 7 17 1 0 1 1 3 2 0 0
21 Christ Koumadje c 22 6 8 0 0 0 0 12 3 6 9 2 0 3 3 0
23 MJ Walker g 23 1 6 1 3 2 2 5 0 3 3 3 3 2 0 0
1 RaiQuan Gray 8 2 3 0 0 2 3 6 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1
11 David Nichols 22 1 5 0 3 3 3 5 0 2 2 3 1 2 1 2
13 Anthony Polite 11 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0
24 Devin Vassell 15 3 5 2 2 1 2 9 1 2 3 1 1 0 0 2
25 Mfiondu Kabengele 18 3 8 0 0 4 4 10 2 1 3 2 0 1 0 1
31 Wyatt Wilkes 6 1 2 0 1 0 0 2 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0
Team 1 1
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 26 53 6 18 23 26 81 9 29 38 22 12 18 5 7
Opp 200 19 58 2 14 23 28 63 12 18 30 21 6 15 1 9
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Alabama-Birmingham |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Kabengele, No. 14 Noles Outlast No. 19 LSU In OT.
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Good basketball teams find ways to win by any means necessary.
For the No. 14-ranked Florida State Seminoles, tonight’s victory was a matter of grit, determination and a friendly bounce.
The Seminoles defeated No. 19 LSU, 79-76, in overtime, in the semifinal of the AdvoCare Invitational on Friday night at the ESPN World Wide of Sports Complex near Orlando, Fla.
They’ll meet defending national champion Villanova in the tournament title game on Sunday at 1 p.m.
The Noles (5-0) took a late lead behind sophomore Mfiondu Kabengele’s corner 3-pointer with under a second left in overtime. The seemed to not only hit the rim, but also hang in the air for seconds before dropping in.
Kabengele finished the game with 15 points and four rebounds on 5-12 shooting. He shined in overtime, scoring five of the team’s 11 overtime points and hauling down two key offensive rebounds.
“Of course we drew up that last play for Mfiondu to take a jump shot deep in the corner,” FSU coach Leonard Hamilton told reporters with a laugh. “That’s the shot we wanted all along.”
The victory wasn’t always well in sight as both teams struggled to pull away throughout regulation. The Tigers managed to lead for 29 minutes in the contest, including leading by nine with 3:05 remaining after a 3-point jump shot by junior Sklyer Mays.
Junior guard Trent Forrest sparked a Florida State run with 2:04 remaining, kicking to Kabengele who hit a 3-pointer to bring the game to 65-59.
A few possessions later, sophomore M.J. Walker drained his fourth 3-pointer of the night to bring the game to 67-66 with 18 seconds remaining.
Walker led the Seminoles throughout the contest with an arsenal of jump shots. The Jonesboro, Ga., native scored a team-high 21 points on 8-of-16 shooting, which included career-high five from 3-point range.
After LSU sophomore guard Tremont Waters hit a free throw to extend the Tigers’ lead to 68-66, the Noles called a timeout.
Out of the break, Forrest took the inbounds pass and went coast-to-coast to finger roll the game-tying layup and force overtime.
Forrest continued to stake his claim as one of the top all-around players in the ACC, finishing with 10 points, seven rebounds, five assists and a career-high tying four steals. Forrest earned his 13th career game of at least five points, five rebounds and five assists in a single game.
Florida State came out firing in the overtime period, taking a quick five-point lead behind a layup by Kabengele and 3-point shot by Walker.
Once LSU tied the game at 73 with 1:51 left in the extra period, senior forward Terance Mann took over. Mann scored the game’s next three points by a matter of free throws, while also grabbing a pivotal offensive rebound.
The senior captain finished the game with nine points and 12 rebounds, marking the second time this season he finished with double-digit boards.
Throughout the contest, the Seminoles used physicality to wrestle the Tigers. The Noles outrebounded LSU 43-30, including a 22-4 margin on the offensive boards. Coach Leonard Hamilton’s “junkyard dog” defense also produced 18 turnovers and 11 steals.
“Our guys, we’re strong in character,” Hamilton said. “I thought they grew up a little bit tonight.”
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
3 Trent Forrest g 37 4 13 0 2 2 3 10 4 3 7 1 5 2 0 4
5 PJ Savoy g 20 1 3 0 2 0 0 2 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0
14 Terance Mann g 36 3 10 0 1 3 4 9 7 5 12 3 2 2 1 0
21 Christ Koumadje c 19 2 5 0 0 2 4 6 3 1 4 1 0 1 0 0
23 MJ Walker g 42 8 16 5 9 0 0 21 2 3 5 2 1 5 0 3
1 RaiQuan Gray 16 3 6 0 1 2 3 8 0 4 4 1 2 0 0 1
11 David Nichols 12 1 4 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0
13 Anthony Polite 21 2 6 2 6 0 0 6 1 0 1 3 3 1 0 2
24 Devin Vassell 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
25 Mfiondu Kabengele 18 5 12 2 4 3 3 15 2 2 4 2 0 0 0 0
Team 3 2 5
=========================================================================
FSU 5 225 29 76 9 26 12 17 79 22 21 43 15 15 12 1 11
Opp 225 27 52 11 26 11 13 76 4 26 30 20 16 18 7 6
| 1 | 2 | OT | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | ||||
| Louisiana State |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Noles Fall To Defending Champ Nova In AdvoCare Invitational Final.
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – The clock struck midnight in the Magic Kingdom as No. 14 Florida State’s run through the AdvoCare Invitational came to a halt on Sunday afternoon.
The Seminoles fell to defending national champion Villanova, 66-60, in the tournament championship at HP Field House at the Walt Disney World Resort.
Senior Terance Mann was named to the All-Tournament team.
Down eight with 5:42 left to play, Florida State (5-1) found itself repeating what it did in its semifinal matchup against LSU—rallying late.
Junior guard Trent Forrest converted a layup off an offensive rebound to bring the game to within four. On FSU’s next possession, redshirt freshman RaiQuan Gray hit a layup and drew a foul, then capitalized on a three-point opportunity to close the gap to 54-51.
Earning the motto “18 strong” a year ago, the Noles continued to flex their rotation throughout the weekend. Thirty-three of their 60 points came from their reserve unit, as redshirt sophomore forward Mfiondu Kabengele tied the team lead with 11 points and secured a team-high seven rebounds.
The four-day tournament served as a coming out party for the Burlington, Ont., native. Kabengele scored in double figures in all three games throughout the weekend, including 15 points against LSU and the game-winning, 3-point shot in overtime.
FSU’s reserves scored 30-plus points in each game of the AdvoCare Classic, with each member of the rotation given a chance to make an impact.
Tied at 39-39 with 9:39 remaining, redshirt freshman guard Anthony Polite would come off the bench to drain a 3-pointer, his sixth of the season. A few possessions later, Gray hit another layup to tie the game at 44.
Gray showcased his ability with a career-high seven points on 3-of-4 shooting. The big man pulled out many moves in his arsenal by putting the ball on the floor, providing energy on the offensive glass and being able to knock down free throws.
Through a back-and-forth affair, the Seminoles continued to show their resilient effort. After storming back down nine with under three minutes to go against LSU in the semifinal, the Noles showed flashes of repeating in their bid to knock off the defending national champions.
Down seven with 42 seconds left, Forrest drove the lane to score on an and-one layup, connecting on the free throw to bring the game within four at 61-57. A few possessions later, he scored on yet another layup to make the game 62-60 with 13 seconds remaining.
Perfecting his craft at the free-throw line was part of Forrest’s formula in the offseason to improve as an all-around player. He finished the tournament 8-of-9 from the free-throw line, bringing his mark to 26-29 (89.7 percent). He leads all Noles in free throws made and attempted during the young season.
Fresh from their cleaning of the offensive glass against LSU, when they hauled in 22 offensive rebounds, the Noles brought in 13 offensive boards on Sunday, compared to seven by the Wildcats (5-2). Florida State outrebounded its opponents on the offensive glass 44-23 during its three-game run in Orlando.
While the objective was not what Florida State hoped for, the results suggest a promising season ahead.
Florida State stood toe-to-toe with the defending national champion, rallied past a top-20 opponent in LSU and took care of business against UAB, a team that is projected to make noise in its conference.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
3 Trent Forrest g 26 4 6 0 0 3 3 11 1 1 2 4 1 4 0 0
5 PJ Savoy g 12 1 3 1 3 0 0 3 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 1
14 Terance Mann g 31 3 5 1 2 2 2 9 4 1 5 3 1 3 0 0
21 Christ Koumadje c 14 1 5 0 0 0 0 2 2 1 3 1 0 2 2 1
23 MJ Walker g 31 1 5 0 1 0 0 2 0 4 4 5 2 0 0 1
1 RaiQuan Gray 14 3 4 0 0 1 1 7 1 1 2 1 0 2 0 0
11 David Nichols 18 2 6 0 0 2 4 6 0 0 0 4 0 2 0 0
13 Anthony Polite 25 2 6 1 4 0 0 5 0 1 1 2 2 1 0 0
24 Devin Vassell 8 2 3 0 1 0 0 4 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 0
25 Mfiondu Kabengele 21 3 8 0 1 5 7 11 3 4 7 1 0 1 0 0
Team 1 1 2
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 22 51 3 12 13 17 60 13 15 28 23 7 16 2 3
Opp 200 23 42 3 14 17 24 66 7 18 25 15 6 12 2 8
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Villanova |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Forrest’s Game-Winner Lifts Basketball to 73-72 Win Over Purdue.
by Tim Linafelt, Senior Writer
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Leonard Hamilton has just about had his fill of all these late-game rallies.
Still, there’s no denying that his Florida State basketball team is awfully good at them.
For the second time in three games, the 15th-ranked Seminoles rallied from a three-score deficit with less than four minutes to play, this time topping No. 19 Purdue, 73-72, at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
Just five days ago, FSU trailed LSU by nine in the game’s waning minutes before forcing overtime and emerging with a victory.
“Philosophically, that sounds good,” Hamilton said. “But, in reality, coaches don’t want to wait until the game is on the line to start making plays to win. That’s who we are right now.”
FSU junior Trent Forrest made the plays that led to the Seminoles’ latest escape.
In the span of just 16 seconds, Forrest flashed three different aspects of the versatility that has made him perhaps the most well-rounded player on FSU’s roster.
First, with the Seminoles trailing 72-71, Forrest tied up Purdue’s Ryan Cline and forced a jump ball with the possession arrow going FSU’s way.
Then, following a timeout, Forrest drove into the lane, pulled up and made a short floater that gave the Seminoles their first lead in more than 13 minutes.
Finally, Forrest made a perfect read on Purdue’s final desperation play, intercepting a cross-court pass that sealed the Seminoles’ sixth victory of the season.
“In games like these, I want to be able to affect it in whatever way I can,” Forrest said. “Whether it’s playing defense or scoring or whatever. Just making the right plays.”
By the time it was over, the Seminoles had completed a comeback from a 72-64 deficit at the 3:43 mark. They closed the game on a 9-0 run and, in the process, salvaged a split for their conference in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.
“The last six or seven minutes, I thought our defense tightened up a little,” Hamilton said. “And we made some plays down the stretch there and were able to pull out a victory against a very, very good basketball team.”
Then again, at halftime there wasn’t much indication that the Seminoles would even break a sweat, much less need a dramatic rally.
After a slow start, FSU dominated the last 15 minutes of the first half, shooting 46.9 percent from the field on the way to a 44-32 lead at the break.
Purdue, however, responded in kind – and quickly.
Spurred by a torrid second-half effort from the perimeter, the Boilermakers needed only a little more than six minutes to erase their 12-point deficit and reclaim the lead.
Purdue made seven of its first eight 3-point attempts in the second half and equaled its 32-point output in the first frame by the 9:44 mark of the second.
“I said all along that I thought this team would challenge all our defensive principles,” Hamilton said. “They made some adjustments, they moved the ball a little better and they shot a phenomenal percentage from the perimeter.
“And that’s what they do. That’s their strength.”
Indeed, Purdue’s Cline made 7 of 11 from distance, while All-America candidate Carsen Edwards added three more as part of his game-high 24 points.
And as the Boilermakers continued to build their lead – and as FSU labored through a scoring drought of more than four minutes – things seemed to be trending in the wrong direction.
But Florida State took advantage of a series of Purdue miscues to stem the tide and set the stage for the dramatic conclusion.
Among them were four Purdue turnovers and two missed free throws from Edwards, who came into the game shooting 92 percent from the line.
The Seminoles, meanwhile, made five consecutive free throws down the stretch, including two from M.J. Walker that trimmed FSU’s deficit to one point.
“I’m appreciative,” Hamilton said, “that they made a few mistakes and missed some big free throws down the stretch … that maybe they normally make.”
Walker led Florida State with 13 points, while Forrest, Terance Mann, PJ Savoy and David Nichols all finished with nine.
“Even when we’re down, we know who we are,” Walker said. “We continued to fight back and we won the game.”
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
3 Trent Forrest g 27 4 8 0 3 1 1 9 1 0 1 3 3 4 0 3
5 PJ Savoy g 29 3 13 2 11 1 1 9 0 3 3 2 0 1 1 1
14 Terance Mann g 35 3 6 0 1 3 3 9 2 6 8 2 1 3 2 0
21 Christ Koumadje c 18 2 2 0 0 3 4 7 2 1 3 2 1 0 0 0
23 MJ Walker g 37 4 11 2 6 3 5 13 1 1 2 3 1 2 0 0
1 RaiQuan Gray 14 1 3 1 3 4 4 7 0 2 2 4 1 1 0 1
11 David Nichols 13 3 4 2 2 1 1 9 0 3 3 1 3 2 0 0
13 Anthony Polite 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0
24 Devin Vassell 6 1 3 1 2 0 0 3 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0
25 Mfiondu Kabengele 12 3 5 0 0 1 1 7 1 1 2 5 1 3 0 1
31 Wyatt Wilkes 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Team 4 4
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 24 55 8 28 17 20 73 8 21 29 24 12 17 3 6
Opp 200 22 51 11 30 17 25 72 10 22 32 19 11 20 0 5
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purdue | |||
| Florida State |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
No. 11 Noles Get Troy’s Best Shot, Pull Away, 83-67.
by Bob Thomas
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – There were some uneasy moments early in the second half of Monday night’s Florida State tilt with Troy.
The Trojans opened the second half with a 12-3 run, pulling within 42-40 on BJ Miller’s 3-pointer less than three minutes gone against the newly-anointed 11th-ranked Seminoles.
Senior guard PJ Savoy’s 3-pointer from the right win triggered an 8-0 run by the Seminoles (7-1), who restored order and cruised to an 83-67 victory.
“It was kind of a sigh of relief,” Savoy said of the timely triple. “Like, ‘Come on. Let’s go. It’s time to start working.’ Just knowing we had to flip the switch and turn it on now.”
Coach Leonard Hamilton said his Seminoles are learning on the fly how to play with the responsibility of expectations that come with such lofty rankings.
“We have to learn to adjust to being a highly ranked team and getting everybody’s best effort,” Hamilton said. “That’s a new place for this team. We’re trying to get to a place where we never have been, so sometimes when you’re trying to get there and you’ve never been there before, is challenging…That’s part of the journey.”
In a Monday night non-conference game against an opponent whom you last played in 1977 – sandwiched between dates with Purdue and UConn – the Noles weren’t operating at maximum efficiency.
“We’re not so much the hunters anymore, we’re the hunted,” said sophomore forward Mfiondu Kabengele. “Tonight I felt like some of us were playing Troy, and what I mean by saying that is we weren’t playing Florida State. We weren’t challenging ourselves. Even though Troy is in our way, we still have to focus on ourselves. We kind of got away from that, which is why they kind of got back into the game.
“Even though we’re 11th-ranked, focus on who we are and execute, and we’ll be fine.”
Savoy’s 3-pointer started the Noles down the right path. M.J. Walker followed with a traditional three-point play and David Nichols’ basket off a turnover put FSU in charge, 50-40. Troy (3-5) would only get as close as six the rest of the way.
“They just keep coming at you in waves,” said Troy coach Phil Cunningham. “We were trying to break them there. We cut it down to two with 17 minutes to go. They bent a little bit, but they didn’t break.”
FSU forced 22 Trojan turnovers and turned those into 27 points, building a lead of 21 points in the encore to Wednesday’s dramatic 73-72 win over Purdue.
“We couldn’t get the ball to our two best scorers,” Cunningham added. “We couldn’t get into our offense. Give them credit. They took us out of our offense. You see that with those turnovers.”
Savoy had 11 points of his team-high 16 points in the second half. Kabengele added six points, six rebounds and three blocked shots after intermission in a 10-point, seven-rebound effort.
“Going into the game I only had one block this whole season,” Kabengele said. “The coaching staff challenged me. David [Nichols] had more blocks. I took that very personal. By me blocking a shot, it starts the break and gets everybody involved…I felt very good because everybody fed off it.”
Despite the somewhat uneven effort, the Noles had plenty contributors. M.J. Walker finished with 14 and Trent Forrest added 13, while Nichols added nine as FSU’s reserves produced a whopping 31 points.
“We had some moments in the second half, some spurts, where I thought we had stops, deflections, steals; got out in transition and created some offense with our defense,” Hamilton said.
That’s the kind of energy the Noles know they need to learn to bring every night.
“That’s one of our challenges,” Savoy added. “Sometimes it’s hard to get up for games that aren’t big-name, but coach harps on us about bringing the energy every day no matter who we’re playing.”
Though the Noles were never seriously threatened after running off to a 7-0 lead, the first half was less than an aesthetically pleasing sight. FSU lead 37-28 at the break despite 11 turnovers and 4-of-15 shooting from beyond the 3-point line.
Troy missed its first five shots and turned the ball over three times from the outset and spent the rest of the night playing a game of catch-up, to no avail.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
3 Trent Forrest g 29 5 8 0 2 3 4 13 0 5 5 0 1 0 0 1
5 PJ Savoy g 24 5 12 4 10 2 3 16 0 5 5 1 3 1 0 1
14 Terance Mann g 28 1 6 1 3 0 0 3 1 7 8 3 3 2 0 1
21 Christ Koumadje c 17 3 6 0 0 0 0 6 3 1 4 1 0 0 0 0
23 MJ Walker g 23 4 8 2 3 4 5 14 0 2 2 2 2 5 0 2
1 RaiQuan Gray 12 2 6 1 1 0 1 5 2 1 3 2 0 2 0 0
11 David Nichols 19 3 9 1 4 2 2 9 1 0 1 1 2 3 0 1
13 Anthony Polite 16 1 5 0 4 2 2 4 4 0 4 2 1 0 0 1
24 Devin Vassell 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 2 0 1 0 1
25 Mfiondu Kabengele 23 4 7 0 0 2 3 10 3 4 7 3 2 3 3 1
31 Wyatt Wilkes 3 1 2 1 2 0 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
Team 1 1
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 29 69 10 29 15 20 83 16 26 42 18 14 17 3 9
Opp 200 23 52 5 19 16 18 67 5 26 31 17 10 22 5 8
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Troy | |||
| Florida State |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Mann, FSU Reserves Have UConn’s Number(s), 79-71.
by Blake VonCannon
NEWARK, N.J. – Florida State senior guard Terance Mann wore two different numbers in Saturday’s matchup against Connecticut in the Never Forget Tribute Classic, and delivered in both.
Mann propelled the 11th-ranked Seminoles (8-1) to a 79-71 victory over the Huskies (7-3), in a game that saw him wear his recognizable No. 14 jersey in the first half, and switch to No. 41 after it was ripped.
The Lowell, Mass. native provided a veteran steady hand throughout a physical contest, finishing with 20 points and nine rebounds, with 16 points and six rebounds coming in the second half.
It was the Seminoles’ first win over the Huskies since the 1997-1998 season.
With 17:26 remaining, Mann drew a shooting foul in the paint, connecting on both free throws. His second free throw was his 1,000th career point; the 47th player in school history to reach the landmark.
In a back-and-forth first half where momentum was hard to come by, FSU ‘s reserves shined brightest. Graduate guard David Nichols and redshirt sophomore forward Mfiondu Kabengele scored 13 apiece as FSU’s bench totaled 30 of the Noles’ 39 first half point.
Kabengele finished the contest with 15 points and three rebounds before fouling out late in the second half.
Nichols transferred into FSU from Albany with the idea of immediately contributing to a team looking to clinch an NCAA tournament birth for the third straight season. In his past three games, he has been all as advertised.
The Chicago, Ill. native totaled an FSU career-high 16 points and four rebounds, shooting five of seven from the field. He also knocked down a career-high three 3-pointers.
Nichols has averaged 11.3 points in his last three contests, shooting 55-percent from the floor and 60-precent from beyond the 3-point arc..
The Noles missed six of their first seven shots and committed two turnovers in the first five minutes and trailed, 10-3.
With 11:53 to play in the first half, redshirt freshman forward RaiQuan Gray hit a jumper, and sophomore guard M.J. Walker followed with a transition layup, giving the Noles their first lead of the game, 17-16.
Trailing 31-28, the Noles went on an 11-2 run over the final two minutes of the half – embodying their “18-strong” motto – with five different players contributing to the scoring run.
Contributions from throughout the roster have been coach Leonard Hamilton’s calling card and deemed to be true Saturday at the Prudential Center. All nine Seminoles who entered the game scored a basket, with eight earning at least 17 minutes of action.
Entering the second half up 39-33, the veteran-laden FSU team received a spark for senior center Christ Koumadje, who dominated the paint with seven rebounds and a season-high four blocks in the second half alone. Koumadje finished with seven points, a career-high 11 rebounds and four blocks.
With the Noles cruising efficiently through much of the second half, the Huskies refused to make it an easy. After trailing 68-56 at the under-six minute timeout, UConn rallied to make it 72-67 after a layup by redshirt sophomore guard Alterique Gilbert.
Nichols and junior guard Trent Forrest were clutch in the closing stretch, each going three of four from the free throw line in the games’ final minute to clinch the victory.
With a win over UConn, the Seminoles add yet another resume-building win.
With wins over Florida, Purdue, LSU and UConn in its first nine games, the Seminoles have positioned themselves quite nicely through the seasons first month.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
3 Trent Forrest g 33 1 7 0 1 6 8 8 0 2 2 2 1 4 0 5
5 PJ Savoy g 21 1 4 0 2 0 0 2 1 1 2 1 0 1 0 0
14 Terance Mann g 34 7 13 1 4 5 7 20 2 7 9 2 1 6 0 1
21 Christ Koumadje c 17 2 6 0 0 3 4 7 4 7 11 4 1 3 4 0
23 MJ Walker g 23 1 2 0 1 0 0 2 0 1 1 4 1 1 0 1
1 RaiQuan Gray 18 2 5 0 1 0 2 4 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 2
11 David Nichols 20 5 7 3 4 3 4 16 0 3 3 4 2 3 0 1
13 Anthony Polite 14 1 1 1 1 2 2 5 0 1 1 4 0 0 0 0
25 Mfiondu Kabengele 20 5 10 1 3 4 5 15 2 1 3 5 0 2 1 1
Team 4 1 5 1
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 25 55 6 17 23 32 79 13 25 38 27 6 22 5 11
Opp 200 23 61 7 21 18 26 71 16 21 37 28 7 19 5 7
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Connecticut |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Forrest, Vassell Fuel Second Half Romp Of Redhawks.
by Bob Thomas
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – No MJ Walker. No problem.
Guards Trent Forrest, Devin Vassell and David Nichols offset the injury absence of Walker Monday night as No. 11 Florida State reeled off its fourth consecutive victory, pulling away late, 85-68 over Southeast Missouri.
Forrest and Vassell recorded career-high scoring performances with 23 and 16 points, respectively, as the Seminoles (9-1) dispatched the Redhawks (5-7) with defensive pressure and a torrid 60-percent shooting performance in the second half.
Nichols added 13 points, contributing to a 43-21 scoring disparity by the Seminoles’ deep bench on a night when senior Phil Cofer made his first appearance of the season in an abbreviated reserve role.
“The unique thing about our team is I think we have enough parts that we can find someone that’s capable of stepping up and being productive,” FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. “That’s what happened tonight…That’s who we are.”
The Seminoles needed all the contributions they could find, especially with the Redhawks locked in from beyond the 3-point arc from the start. SEMO drilled four of its first six 3-point attempts – while the Noles missed nine of their first 10 shots from the floor – for a 21-10 lead at the midway mark of the half.
That’s when Forrest went to work, repeatedly attacking the rim. The junior point guard had 11 points during a 15-5 run that all but erased the 11-point deficit.
“Our shots weren’t falling so we needed to get to the basket some; get to the foul line,” Forrest said. “Pushing the tempo just helped us get some easy points.”
SEMO pushed its lead back to six before back-to-back baskets by Vassell, including the Noles’ first successful 3-pointer – after nine misses – to pull within 31-30. Forrest’s steal and layup with 1:19 remaining gave FSU its first lead since the 16:55 mark, only have it erased by Skyler Hogan’s 3-pointer.
FSU 7-foot-4 center Christ Koumadje’s putback dunk to beat the buzzer sent the teams to the locker room deadlocked at 34-34.
Koumadje’s slam was a harbinger of things to come. After a see-saw start to the second half, the senior big man was in the middle of FSU decisive second half run at the defensive end. Three of his season-high four blocked shots came after intermission, triggering fast breaks and deterring the Redhawks’ penetrate-and-pitch offense which had been brilliant in the first half.
“You know what you’re getting into when you play a Florida State team,” SEMO coach Ricky Ray said. “They’re going to test your manhood. You’ve got to have the ability to handle pressure, handle denials and really not be afraid of the moment.
“I’m really proud of the way our guys competed for 27-30 minutes.”
To be more precise, the Noles owned the final 14 minutes, erasing a 47-42 deficit with a 12-0 run fueled by Forrest and Vassell. The Redhawks managed just three field goals in a 10-minute stretch and FSU continued to pour it on with defensive-driven scoring spurts of 9-1 and 12-2. Vassell’s big night did not come as a surprise to Hamilton and veteran teammates.
“He’s just a player,” Hamilton said. “He has great instincts. He figures it out as he’s playing. I think you’re seeing a youngster grow up in front of your eyes.”
“Scary” is the word Nichols, a graduate transfer from Albany, used to describe the freshman from Suwanee, Ga. who was 5-of-7 from the floor, grabbed four rebounds and pitched in an assist and a steal in 19 minutes of efficiency.
“He can score at all three levels,” Nichols said. “He’s athletic, quick, a good listener and just willing to be coached. Once he starts getting the little things together, perfects our defensive system and offensive system, he’s going to be scary…
“If I were to be in that situation at that age, just turning 18, I wouldn’t be ready. I did a year of prep school and that helped tremendously. With him coming in out of high school and producing the way he does in the minutes he’s getting is really insane if you think about it, especially at this level.”
Christ finished off a 12-point, 6-for-6 shooting night with two more dunks, to go along with seven rebounds. A deep 3-pointer by Nichols and a runout by Forrest off a turnover gave the Noles their largest lead, 80-56 with 3:03 remaining, before Hamilton emptied his bench at the end of what amounted to a 39-7 run.
“Christ really made a big difference in there,” Hamilton said. “He clogged the lane up, got some rebounds and blocked four shots. This is the kind of teamwe’re going to be all year. You’re going to see different guys step up and make plays.”
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 RaiQuan Gray f 7 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 2 1 0 1 0 0
3 Trent Forrest g 34 8 12 1 4 6 8 23 1 7 8 1 4 2 0 3
5 PJ Savoy g 15 0 5 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0
14 Terance Mann g 30 1 5 0 1 3 6 5 4 2 6 2 2 2 0 0
21 Christ Koumadje c 19 6 6 0 0 0 0 12 4 3 7 1 1 1 4 1
0 Phil Cofer 5 0 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0
11 David Nichols 21 5 8 3 4 0 0 13 0 4 4 4 2 2 0 0
13 Anthony Polite 18 1 4 0 3 0 0 2 3 1 4 2 2 1 0 1
15 Justin Lindner 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0
20 Travis Light 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
24 Devin Vassell 19 5 7 2 3 4 6 16 0 4 4 0 1 1 0 1
25 Mfiondu Kabengele 18 3 5 0 1 3 5 9 2 4 6 0 0 0 1 0
31 Wyatt Wilkes 6 1 4 1 4 0 0 3 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0
33 Will Miles 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
35 Harrison Prieto 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Team 2 1 3
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 31 62 7 26 16 25 85 17 29 46 13 15 15 5 6
Opp 200 25 59 14 37 4 10 68 7 21 28 21 14 11 1 6
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| SE Missouri State | |||
| Florida State |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Kabengele-Led Noles Lower The “Boom” On Ospreys, 95-81.
by Bob Thomas
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – There’s a new “Boom Squad” in town and on Wednesday night, it was redshirt sophomore forward Mfiondu Kabengele’s turn to lead Florida State’s energizing reserves.
Kabengele scored a career-high 24 points and for the third consecutive game the 11th-ranked Seminoles’ bench combined for 40 or more points, this time at the expense of North Florida in a 95-81 victory.
The Noles improved to 10-1 with their fifth consecutive victory and extended their non-conference home game winning streak to 31 games.
Florida State built an insurmountable cushion with a 22-5 run to start the second half, swarming the Ospreys (5-8) at the defensive end to turn a five-point halftime lead into a 68-44 cushion just six minutes in. Forcing five UNF turnovers and turning them into 10 points before the first media timeout provided coach Leonard Hamilton with a glimpse of his teams’ potential.
“I thought we had moments where we played with a lot of aggression,” Hamilton said. “We got our hands on deflections and a lot of loose balls…I thought we were very disruptive and we didn’t allow them to get into any rhythm offensively.
“I saw the potential in some of our guys to be really good with playing the style of ball I think we need to play defensively. I thought our effort was really good, but I think there are some technical things that we can do better. And I think that’s going to continue to improve as we move through the season.”
Starters Trent Forrest, PJ Savoy and Christ Koumadje – members of the original “Boom Squad” as reserves on the 2016-17 season – combined for 31 points, each reaching double figures, along with senior Terance Mann (17 points) on the night.
Entering the game after the first media timeout, the current “Boom Squad” ran with the early momentum provided by the starters. Kabengele and Anthony Polite had four points each, while Devin Vassell contributed three more in a 7-4 spurt, forcing three more turnovers for a 23-point cushion, which was big enough to withstand an 11-0 run Ospreys.
UNF closed within 10, but could get no closer, in no small part due to the Noles’ reserves, who over the past three games have outscored their opponents’ reserves 123-65.
Afterward, Ospreys coach Matt Driscoll heaped high praise on the Seminoles’ “connectivity” and singled out the work of Kabengele, whose first half play put a halt to UNF’s fast start.
“[Kabengaele] is a beast. A beast,” Driscoll said. “And he is from the old school. He ain’t from the new school. And praise God he ain’t listening to anybody and praise God he doesn’t get caught up in all that minutiae on Twitter and all that…I told him after the game, ‘If you stay this way, you are going to make as much as you ever want to make. If you stay and do what you do.’”
Weathering an early shooting barrage from the opposition for the second time in three nights, the Seminoles dug out of an early 9-2 hole by turning over the Ospreys and executing at the offensive end.
The Noles trailed 17-16 at the first media timeout (13:56), as the Ospreys hit their first 7-of-8 shot attempts, including 3-of-4 from beyond the 3-point arc. At that point Hamilton went to his bench for a fresh five players.
Kabengele, who scored 12 of FSU’s 20 first half bench points, gave the Noles their first lead, 18-17, on a putback basket. They were the first of his eight consecutive points, capped by a 15-foot fadeaway jumper that gave FSU the lead for good, 30-28, with 9:16 to play.
“I caught a rhythm early,” Kabengele said of his fast start. “I had a good shootaround. I had good preparation. Everything just went in order leading up to the game.”
Converting 7-of-12 shots from the floor and all 10 of his free throw attempts, to go along with a team-high seven rebounds, Kabengele’s contributions extended beyond his stat line.
“Mfiondu is an emotional young man,” Hamilton said. “He enjoys playing and he has a lot to prove…He has a burning desire to be successful. Once the game starts he turns into another person. He’s into every possession…He energizes the other players.”
“We expect him to come in and do what he does for us; very efficiently score points for us, get rebounds…block shots, alter shots,” Mann said. “Him also stepping up and being a vocal leader is also big for us. He does a lot.”
And Wednesday night it was his turn to shine, much to the chagrin of the Ospreys, who got a game-high 27 points from Tallahassee native JT Escobar, but couldn’t keep up with the deep and talented Noles.
After connecting on 10 of its first 13 shots, UNF cooled off and was just 3-of-12 from the floor over the final 10:48. FSU successfully sped up the Ospreys on defense, forcing 10 turnovers, which it turned in to 12 points.
And when the Noles were forced to execute in the half-court, they did so with ease. Forrest had four of the Noles’ 10 first half assists on 21 field goals and FSU committed just one turnover through the first 20 minutes.
Florida State led 46-39 at the half, converting on 22 of 35 possessions – a 63 percent rate – while averaging a whopping 1.3 points per possession. The Noles shot 50 percent (21-of-42) from the floor with 10 dunks.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
3 Trent Forrest g 24 5 9 0 1 0 0 10 1 3 4 1 7 0 0 4
5 PJ Savoy g 20 5 11 1 5 0 0 11 2 1 3 1 1 0 0 3
14 Terance Mann g 26 8 12 0 2 1 1 17 0 1 1 4 2 2 0 1
21 Christ Koumadje c 18 5 5 0 0 0 0 10 3 2 5 3 0 1 3 0
23 MJ Walker g 24 3 8 1 5 0 0 7 0 1 1 3 2 0 0 2
1 RaiQuan Gray 15 1 3 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 2 2 1 1 0 0
11 David Nichols 20 2 5 1 2 0 0 5 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 0
13 Anthony Polite 15 2 4 0 2 0 0 4 2 1 3 1 0 1 0 1
24 Devin Vassell 13 2 6 0 3 1 2 5 2 4 6 1 3 0 0 0
25 Mfiondu Kabengele 19 7 12 0 1 10 10 24 4 3 7 1 0 0 0 0
31 Wyatt Wilkes 6 0 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 40 79 3 23 12 13 95 14 20 34 20 17 6 3 11
Opp 200 27 54 10 25 17 26 81 11 21 32 15 12 19 1 2
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Florida | |||
| Florida State |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Nichols-Led Bench, Mann, Bounce Billikens, 81-59.
by Blake VonCannon
SUNRISE, Fla. – The “Boom Squad” continued its march through the 2018-19 season on Saturday afternoon. This time, graduate transfer guard David Nichols led the reserve unit.
Nichols led all scorers with 19 points, knocking down seven of 11 shots from the floor and four of seven shots from beyond the 3-point arc in 25 minutes—all career-highs in the garnet and gold. The bench combined for 43 points, their fourth in a row of 40 or more points, in an 81-59 victory over Saint Louis in the Metro by T-Mobile Orange Bowl Classic in Sunrise, Fla.
The Seminoles improved to 11-1 on the year, earning their season-best sixth consecutive victory. They improved their record in the Orange Bowl Classic to 8-2; winning eight of their last nine in the event.
Florida State jumped out of the gates by outscoring Saint Louis (8-4), 18-5. The Seminoles forced five turnovers and held the Billikens without a field goal in seven of the first nine minutes of action, continuing coach Leonard Hamilton’s “Junkyard Defense” tradition.
The Seminoles held Saint Louis to 30.2 percent from the floor and 21.4 percent from three, while forcing 18 turnovers. FSU has now forced at least 18 turnovers in eight games this season, including four of its last five games. The Billikens’ 30.2-percent field goal percentage marked the third time the Noles have held their opponent under 40-perecent this season.
Senior forward Terance Mann, who has transitioned from ‘Boom Squad’ energizer to one of the Noles’ most lethal weapons, led all starters with 17 points and seven rebounds on six of nine shooting.
Mann came out displaying a full arsenal of moves, scoring 11 of the Noles’ first 16 points, outscoring the Billikens 11-4. Mann hit a corner three-point shot with 18:52 left in the first half to earn the games first points, drove down the middle for a thunderous dunk, hit four free throw attempts and scored on a layup during the run.
With 9:13 left in the first half, redshirt freshman Anthony Polite stripped a driving Billiken and fend senior PJ Savoy with a full court pass for an authoritative dunk and a 22-7 lead.
Savoy finished with eight points on two of three from three; his two 3-pointers moving him to 19th all-time in FSU history.
With 8:33 left in the first, junior guard Trent Forrest hit one of 10 FSU three pointers on the day, extending the Seminoles lead to 25-8.
Forrest yet again provided an all-around performance for the Noles, finishing with 10 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals.
Leading 40-25 at the break, the Seminoles used an efficient offense to carry their momentum into the second half, connecting on six of their first nine shots.
Starting with a driving layup by Forrest and a jump shot by Nichols, the Noles were sparked by redshirt sophomore Mfiondu Kabengele’s thunderous dunk off the fast break for a 48-30 lead with 16:42 remaining. Freshman Devin Vassell followed with with a laup off a steal by Forrest.
Though hampered by foul trouble throughout, Kabengele finished with eight points and seven rebounds in 11 minutes of action. Vassell contributed four points, a block and a steal on two of four shooting.
Six FSU reserves scored and logged at least 10 minutes of playing time on the day.
With 10:11 left to play, redshirt senior Phil Cofer hit his first 3-point shot on the season, extending the lead to 63-39.
In just his second game back from an injury that forced him to miss the first nine games, Cofer finished with a season-high seven points in 18 minutes of action.
Back-to-back dunks by man over the final 30 seconds accounted for the 81-59 final score.
The Noles shot 55.4-percent from the floor and 55.6-percent from beyond the arc, both season-high numbers By making 81.8 percent of its free throws, FSU has shot at least 80-percent from the line five times this season.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
3 Trent Forrest g 30 3 5 1 1 3 4 10 0 5 5 3 5 4 0 3
5 PJ Savoy g 22 3 4 2 3 0 0 8 0 2 2 2 2 2 0 0
14 Terance Mann g 31 6 9 1 1 4 4 17 3 4 7 0 2 1 0 1
21 Christ Koumadje c 17 1 4 0 0 1 2 3 0 4 4 3 0 0 1 0
23 MJ Walker g 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 Phil Cofer 17 3 6 1 1 0 0 7 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0
1 RaiQuan Gray 10 1 3 1 2 0 0 3 1 0 1 3 1 1 0 0
11 David Nichols 25 7 11 4 7 1 1 19 1 1 2 2 1 6 0 1
13 Anthony Polite 23 1 4 0 3 0 0 2 1 2 3 1 1 3 0 4
24 Devin Vassell 12 2 4 0 0 0 0 4 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
25 Mfiondu Kabengele 11 4 6 0 0 0 0 8 1 6 7 4 0 1 1 0
31 Wyatt Wilkes 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Team 2 2 4 1
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 31 56 10 18 9 11 81 9 28 37 21 13 20 3 10
Opp 200 19 63 3 14 18 25 59 20 18 38 11 5 18 4 12
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Saint Louis |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Mann, Cofer Lead Noles To Win In Non-Conference Finale.
by Tim Linafelt, Senior Writer
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – After knocking down his third 3-pointer in the span of a little more than a minute – a contested shot in the corner – Phil Cofer took a quick glance at the Winthrop bench and smiled.
And, in what might have been a show of admiration, at least one Eagle smiled right back at him.
Cofer, Florida State’s leading scorer from a year ago, officially returned to the Seminoles’ lineup on Dec. 17 after missing nine games with a foot injury.
But it wasn’t until Tuesday afternoon, when Cofer started for the first time this season, scored 14 points in 28 minutes and helped the ninth-ranked Seminoles to an 87-76 victory over Winthrop at the Tucker Center, that Cofer started to look like his usual self.
And although coach Leonard Hamilton doesn’t yet believe that Cofer is all-the-way back, it’s hard to look at Cofer’s game against Winthrop as anything other than a solid step forward.
“It was nice just to see shots falling for him, after what he’s been through,” said senior Terance Mann, who scored 14 of his game-high 22 points in the second half. “He’s been key for us. His energy is back on the defensive end, the vocal energy. And that’s just what we needed.”
Cofer’s latest stride in his return to form came at a fine time: With their non-conference schedule now complete, the Seminoles (12-1) will open their Atlantic Coast Conference campaign on Saturday at No. 4 Virginia (3 p.m., ESPN2), in what will be just the eighth Top-10 matchup in program history.
“I was pleased,” FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. “I hadn’t planned to use (Cofer) that much, but he’s showing that he’s getting back, getting some of the rust off, so to speak.
“We’ve got to be careful not to overdo it with him this early in the season, and that’s challenging because we’re getting ready to go and play Saturday against a team (Virginia) that went 17-1 in our league last year.”
Despite leading by as many as 18 points early in the second half, FSU found itself in a close affair for much of the afternoon.
Playing without leading scorer Nych Smith (undisclosed injury), Winthrop (8-5) employed a small, fast lineup and managed to shoot 49 percent from the field despite an uncharacteristically poor effort from 3-point range.
The Eagles came into the game ranked second nationally with an average of 13.3 made 3-pointers per game, but they made just six of 23 from the arc on Tuesday.
“They made that very, very difficult,” Winthrop coach Pat Kelsey said. “Especially in the first half, they were really staying locked on to our shooters.”
Indeed, the Eagles made only one of their 10 first-half 3-point attempts, which allowed FSU to turn what was a close game midway through the period (26-25 at the 9:31 mark) into a 52-36 advantage at the break.
Winthrop, however, found its shooting stroke early in the second half. The Eagles made 11 of their first 17 attempts after halftime, outscored FSU by 12 points over the course of about eight minutes and trailed by just two, 65-63, with 11:20 to play.
“They made some adjustments,” Hamilton said. “I thought we had a little energy dip there, defensively, and they did a very good job of attacking the basket.”
But with FSU flirting with what would have been a deflating defeat, redshirt freshman Anthony Polite gave the Seminoles some breathing room with one of the better brief stretches of his young career.
It started with a layup on FSU’s ensuing possession, continued with a pair of made free-throws after a Winthrop turnover, then finished in emphatic fashion with a steal and a layup in transition.
In the span of just 33 seconds, Polite had scored six straight points, extended FSU’s lead to eight and prompted Winthrop to take a timeout.
“I did my best to bring back the energy,” said Polite, who finished with eight points and a career-high five rebounds. “I was able to follow the principles, get some steals and bring back energy.”
The Eagles cut their deficit to three points on three separate occasions but could get no closer thanks in large part to an aggressive FSU defense that, despite missing sophomore MJ Walker, forced 13 steals and blocked eight shots.
Redshirt sophomore Mfiondu Kabengele had three of his four blocks in the last 4:32.
“There are many ways to affect the game. It doesn’t have to be about scoring,” Kabengele said. “Blocks, I was able to find my little (role) and I was able to assert myself on the defensive end. And it created a lot of energy, started the fast break. We got easy layups, we got fouls. So it was really good.”
In his post-game press conference, Hamilton said that Tuesday’s game followed a familiar pattern – the Seminoles had some very positive stretches, mixed in with some lulls that show that they’re still a work in progress.
But like nearly every other game this season, this one also ended with a double-digit victory. The Seminoles are 12-1, and nine of their wins have come by a margin of at least 10 points.
Those type of results, along with what he feels is plenty of room to improve, have Hamilton feeling upbeat as the Seminoles turn their focus to ACC play.
“The most positive thing I can say is that we can feel good at the fact that we’re 12-1,” he said. “And I really believe that we still have a lot of upside with this team to go.”
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
0 Phil Cofer f 28 4 8 3 5 3 3 14 0 2 2 4 3 3 0 1
3 Trent Forrest g 24 2 5 0 0 2 4 6 0 1 1 2 1 2 0 2
5 PJ Savoy g 10 0 4 0 3 0 0 0 1 1 2 2 1 0 0 0
14 Terance Mann g 35 10 11 2 3 0 3 22 4 3 7 2 2 2 2 1
21 Christ Koumadje c 14 2 5 0 0 2 4 6 3 5 8 1 1 1 1 0
1 RaiQuan Gray 8 0 0 0 0 3 4 3 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1
11 David Nichols 29 3 10 2 5 2 2 10 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 2
13 Anthony Polite 21 3 7 0 2 2 2 8 1 4 5 0 1 0 0 3
24 Devin Vassell 11 3 7 1 4 1 2 8 1 1 2 3 0 0 1 1
25 Mfiondu Kabengele 20 3 7 0 0 4 5 10 0 2 2 5 1 2 4 2
Team 1 5 6
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 30 64 8 22 19 29 87 11 26 37 19 11 11 8 13
Opp 200 29 59 6 23 12 19 76 10 26 36 22 7 21 5 1
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winthrop | |||
| Florida State |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
No. 9 Noles Drop ACC Opener At No. 4 UVA, 65-52.
by Tim Linafelt, Senior Writer
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — The Florida State men’s basketball team spent the first few weeks of the season staking its claim as one of the nation’s best.
The Seminoles spent Saturday afternoon getting an up-close look at a team that might be the nation’s very best.
In just the 11th top-10 matchup in FSU basketball history, the No. 4 Virginia Cavaliers were as good as advertised in a 65-52 victory over No. 9 Florida State at John Paul Jones Arena.
The Cavaliers’ top-ranked scoring defense (51.4 points per game) held the Seminoles to season lows in scoring and field goal percentage (34.1 percent) and led by as many as 29 points before FSU closed the game on a 16-0 run.
Fifth-year senior Phil Cofer led FSU with nine points, while redshirt sophomore Mfiondu Kabengele added five points and a team-high seven rebounds.
Virginia’s Kyle Guy, a first-team All-ACC selection a year ago, led all scorers with 21 points, 15 of which from 3-point range.
Earlier this week, the Seminoles (12-2, 0-1 ACC) said that they expected the game to be a test of wills and a contrast of styles – FSU’s aggressive, quick-strike offense against Virginia’s snail-paced approach.
After a closely-contested first few minutes – the Seminoles led, 9-8, at the 14:10 mark of the first half, and trailed by just three midway through the period – Virginia (13-0, 1-0) flexed its defensive might and pulled away as the game moved toward halftime.
With FSU struggling to find open looks, the Cavaliers ended the half on a 15-2 run and went into the break leading 42-23.
Facing an 18-15 deficit at the 7:30 mark, the Seminoles made just two of their next seven shot attempts.Turnovers and foul trouble didn’t help FSU’s cause, either.
The Seminoles finished with as many turnovers – 15 – as made baskets, which the Cavaliers turned into 21 points.
And senior Terance Mann, FSU’s leading scorer and rebounder, picked up two early fouls, played a season-low 18 minutes (just three in the first half) and was held off the scoreboard for the first time this season.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
0 Phil Cofer f 25 3 8 2 6 1 3 9 1 3 4 2 1 0 0 0
3 Trent Forrest g 27 0 2 0 0 1 2 1 0 4 4 1 2 0 1 0
5 PJ Savoy g 12 3 5 2 4 0 0 8 0 1 1 2 0 2 0 5
21 Christ Koumadje c 14 1 2 0 0 0 2 2 1 1 2 2 0 1 1 0
23 MJ Walker g 26 1 4 1 3 4 4 7 0 1 1 1 2 3 1 0
1 RaiQuan Gray 15 1 5 0 3 0 0 2 1 3 4 2 0 2 0 0
11 David Nichols 20 2 5 0 2 1 1 5 0 1 1 2 1 2 0 2
13 Anthony Polite 15 1 2 1 2 2 2 5 0 2 2 0 0 1 0 0
14 Terance Mann 18 0 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 2 3 0 1 1 1
24 Devin Vassell 5 1 1 0 0 4 6 6 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
25 Mfiondu Kabengele 19 2 7 0 2 1 4 5 2 5 7 4 0 2 2 0
31 Wyatt Wilkes 2 0 0 0 0 2 3 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
35 Harrison Prieto 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
Team 2 1 3 2
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 15 44 6 23 16 27 52 8 24 32 19 8 16 6 9
Opp 200 21 52 7 16 16 18 65 9 27 36 16 12 11 2 4
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Virginia |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Bench Leads The Way As FSU Men Outlast Miami.
by Tim Linafelt, Senior Writer
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida State’s reserves gave the Seminoles a necessary boost in a close, disjointed affair against the Miami Hurricanes.
Two of FSU’s most experienced players helped to ensure that the Seminoles emerged with a win.
David Nichols, a senior graduate transfer in his first season in Tallahassee, sparked No. 13 FSU with a game-high 13 points off the bench, and veterans Terance Mann and Trent Forrest both crashed the glass for a put-back layup that sealed a 68-62 victory over Miami late Wednesday night at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
“I thought our kids fought very hard,” FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. “We did some nice things. … Hard-fought game. It’s one of those games, you look back at the end of the season and you’re glad you won it.”
The Seminoles (13-2, 1-1 ACC) led by as many as 13 points in the second half, but saw that advantage whittled to two with less than a minute to play.
Needing a basket to stem the tide, both Mann and Forrest converged on a missed layup and sent the ball toward the rim for what would be the decisive score. Scorers initially gave the basket to Mann, then later made it Forrest’s.
A look at the replay suggests that both players touched the ball simultaneously. Regardless, Florida State got the play it needed to even its conference record and set up a showdown with No. 1 Duke on Saturday.
“We just ran a play that we know is very effective,” Mann said. “So, I knew we would get something out of it. We’ve been in that situation a thousand times, just poised and calm.”
Otherwise, the night belonged in large part to Florida State’s bench – which always figured to be the case against a Miami team that employs a seven-man rotation.
But whereas FSU’s reserves might typically be called upon to hold the fort while the starters take a breather, they provided some seriously significant minutes against the Hurricanes.
With Nichols leading the way, Florida State’s top three scorers all came off the bench. P.J. Savoy snapped out of a brief skid for 10 points – his highest output in five games – while Mfiondu Kabengele added nine points and a team-high seven rebounds.
All told, Nichols, Savoy, Kabengele and RaiQuan Gray were all plus-10 or better during their time on the floor. FSU’s starters, meanwhile, were all minus-1 or worse.
“That’s who we are right now,” Hamilton said. “We win games by committee, and each night a different guy steps up.
“I think you’ll see us be more connected and get better as the year goes on.”
Florida State held Miami (8-7, 0-3 ACC) to just 37 percent (20-54) from the field and allowed the Hurricanes to connect on only 4 of 18 3-point attempts.
Those numbers might have been enough to blow out the Hurricanes on another night, but UM made up its gap thanks in large part to a big advantage at the free-throw line.
The Hurricanes made 18 of 22 from the line – including 13 in the first half – compared to 8 of 13 from Florida State.
The Seminoles were called for 12 personal fouls in the first 20 minutes, which kept the Hurricanes at arm’s length despite having made only seven shots from the floor at halftime.
The steady stream of whistles didn’t exactly help either team develop much of a rhythm, either.
“In the ACC, that’s what happens,” Mann said. “When they’re in the bonus and they’re driving, you can’t put your hands in front and stop them. You can’t be as aggressive on defense. …
“So it’s hard to contain in situations like that. It was tough, but we battled out of it.”
Miami opened the second half on a 9-2 run and held a 40-37 lead before the Seminoles’ reserves took over.
Nichols, Kabengele, Savoy and Gray combined to score FSU’s next 14 points, with Savoy’s 3-pointer stretching the Seminoles’ advantage to six and prompting Miami coach Jim Larranaga to call a timeout.
FSU’s lead eventually ballooned to 13 points, and although Miami rallied down the stretch, the Seminoles never trailed again.
“When you play in this system, guys off the bench, two or three of them are going to have starter’s minutes,” Nichols said. “We’re 18 strong. … When you have a team that’s unselfish and willing to win, no matter what, that really helps.”
“I think this is one of Leonard Hamilton’s best teams,” Larranaga added. “I thought last year was his best team, and this team might be as good or better.”
They’ll get another test of just how good they are on Saturday, when top-ranked Duke visits Tallahassee for the first time in more than two years.
As usual, the Blue Devils are loaded with future pros and are among the favorites to win the national title.
Perhaps it’s a sign of maturity, then, that the Seminoles resisted the temptation to overlook the Hurricanes and didn’t shift their focus to Duke until early Thursday morning.
“We have not (yet) talked very much about the game Saturday at all,” Hamilton said. “We haven’t earned the right to look ahead. We haven’t played well enough where we can be overly confident about anything.
“We realize who we are. We’re still clawing and scratching and scratching and clawing.”
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
0 Phil Cofer f 29 3 8 1 4 0 0 7 2 4 6 1 2 1 0 0
3 Trent Forrest g 27 2 8 0 3 2 4 6 1 5 6 0 1 2 1 2
14 Terance Mann g 28 3 5 1 1 0 0 7 2 4 6 2 2 2 0 1
21 Christ Koumadje c 14 0 6 0 0 1 2 1 3 2 5 3 2 0 0 0
23 MJ Walker g 20 2 6 0 4 2 2 6 0 3 3 1 2 1 1 2
1 RaiQuan Gray 17 3 4 0 1 0 0 6 1 2 3 1 3 1 0 1
5 PJ Savoy 17 4 10 2 8 0 0 10 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 1
11 David Nichols 22 5 8 1 3 2 3 13 0 1 1 3 3 1 0 0
13 Anthony Polite 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
24 Devin Vassell 7 1 2 1 2 0 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
25 Mfiondu Kabengele 17 4 7 0 0 1 2 9 2 5 7 5 0 1 1 0
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 27 64 6 26 8 13 68 11 27 38 20 15 9 3 7
Opp 200 20 54 4 18 18 22 62 8 23 31 15 10 12 0 3
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miami | |||
| Florida State |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
No. 13 Noles Fall To No. 1 Duke In 80-78 Thriller.
by Tim Linafelt, Senior Writer
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – For exactly 39 minutes and 57.4 seconds, Florida State was good enough to beat the No. 1 team in the country.
But in those remaining 2.6 seconds, the top-ranked Duke Blue Devils issued a devastating reminder of just how good they can be.
With the Seminoles clinging to a one-point advantage and a packed-to-the-gills Donald L. Tucker Center on its feet, Duke freshman Cam Reddish caught a clean inbounds pass at the elbow and drained a 3-pointer that lifted the Blue Devils to an 80-78 escape over No. 13 Florida State.
The Seminoles (13-3, 1-2 ACC) had 0.9 seconds to get down the floor for a desperate shot, but a long pass was deflected out of bounds as time expired.
“You don’t want to take any moral victories away,” FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. “We had a chance, and we got beat by a team that played a little better than we did. They deserved to win.”
“We felt very fortunate to win, but I thought we earned it,” Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski added. “If (FSU) had won, they would have earned it. …
“It’s not a game that somebody lost. It’s a game that somebody won. Those are the great games.”
Without the benefit of film review, no one at Florida State could yet explain quite how Reddish got such an open look at the basket.
It might have been a miscommunication between defenders.
It might have been a perfectly designed play by one of the sport’s greatest coaches of all time.
Either way, Reddish – a freshman but also the nation’s No. 3 overall recruit for the class of 2018 – stepped up and launched a shot that didn’t even touch the rim.
“It was kind of like a misdirection,” junior guard Trent Forrest said. “We were doing our jobs, but somehow we just lost Cam Reddish.”
“I didn’t expect them to get the ball at the elbow,” Hamilton added, noting that he had 7-foot-4 Christ Koumadje guarding the in-bounds pass.
“I thought we had that covered.”
Reddish’s winner put a sour finish on what was otherwise a showcase afternoon for Florida State basketball.
The game was announced sell-out on Monday, and Florida State fans tailgated in the Tucker Center parking lot hours before the 2 p.m. tip.
And when P.J. Savoy made a 3-pointer with time running out in the first half – erasing an early 10-point deficit and giving the Seminoles a 39-38 lead at the break – the arena erupted as if Florida State had already won.
Never mind that there were still 20 minutes to play.
“This team (Florida State) can beat anybody that we play,” Krzyzewski said. “And if they have a crowd like that for their home games, that will help them. That will help them.”
From there, the two teams traded blows in what Krzyzewski called “an amazing basketball game.”
The lead changed hands nine times during the second half, with neither team ever trailing by more than five points.
Mfiondu Kabengele scored 13 of his career high-tying 24 points during the final 20 minutes, and he added 10 rebounds for his third career double-double.
Fifth-year senior Phil Cofer, who scored 28 at Duke (14-1, 3-0) a year ago, followed up that performance with 21 points and seven boards. Terance Mann scored nine and Savoy 10, including two free throws that gave FSU a 78-76 advantage with 15 seconds to play.
“Mann and Cofer are such good leaders for them,” Krzyzewski said. “Kabengele was big-time today.”
But so, too, were Duke freshmen Reddish and R.J. Barrett.
With fellow first-year star Zion Williamson sidelined by an eye injury (himself off to a hot start before leaving late in the first half), Reddish and Barrett combined to score 35 of Duke’s 42 points in the second half.
Barrett scored 32 points, was 10 of 19 from the floor and was 4 of 7 from 3-point range – Krzyzewski suggested that Reddish got open for that last shot because the Seminoles’ defenders were understandably focused on Barrett.
And, despite entering the game as 65-percent free-throw shooter, Barrett also made 8 of 9 from the line.
Ironically, his only miss set up Duke’s game-winner.
After Savoy put FSU on top, Barrett drove to the basket and was fouled by FSU’s Mann. He made the first, and, had he made the second, the Seminoles would have had the ball and five seconds to either win the game or at least ensure overtime.
Instead, Barrett’s second attempt missed and a wild scramble for the rebound led to possession for Duke.
Officials first ruled in favor of Florida State, saying that the ball deflected off a Duke player on its way out of bounds. But a lengthy video review reversed the call.
Krzyzewski and Hamilton then traded timeouts, creating a tense atmosphere inside the arena as several minutes passed between plays.
After the game, Krzyzewski admitted that he changed his inbounds strategy three times during that sequence.
“There were three different things that we were going to do,” he said. “One before the timeout, one after and one after (the next).”
The last one worked.
And while it will be the lasting image from the game, Hamilton cautioned against putting too much emphasis on the final few seconds.
Had the Seminoles, say, had one fewer turnover in the first half (they had 11) or prevented Duke from converting eight offensive rebounds into 11 second-chance points, the outcome might have been different.
“I thought (those things) really, really made a huge difference in the game,” Hamilton said.
As it stands, the Seminoles are 1-2 in conference play and with tip-off for their next game set for a little more than 48 hours after the conclusion of this one.
Florida State will play at Pittsburgh, 11-5 and 1-2 in the ACC, Monday at 7 p.m.
The Panthers, in their first year under coach Jeff Capel, a former Duke assistant, beat Louisville earlier this week after going winless in the ACC a year ago.
“Playing against a high-quality team like Duke, it lets you know where you are in terms of competing against the top teams in the country,” Hamilton said. “But the way the ACC’s regular season conference race is, it’s as much metal and emotional as it is physical.
“We’ve got to be sure we recharge our batteries and get focused again. Because we can’t go on the road now and come back without a ‘W.’”
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
0 Phil Cofer f 34 8 13 5 8 0 0 21 4 3 7 1 0 5 0 0
3 Trent Forrest g 31 1 3 0 0 3 4 5 0 3 3 3 6 2 0 2
14 Terance Mann g 35 4 10 0 2 1 1 9 3 2 5 2 4 3 1 1
21 Christ Koumadje c 15 3 3 0 0 1 2 7 1 3 4 0 0 2 2 0
23 MJ Walker g 24 0 6 0 3 2 2 2 1 0 1 4 5 3 0 0
1 RaiQuan Gray 7 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 1 1
5 PJ Savoy 14 2 6 1 5 5 6 10 1 2 3 2 1 0 0 1
11 David Nichols 12 0 5 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1
13 Anthony Polite 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
24 Devin Vassell 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
25 Mfiondu Kabengele 25 7 13 2 3 8 9 24 6 4 10 0 0 1 3 2
Team 1 2 3
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 25 62 8 25 20 24 78 17 22 39 14 16 17 7 8
Opp 200 30 65 11 24 9 15 80 15 19 34 15 14 14 3 7
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duke | |||
| Florida State |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
FSU Men Fall At Pitt, 75-62.
Panthers use 46 free throws to down Noles.
by Tim Linafelt, Senior Writer
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – It was an easy explanation, probably even a fair one, but Leonard Hamilton wouldn’t take it.
A few moments after No. 11 Florida State’s 75-62 loss at Pittsburgh went final, a reporter asked Hamilton if the Seminoles were suffering from any “residue” left over from a last-second loss to No. 1 Duke on Saturday.
It would make sense. FSU, after all, took the country’s top-ranked team down to the wire, only to lose in heartbreaking fashion, and, in a little more than 48 hours, had to play another ACC game more than 1,000 miles away from Tallahassee.
Hamilton, though, didn’t see it that way.
“As a coach, you don’t ever want to accept that,” he said. “That was an emotional loss for us, but that’s part of what you have to prepare yourself for in the ACC.
“There’s no doubt that we were extremely disappointed. But Pitt lost a game Saturday, too. They bounced back, and we didn’t.”
The Panthers (12-5, 2-2 ACC) bounced back at FSU’s expense thanks in large part to two factors: A heavy discrepancy at the free-throw line, and some 3-point shooting from FSU that bordered on historically cold.
Officials whistled the Seminoles (13-4, 1-3) for 31 fouls and granted Pitt 46 free throws – the most of any FSU opponent this season.
The Panthers, who came into the game shooting 71.4 percent from the free-throw line, made 82.6 percent (38 of 46) on Monday and had more than half of their total scoring output come from the charity stripe.
Ten of the 11 Seminoles to play on Monday picked up at least one foul, and two – Mfiondu Kabengele and Terance Mann – fouled out.
“I thought the referees were correct,” Hamilton said. “We did put our bodies and hands on them quite a bit. They forced us into that situation, and we gave them a lot of fouls …
“They did a very good job of driving the lane and executing a maneuver, throwing their bodies into the guy who was defending them.”
The Seminoles, meanwhile, were around their season average at the free-throw line (20-27, 74.1 percent) but struggled just about everywhere else.
With seemingly half the roster in foul trouble and whistles blowing every few seconds, the Seminoles spent the night struggling to find any semblance of offensive rhythm.
And although they finished the night about even with the Panthers from the field, the Seminoles made just two of 22 3-point attempts, a stretch that included a startling 20 consecutive misfires from distance.
After shooting 50 percent in the first half and trailing by just two at the break, the Seminoles made only eight of 34 shot attempts over the final 20 minutes as Pitt’s lead ballooned to as many as 14 points.
“When the game is going like that, when every possession is a stopped ball, it’s hard to get in a rhythm,” Mann said. “I just think we went away from what we normally do, and that kind of hurt us.”
Perhaps the most painful miss came late in the second half, when senior Phil Cofer put up a corner 3 as the Seminoles were in the midst of a last-ditch rally.
Had the shot fallen, Florida State would have trailed by just two points with a little more than three minutes to play.
Instead, it rimmed out, the Panthers grabbed the rebound and then got down the floor quickly for the first points of a 7-2 run that put FSU’s deficit back to double-digits.
“We knew we had another push, another fight and we made it,” senior Terance Mann said. “It just didn’t fall.”
Otherwise, a glance at the box score suggests that the Seminoles might have done enough to earn a road victory.
The Seminoles made more field goals than Pitt, grabbed more rebounds, had more points in the paint and got more points from their bench.
But 46 Pitt free throws and a 9.1-percent clip from 3-point range were too much to overcome.
Trent Forrest led FSU with 19 points and nine rebounds, while Christ Koumadje matched career highs in both rebounds (11) and blocks (five).
Pitt’s Trey McGowan scored a game-high 30 points, 18 of which came at the free-throw line.
“If you had told us that we’d hold a team to 34 percent shooting and 29 percent from 3, that you’d lose – but that’s life in the ACC,” Hamilton said. “I thought Pitt did a great job of maintaining their composure, sticking with their game plan all night.”
Off to a 1-3 start in ACC play for the second consecutive season, the Seminoles will have their composure tested when they visit Boston College on Sunday (noon, ESPNU).
With so many players who have been in this spot before, Florida State will be hoping that history repeats itself – but not too much.
Last year’s Seminoles rallied from that 1-3 start to finish 9-9 in the league and make a run to the NCAA tournament’s Elite Eight.
They also dropped an 81-75 game at BC’s Conte Forum in mid-January.
“We’ll regroup,” Hamilton said. “We’re a pretty good basketball team, and we’ll go back and regenerate our enthusiasm and we’ll correct the mistakes we made tonight.”
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
0 Phil Cofer f 34 2 7 1 5 0 0 5 0 3 3 2 0 2 1 0
3 Trent Forrest g 34 4 13 0 1 11 12 19 5 4 9 4 3 1 0 2
14 Terance Mann g 27 3 8 0 2 3 4 9 2 3 5 5 1 2 0 0
21 Christ Koumadje c 20 3 4 0 0 1 3 7 3 8 11 3 1 3 5 0
23 MJ Walker g 26 0 6 0 4 2 4 2 0 2 2 2 1 1 0 1
1 RaiQuan Gray 14 2 3 0 0 0 0 4 2 2 4 2 1 0 0 2
5 PJ Savoy 10 2 5 1 4 0 0 5 0 0 0 4 0 2 0 0
11 David Nichols 17 1 4 0 3 0 0 2 1 1 2 3 1 1 0 1
13 Anthony Polite 4 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 0
24 Devin Vassell 3 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
25 Mfiondu Kabengele 11 3 6 0 1 3 4 9 1 0 1 5 0 0 1 1
Team 1 1
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 20 58 2 22 20 27 62 15 24 39 31 8 12 8 7
Opp 200 16 46 5 17 38 46 75 10 28 38 19 8 12 6 7
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Pittsburgh |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Kabengele Scores 26 But FSU Men Fall At Boston College
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - In a conference that has secured 25 bids to the NCAA tournament in the past three seasons, the ACC continues to demonstrate its toughness.
The ACC’s ability to showcase premier talent, from top to bottom, was on display on Sunday afternoon as the No. 11 Florida State Seminoles fell to the Boston College Eagles, 87-82, in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
The Eagles (19-7, 1-4) blitzed the Seminoles with a season-best performance from behind the 3-point line. Boston College, which entered the game shooting 30 percent from behind the arc, made 13-21 (61.9 percent) from deep.
FSU redshirt sophomore Mfiondu Kabengele continued his dominant start in conference play. The Burlington, Ont., native scored a career-high 26 points, breaking his previous high of 24 set just two games ago.
Kabengele added nine rebounds and also posted career-highs in field goals (nine) and field goal attempts (16).
Florida State (13-5, 1-4) looked strong in the first half after a slow start. After trailing 17-11 in the contest’s first seven minutes, the Seminoles outscored Eagles 35-19 to end the first half.
Senior Terance Mann led the way in the first half, as he scored 10 points and grabbed four rebounds, while shooting three of seven from the floor and connecting on a 3-point shot.
Mann finished with 14 points, eight rebounds and a steal, bringing his season total to eight games in double figures.
Trailing 24-23 with 9:38 in the first half, junior guard Trent Forrest answered a Boston College three-point shot with one of his own, sparking a 17-1 run by the Seminoles in which five different players scored.
After finishing with seven points in the first half, Forrest finished with a do-it-all all-around performance of nine points, eight rebounds and six assists on four of eight from the field.
In the second half, though, the Seminoles ran into a Boston College aerial assault.
The Eagles opened up the first 7:30 of the second half on a 23-6 run, in which Boston College hit five three-point shots and held the Seminoles to 22 percent from the floor.
With the Seminoles struggling to find momentum, Kabengele scored six of Florida State’s next eight points to bring the game to 66-60 with 8:46 left.
Boston College continued to find the hot hand from the three-point line, as the Eagles answered Kabengele’s scoring tear with an outside jumper of their own.
It seemed as if every Florida State second-half run was answered. The Eagles shot eight of ten from beyond the arc in the second half.
Down 74-60 with seven minutes left in the second half, Florida State began to claw its way back into the contest.
After securing four offensive rebounds that led to seven points, the Seminoles were down 74-67 with 3:28 to play, and sophomore guard M.J. Walker hit a three-point shot with 2:34 left to bring the score to 76-70.
Sunday’s matchup showed a step in the right direction for Walker, who was caught in the middle of a scoring slump. He finished with 12 points, two rebounds and a career-high two blocked shots, while also connecting on two three-point shots.
After two defensive stands in the backcourt by Florida State that led to a five-second violation and a turnover, Mann hit a fade away three-point shot in the corner to make the game 81-77 with 0:59 left.
A three-pointer by Boston College on the following possession put the game out of reach.
While dropping its first three road games of the ACC slate, Florida State looks to rebound as four of its next six games are at home.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
3 Trent Forrest g 35 4 8 1 1 0 0 9 2 6 8 1 6 1 0 0
5 PJ Savoy g 24 2 7 2 7 2 2 8 1 3 4 3 0 1 0 0
14 Terance Mann g 31 4 11 2 4 4 5 14 6 2 8 4 2 3 0 1
21 Christ Koumadje c 12 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 0 2 2
23 MJ Walker g 31 4 13 2 7 2 2 12 1 1 2 2 1 1 2 0
1 RaiQuan Gray 7 2 2 0 0 1 1 5 1 0 1 4 1 0 0 0
11 David Nichols 19 2 8 1 5 1 2 6 1 1 2 4 2 1 0 1
13 Anthony Polite 8 1 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 0
24 Devin Vassell 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
25 Mfiondu Kabengele 28 9 16 0 1 8 11 26 4 5 9 3 0 1 0 0
31 Wyatt Wilkes 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
Team 2 2
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 28 67 8 25 18 24 82 16 22 38 25 12 9 4 4
Opp 200 27 55 13 21 20 28 87 12 27 39 20 16 14 4 6
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Boston College |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Noles Bounce Back, Shoot Past Clemson For 77-68 Win.
by Tim Linafelt, Senior Writer
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Throughout the last few weeks, Leonard Hamilton has insisted that Florida State is a much better shooting team than it’s shown during a recent three-game losing skid.
Tuesday night against Clemson, the Seminoles emphatically proved him right.
After combining to shoot 24.8 percent from 3-point range over its first five ACC games, FSU made 10 of 22 from distance in a 77-68 victory over the Tigers at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
Redshirt sophomore Mfiondu Kabengele scored 17 points to top the Seminoles’ score sheet for the third time in four games, while senior David Nichols added 16 points, 12 of which came thanks to a 4 of 5 effort from beyond the arc.
Seven different Seminoles made at least one 3-pointer, and FSU’s 45.5 3-point percentage was its best in nearly a month.
“They obviously shoot it well,” Clemson coach Brad Brownell said. “When they make 10 3s, they’re a handful.”
Their losing streak over and their shooting slump stopped, the Seminoles (14-5, 2-4 ACC) have a few days off before visiting Miami on Sunday. FSU beat the Hurricanes, 68-62, on Jan. 9.
“I thought our guys showed a lot of determination trying to bounce back from a couple disappointing losses on the road,” Hamilton said.
“This was a very important victory for us to stop the bleeding.”
And a win that, truth be told, seemed far from a certainty midway through the second half.
Boosted by their own shooting prowess and a healthy rebounding advantage in the early goings, the Tigers (11-7, 1-4) led by as many as nine points and had FSU at arm’s length, 55-50, with 11 minutes to play.
That’s when the Seminoles embarked on a stretch that flipped their fortunes in the game and, potentially, their season.
Spurred by back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers from RaiQuan Gray (a 6-foot 8, 260-pound forward), Devin Vassell (a freshman averaging 4.4 points per game) and Nichols, the Seminoles stunned Clemson with a 13-0 run and outscored the Tigers 27-12 over the remainder of the game.
And their outburst was part of another encouraging development – with veterans Phil Cofer, Terance Mann and Trent Forrest either out or limited by injury, FSU’s bench outscored Clemson’s 45-11.
“I thought our rotation guys played with an extreme amount of confidence tonight,” Hamilton said. “We got the same level of effort from everybody that went into the game.”
“I feel that this team responded really well,” Kabengele added. “The losses that we had before were tough on us, emotionally. And we had a lot of team meetings, discussions. …
“And I felt like our team really got together and bonded, responded well against Clemson.”
Indeed, not only did the Seminoles improve their shooting, but, from the first half to the second they saw gains in their defending and their rebounding.
Clemson in the first half roughed up the Seminoles with 19 rebounds, five offensive boards and 16 points in the paint.
But FSU bounced back in the second half, outrebounding the Tigers and limiting the Tigers to just 10 points inside.
Clemson forward Aamir Sims had 15 points at halftime, but just 18 by the end of the game.
And the Seminoles did a fine job defending Tigers guard Marcquise Reed, who came into the contest as the ACC’s fourth-leading scorer (19.7 points per game) but on Tuesday had just 13.
“I thought our energy level picked up from a defensive standpoint,” Hamilton said. “I thought we were able to get some contests and get some stops.”
And, as a result, they were able to get some positive momentum as they approach the heart of their ACC schedule.
Florida State still has 12 conference games to go and more hurdles to clear – chief among them, winning on the road, which they’ll get another crack at on Sunday.
So while the Seminoles are well aware of their need to follow up this win with another, they also like the feeling of going to Miami with a welcome victory in hand.
“Getting a win like this is huge,” Nichols said. “You’re going to see guys playing much freer, a lot less pressure.
“Just building from this is going to be key.”
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
3 Trent Forrest g 27 2 5 0 1 3 4 7 1 4 5 3 3 1 0 0
5 PJ Savoy g 17 1 6 1 4 1 2 4 0 2 2 0 1 0 0 0
14 Terance Mann g 32 2 7 1 3 4 4 9 3 5 8 1 5 0 0 0
21 Christ Koumadje c 15 2 3 0 0 2 2 6 0 2 2 1 0 1 0 0
23 MJ Walker g 20 1 3 1 1 3 4 6 0 2 2 5 1 3 0 0
1 RaiQuan Gray 10 3 6 1 3 0 0 7 0 2 2 0 0 1 0 1
11 David Nichols 27 6 10 4 5 0 1 16 0 1 1 1 4 1 0 0
13 Anthony Polite 7 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
24 Devin Vassell 20 2 4 1 2 0 0 5 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 0
25 Mfiondu Kabengele 25 6 10 1 2 4 4 17 1 4 5 2 0 0 1 0
Team 1 2 3
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 25 55 10 22 17 21 77 6 25 31 15 14 8 1 1
Opp 200 26 58 5 17 11 14 68 7 26 33 17 13 11 1 1
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clemson | |||
| Florida State |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Walker’s Big Shooting Night Leads to Road Win.
by Blake VonCannon
CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Florida State walked away with a season sweep over in-state rival Miami after a 78-66 victory on Sunday night in Coral Gables, Fla.
After its season-opening dismantling of rival Florida, and then defeating Miami (9-10, 2-5) twice in an 18-day span, Florida State (15-5, 3-4) secured a season-sweep of its in-state rivals for the second time in three seasons.
Fresh off of a red-hot performance that saw the Seminoles hit 10 three-point shots in a win against Clemson, Florida State hit a season-best 12 shots from beyond the arc.
Sophomore M.J. Walker, who had entered Sunday night shooting 33.9 percent from 3-point range, led the Seminoles with a season-high 22 points on a career-best six of seven 3-point shots.
Walker, who has hit eight of his last nine three-pointers after beginning ACC play 2-20 from deep, scored in double-figures for the second time in three games and earned his second career 20-point performance.
On its way to shooting a season-best 56 percent from the field and 60 percent from beyond the arc, Florida State came out firing from the opening tip. In the game’s first 4:30, the Noles jumped to a 14-5 lead before a timeout was even called.
Senior Christ Koumadje sparked the run to start the game by scoring eight points and connecting all four of his field goals from the floor. He showcased an arsenal of offensive post moves by recording a dunk and three hook shots on Florida State’s first 10 offensive possessions.
Koumadje finished with nine points, four rebounds and a block in just 11 minutes of action, as he was hampered by foul trouble throughout the night.
And senior guard PJ Savoy began the 3-point barrage by connecting on two tres.
After Koumadje opened the scoring with a dunk, Savoy pulled up five feet beyond the 3-point line to sink the triple.
A few possessions later, while up 9-3, Savoy connected on his second 3-pointer off of an assist by junior guard Trent Forrest, extending the lead 12-3.
Savoy, a Las Vegas, Nev., product, finished Sunday with seven points, two rebounds and a steal on two of four shooting from deep. Savoy continued to climb the FSU record books, as his two 3-point shots moved him to 15th in school history with 121 career 3-pointers.
After Miami closed the gap to 30-27 with 5:27 left in the first half, Florida State used an ACC season-high 15-1 run to finish out the half.
Redshirt sophomore Mfiondu Kabengele led the Seminoles throughout the first half, as he scored 11 points, secured five rebounds and a block on four of five shooting, including connecting on his one 3-point attempt.
As he finished with 17 points, six rebounds and two blocks, Kabengele has been on a tear throughout the ACC gauntlet. The third year performer out of Canada recorded his third straight game of at least 17 points and has scored at least 17 in four of his last five games.
Throughout the five-game stretch, Kabengele has averaged 18.6 points per game on 57.4 percent shooting from the floor, 44.4 percent from 3-point range and 81.8 percent from the free-throw line while averaging 22.8 minutes.
Fresh from taking a 45-28 lead into halftime, Miami began to chip away at Florida State’s lead, bringing the score to 55-43 with 11:29 left in the game.
After Miami’s 6-0 run, senior forward Terance Mann put his foot down on the Hurricanes as he continued to prove why he is one of the best all-around performers in the ACC.
Mann pulled up on the wing to knock down a 3-point shot, bringing the game to 58-43. A few possessions later, he would sky for an offensive put-back poster, scoring the Noles’ next five points.
The ‘do-it-all’ forward finished with his second double-double of the season and fourth of his career as he finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds and four assists on four of eight shooting and a perfect two of two from beyond the arc.
Mann has expanded his range exponentially his senior season, as he has hit five of nine 3-pointers (55.6 percent) in his last three games and has hit more 3-point shots in 20 games this season (16) than he did in 34 games as a junior (13) and in 69 games during his freshman and sophomore seasons (11).
Up 71-60 with 2:09 left in regulation, Walker put the finishing touches on a season-best night. Looking to extend his career-high to seven three-pointers made, Walker knocked down a jumper with a toe on the line. He would follow a couple of possessions later by hitting two free throws, putting the game out of reach.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
3 Trent Forrest g 32 2 4 0 1 0 0 4 1 3 4 1 6 2 0 3
5 PJ Savoy g 13 2 5 2 4 1 1 7 0 2 2 0 1 0 0 1
14 Terance Mann g 34 4 8 2 2 0 0 10 3 7 10 3 4 2 0 0
21 Christ Koumadje c 11 4 5 0 0 1 2 9 0 4 4 4 0 1 1 0
23 MJ Walker g 35 7 10 6 7 2 2 22 0 2 2 1 5 1 1 0
0 Phil Cofer 19 1 3 1 2 1 2 4 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 0
1 RaiQuan Gray 10 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 2 1 0 1 0 1
11 David Nichols 12 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 0 1 1 4 2 2 0 0
13 Anthony Polite 7 1 2 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0
24 Devin Vassell 3 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
25 Mfiondu Kabengele 24 6 9 1 2 4 5 17 1 5 6 2 0 3 2 0
Team 1 1 2
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 28 50 12 20 10 14 78 6 28 34 17 20 14 4 5
Opp 200 23 55 7 29 13 18 66 8 18 26 17 11 10 3 5
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Miami |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Seminoles Survive Georgia Tech’s ‘Muck,’ Emerge With 59-49 Win
by Tim Linafelt, Senior Writer
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Florida State men’s basketball team would prefer to play a high-paced, high-scoring style.
But if an opponent insists on slowing things down to a grinding halt – as Georgia Tech did Saturday afternoon – the Seminoles are plenty comfortable playing that way as well.
And winning that way, too.
Terance Mann and Mfiondu Kabengele each scored 12 points and the Seminoles picked up their third consecutive victory with a 59-49 win over the Yellow Jackets at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
FSU (16-5, 4-4 ACC) has evened its conference record after started 1-4 in league play, and can win a fourth straight ACC game for the first time in more than two years on Tuesday at Syracuse.
“I’m just glad that we’re back to 4-4,” said FSU coach Leonard Hamilton, who earned his 140th ACC victory.
“We have to keep hopefully moving in the right direction.”
Georgia Tech (11-11, 3-6) came into the game ranked third in the ACC in field-goal percentage defense (39.0) and second in 3-point percentage defense (27.8).
And, for the most part, the Yellow Jackets’ zone-based system held FSU’s scorers in check.
The Seminoles’ 59 points marked their second-lowest output of the season (behind only 52 at No. 3 Virginia) and their 34.8 shooting percentage was their third-lowest.
Florida State, however, one-upped the Yellow Jackets with a fine defensive effort of its own. Georgia Tech shot just 17 of 60 from the field (28.3 percent), made only 3 of 21 3-point shots (14.3) and made only 8 of 37 attempts in the second half.
Tech’s leading scorer, sophomore guard Jose Alvarado, finished with zero points on 0-of-10 shooting and fouled out with 6:51 to play.
“We did a great job on him,” Mann said. “Were able to put length on him and frustrate him.”
Added Hamilton: “I thought our defense was pretty solid. I really did.”
The Seminoles might not have lit up the scoreboard, but they found the points they needed when it mattered most.
In addition to 23 points from the free-throw line, FSU got a timely 3 from freshman Devin Vassell near the end of the first half and another 3 from Phil Cofer early in the second.
Those helped FSU stretch what had been a one-point lead into an 11-point advantage at the 18:21 mark of the second half.
“That’s a good defensive team,” said junior guard Trent Forrest, who had nine points, six rebounds and three assists. “And being able to get the shots and things we were getting, that was a good thing for us.
“However we can get them, we’ll take them.”
Georgia Tech, meanwhile, rallied to a six-point deficit with 4:23 to play before both teams embarked on a cold shooting stretch that suited the hosts just fine.
The Seminoles and Yellow Jackets combined to miss 24 of their last 26 shots – which includes a 1-of-17 stretch from Georgia Tech – before Forrest and Mann sealed the game at the free-throw line in the final minute.
“We’ve had struggles offensively, which has unfortunately been a recurring theme,” Georgia Tech coach Josh Pastner said. “Our game plan was to keep the game in the 50s to muck it up and muddy it up. We did that.”
And the Seminoles could be in for more of the same on Tuesday.
Syracuse has been running coach Jim Boeheim’s famous 2-3 zone for generations and this season is surrendering only 64.0 points per game.
So if there was ever a good time for a grind-it-out win over Georgia Tech, Hamilton believes that two days before trip to Syracuse is it.
“This is the kind of game that we’ll go back and learn a lot from, watching the film,” he said, noting that FSU’s previous opponent, Miami, ran a zone against the Seminoles as well.
“We’ll have a chance to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of how we approached this game because this will help prepare us for the next game that we’re playing, against Syracuse, who uses another type of zone defensive philosophy. …
“So we’re going to be well-versed in how to attack these things.”
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
0 Phil Cofer f 20 2 6 1 2 0 0 5 0 3 3 2 1 1 0 0
3 Trent Forrest g 36 3 7 0 0 3 6 9 1 5 6 2 3 3 1 3
14 Terance Mann g 34 3 5 0 1 6 8 12 3 4 7 1 1 3 0 1
21 Christ Koumadje c 19 2 2 0 0 2 2 6 0 8 8 3 0 2 2 0
23 MJ Walker g 26 0 7 0 4 2 2 2 0 1 1 4 0 0 0 1
1 RaiQuan Gray 9 2 4 0 1 0 0 4 0 2 2 2 0 0 0 0
5 PJ Savoy 12 1 3 1 3 3 3 6 1 1 2 2 0 1 0 0
11 David Nichols 13 0 3 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 2 0 0
13 Anthony Polite 7 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 4 1 1 2 0 0
24 Devin Vassell 3 1 1 1 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
25 Mfiondu Kabengele 21 2 6 1 1 7 9 12 1 1 2 0 0 0 2 0
Team 2 2 4
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 16 46 4 16 23 30 59 8 31 39 19 10 14 5 5
Opp 200 17 60 3 21 12 14 49 14 23 37 23 5 14 2 3
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia Tech | |||
| Florida State |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Seminoles Start Fast, Hold On, Then Cruise To Win At Syracuse.
by Tim Linafelt, Senior Writer
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – A few hours before he boarded a plane for Syracuse, Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton spoke about his team’s mindset when going on the road, and how learning what it takes to beat ACC teams in their arenas would be a big part of the Seminoles’ growth process over the rest of the regular season.
Consider Tuesday night’s game at Syracuse a giant step forward.
Over the course of 40 minutes, the Seminoles played perhaps their most inspired half of the season, withstood a relentless rally as the infamous Carrier Dome roared, and then, after absorbing the worst, dispatched the Orange with surprising ease.
By the time the clock hit zero, the No. 22 Seminoles had emerged with an 80-62 victory over Syracuse, their fourth consecutive win and first in the Carrier Dome since 1997.
FSU (17-5, 5-4 ACC) can make it five straight on Saturday at home against No. 15 Louisville.
“Our inconsistency has kind of been our biggest obstacle,” Hamilton said, “but I do feel that we made a step in the right direction, on the road against a good basketball team in a place that is very challenging to win.
“I thought our guys grew up a little bit tonight.”
Terance Mann scored 22 on 8-of-9 shooting and Mfiondu Kabengele added 18 for FSU, which raced out to a 26-10 advantage midway through the first half and, a few moments later, led 36-14 – its largest lead over an ACC opponent this season.
Syracuse (16-7, 7-3), however, responded in kind by pressing the Seminoles with their defense, going on a 17-4 run to finish the period, and then by scoring seven of the first 10 points after the break.
When Oshae Brissett made a layup at the 13:44 mark, the Orange trailed by just one point, the 21,553 fans in attendance were on their feet and the Seminoles seemed destined for yet another hard lesson about life on the road.
But given an opportunity to fold, the Seminoles instead flourished and found an answer every time the Orange threatened.
When Syracuse cut it to one, Phil Cofer responded by making an off-balance jumper at the other end.
When another small run made it 51-49 at the 11:55 mark, Mann hit back with four straight points – two via layup and two at the free-throw line.
And when Syracuse made one last push – to 55-52 a few moments later – Hamilton called timeout and the Seminoles responded with perhaps their most important stretch of the season, a 12-0 run from that effectively put the game out of reach and sent Orange fans to an early exit.
Mann and Kabengele traded layups and 3-pointers before Cofer capped things off with a pair of free throws that stretched FSU’s lead back to 15 points.
“We just told each other we’ve got to get back to what we were doing in the first half,” Mann said. “Playing free, moving the ball, not holding it for ourselves and making the ball find the best shot.”
Added Kabengele: “This team has a lot of character. Everyone on this team is super connected. We had a lot of emotional timeouts and emotional huddles. Everyone got reconnected and refocused.”
A heavy depth advantage didn’t hurt either. The Seminoles, as usual, enjoyed a nine-man rotation, with eight of those players logging at least 10 minutes.
Syracuse, meanwhile, went just seven deep and only four players scored.
That model has worked just fine for the Orange more often than not. But on a night when they had to press more than they would like and exert more energy than they otherwise would, the Orange faded down the stretch in the second half.
“No one presses that long,” Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. “We had no choice. You might lose by 40 but you’ve got to try. … It’s hard to press a team like that for so long.
“(The Seminoles) are a really good team, and you can’t give a team 20 and think you’re going to come back.”
Florida State continued its upward shooting trend, torching Syracuse’s vaunted zone defense with an 11-of-22 night from the 3-point line. That includes a combined 6-for-6 from Mann and Kabengele and three first-half 3-pointers by M.J. Walker.
All told, the Seminoles shot 54.5 percent from the field and are averaging 49.9 percent during their four-game winning streak.
“That’s mental, that’s maturing, that’s confidence and that’s feeling that we’re all in sync,” Hamilton said. “And I think, tonight, that we realized we had to be at that level in order to be successful.”
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
0 Phil Cofer f 33 4 9 0 3 3 5 11 1 2 3 1 3 3 0 1
3 Trent Forrest g 31 1 6 0 0 0 0 2 0 4 4 3 10 2 0 3
14 Terance Mann g 35 8 9 2 2 4 4 22 1 8 9 4 3 4 0 2
21 Christ Koumadje c 11 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0
23 MJ Walker g 26 4 9 3 6 0 0 11 1 1 2 2 2 6 0 0
1 RaiQuan Gray 8 1 1 0 0 1 2 3 0 2 2 2 1 1 0 2
5 PJ Savoy 14 2 6 2 5 1 1 7 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0
11 David Nichols 10 1 2 0 1 0 0 2 1 2 3 4 5 1 0 1
15 Justin Lindner 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
20 Travis Light 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
25 Mfiondu Kabengele 28 7 10 4 4 0 0 18 4 4 8 3 0 1 2 1
33 Will Miles 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
35 Harrison Prieto 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Team 1 1 2
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 30 55 11 22 9 12 80 9 24 33 21 25 21 3 11
Opp 200 21 51 5 20 15 24 62 10 18 28 14 7 19 7 9
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Syracuse |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Noles Rally Twice, Then Race Past Cards In OT.
by Tim Linafelt, Senior Writer
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Florida State men’s basketball team rallied from a nine-point deficit in the first half against Louisville here Saturday afternoon, and dug out of a 10-point hole in the second.
The No. 22 Seminoles then decided to just skip that part in overtime, scoring the first six points of the extra period on the way to an 80-75 win over the 16th-ranked Cardinals at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
“We practice situations like this – either down 10, down seven, down three,” said sophomore Mfiondu Kabengele, who had 22 points to lead the Seminoles (18-5, 6-4 ACC) in scoring for the fifth time in eight games.
“And we just executed what we did in practice.”
The victory is FSU’s third over a ranked opponent this season, and it moves these Seminoles into some pretty impressive company: They’ve won five consecutive conference games for the first time since the 2011-12 team did it during its run to the ACC tournament title.
That FSU team eventually ran up seven straight wins. The current group will look to move closer to that total when it hosts Wake Forest on Wednesday.
“In the second half, I thought we just turned it up a notch,” FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. “Forced some turnovers, got some easy baskets. And that really probably made the biggest difference in the game.”
Saying that FSU only forced “some” turnovers might be a little too kind to Louisville (17-7, 8-3).
All told, the Seminoles forced 23 turnovers – their most this season – and converted them into 32 points.
That was one of the ways that the Seminoles overcame deficits in shooting percentage (48.1-37.7), 3-point percentage (42.9-30.4), free-throw percentage (81.3-75.0) and rebounding (36-34).
“We were consistent in our principals,” said sophomore Mfiondu Kabengele, who led FSU with 22 points in a career-high 36 minutes. “That’s why we were able to create so many turnovers.”
Added Hamilton: “The kids are just finding a way to win. They’re realizing that defense is important. There’s no question that our defense won the game for us tonight.”
And what the Seminoles couldn’t make up for in points off of turnovers (which wasn’t much – they held a 32-5 advantage in that column), they accounted for at the free-throw line.
Because despite shooting a lower overall percentage than the Cardinals, the Seminoles got to the line 36 times and connected on 27.
That includes an 11-of-12 mark in overtime from the likes of Kabengele, Terance Mann, MJ Walker and Trent Forrest.
“The veteran guys stepped up and made the free throws,” Hamilton said.
Indeed, FSU’s 36 free-throw attempts were its most this season, and came, more than anything else, out of necessity.
After watching his team miss its first seven shots from the field and carry a 29.0 shooting percentage into the break (including 3-for-13 from 3-point range), Hamilton shifted gears and called for the Seminoles to run their offense to the basket.
It might not have always been successful – FSU missed 12 layups as part of its shooting effort – but, more often than not, Louisville was there to help the Seminoles’ cause with a foul.
“This one is tough to swallow,” Louisville coach Chris Mack said. “I feel like for the better part of the game we did what we needed to do to put ourselves in position to win. Give Florida State a lot of credit for their pressure, their relentlessness on the glass.”
Mack, who
faced FSU in each of the previous two seasons as the head coach at Xavier, then reeled off a list of three things that teams must do in order to beat the Seminoles:
And even that didn’t sound too emphatic.
“We kept them out of the lane for the most part, as best we could,” Mack said. “But the ability to keep them off the glass and the ability to handle their pressure were our undoing.”
Although Louisville finished with an overall advantage on the boards, the Seminoles grabbed 14 offensive rebounds. Some of which led to putback baskets, and others which led to fouls and points at the free-throw line.
“When you get on the offensive glass, it creates energy,” Kabengele said. “You can find a rhythm throughout the game, even though your shot’s not falling.”
Senior Terance Mann added 20 points and four rebounds for the Seminoles, while junior guard Trent Forrest did a little bit of everything with 15 points six rebounds and four assists.
Forrest’s output includes the layup that sent the game to overtime, as well as the pair of free-throws that provided the final margin.
As a result, the Seminoles are right back in the thick of the ACC race after fledgling near the bottom of the standings last month.
“It definitely means a lot to us, coming from where we came from,” Mann said. “We were 1-4 at one point. Just being able to stay together and kind of reset everything and get back to what we do is definitely good.”
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
0 Phil Cofer f 30 0 5 0 3 0 0 0 1 1 2 3 0 2 0 0
3 Trent Forrest g 39 5 14 0 0 5 7 15 3 3 6 3 4 0 0 5
14 Terance Mann g 40 4 6 3 4 9 11 20 1 3 4 2 0 0 0 0
21 Christ Koumadje c 6 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 4 2 6 0 0 0 0 1
23 MJ Walker g 33 4 11 1 3 2 2 11 0 1 1 4 1 3 0 1
1 RaiQuan Gray 18 2 6 1 3 2 4 7 0 2 2 1 0 0 1 2
5 PJ Savoy 12 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 0
11 David Nichols 11 1 3 0 2 3 4 5 0 2 2 5 1 1 0 0
25 Mfiondu Kabengele 36 7 12 2 6 6 6 22 3 4 7 2 0 1 1 2
Team 2 1 3
=========================================================================
FSU 5 225 23 61 7 23 27 36 80 14 20 34 21 6 8 2 11
Opp 225 25 52 12 28 13 16 75 9 27 36 28 12 23 1 1
| 1 | 2 | OT | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Louisville | ||||
| Florida State |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Koumadje Doubles Down On Deacs In 88-66 Victory.
by Bob Thomas
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Selfless basketball is one of the cornerstones of Florida State basketball under coach Leonard Hamilton, and it was on full display throughout Wednesday night’s 88-66 victory over Wake Forest.
The Seminoles’ path to a sixth consecutive victory was paved with generosity. FSU was credited with 21 assists – its second-highest total this season – on 35 field goals.
“What our feeling has always been is, ‘Try to play as hard as you can and as unselfish as you can,’” Hamilton said. “We don’t want guys being passive. Tonight I thought we were locked in, moving the ball, making the extra pass and trying to create for each other. You like to see your team developing that type of chemistry this time of year.”
There was a lot to like about the performance from the 17th-ranked Noles (19-5, 7-4 ACC), who shot 56 percent from the floor (38 percent from 3-point range) and enjoyed their most efficient assist-to-turnover performance (plus-12) of the season.
The recipient of many of those helpers was 7-foot-4 senior Christ Koumadje, who scored 20 points of 10-of-12 shooting and grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds for his first career double-double, logging a season-high 24 minutes of action.
Koumadje, who was scoreless in Saturday’s overtime win over Louisville and had not reached double-figures since Dec. 19 against North Florida, was ready for a game plan that called for an inside-out attack against the Demon Deacons (9-14, 2-9).
That point of emphasis followed the Louisville game when the Noles were credited with just 14 post touches on 85 possessions.
“Tonight he took it upon himself to be a little more aggressive around the basket and our guys were looking for him a little bit more,” Hamilton added.
“A lot of times one of our [centers] would have to rotate over on dribble penetration and they were able to throw the ball up top to the big fella and he did a really good job of making himself available and finishing around the basket,” Wake Forest coach Danny Manning said.
FSU led 38-31 at the half and were trading baskets with the Deacs to start the second half before Koumadje’s slam finish off a nifty Terance Mann baseline drive and dish, sparked a game-changing, 17-4 run. He added a hook shot in that surge, capping a 10-of-12 shooting performance as the Noles built a 64-45 lead with 8:44 remaining and were never threatened.
Koumadje exited to a rousing ovation from the partisan Tucker Center crowd of 7,806 in the midst of the decisive run.
“The coaches always preach that the quality of our depth is what is really keeping us going,” Koumadje said afterward. “Every night it’s going to be somebody different. If it’s not your time, you’ve got to cheer for your brother. When it’s your time you know your brother is going to cheer for you. We just stay engaged. Everybody on this team is very genuine people. They’re happy for you. I’m happy for them when it’s going for them. They’re happy for me when it’s going for me.”
FSU’s big fella wasn’t the only one enjoying the night. Phil Cofer (13 points) was the only other starter in double figures, but the Noles weren’t shy on contributors.
While super-reserve Mfiondu Kabengele contributed nine points and seven rebounds in just 13 minutes, fellow subs PJ Savoy and Devin Vassell combined for 19 points on 5-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc. FSU’s reserves outscored the Deacs’ bench 41-16 and also received five assists in 11 minutes from David Nichols and five points from Anthony Polite, who drained his first 3-pointer in 13 games.
“Our plan was to get a few more guys in the game because we have three games in seven days and we had some guys come in – Devin, Savoy and Polite – that gave us a good lift along with [RaiQuan] Gray. We’re going to need them so we can stay fresh as we go down these stretch of games.”
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
0 Phil Cofer f 24 5 8 3 6 0 1 13 0 5 5 1 3 0 1 1
3 Trent Forrest g 28 3 4 0 1 1 1 7 0 1 1 1 4 1 0 0
14 Terance Mann g 25 3 4 1 1 0 0 7 2 3 5 3 6 1 1 0
21 Christ Koumadje c 24 10 12 0 0 0 1 20 5 7 12 1 0 0 2 0
23 MJ Walker g 19 0 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 1 1 0 0
1 RaiQuan Gray 13 0 2 0 2 1 2 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0
5 PJ Savoy 10 4 6 3 4 0 0 11 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0
11 David Nichols 11 0 5 0 3 2 2 2 0 1 1 0 5 1 0 2
13 Anthony Polite 11 2 2 1 1 0 1 5 0 2 2 1 0 0 0 1
15 Justin Lindner 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0
20 Travis Light 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
24 Devin Vassell 12 2 4 2 4 2 2 8 0 2 2 1 0 0 0 1
25 Mfiondu Kabengele 13 4 8 0 1 1 2 9 3 4 7 1 0 1 1 0
31 Wyatt Wilkes 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
33 Will Miles 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1
35 Harrison Prieto 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 2 2 0 1 0 0
Team 2 2
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 35 62 10 26 8 16 88 12 31 43 16 21 9 6 7
Opp 200 22 57 11 25 11 17 66 6 21 27 16 13 9 3 3
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wake Forest | |||
| Florida State |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Koumadje Doubles Up Again As FSU Men Rout GT, 69-47.
by Blake VonCannon
ATLANTA, Ga. – The No. 17 Florida State Seminoles earned their second conference sweep this season after defeating Georgia Tech 69-47 on Saturday afternoon.
The Seminoles (20-5, 8-4) used a similar formula for success against the Yellow Jackets (11-15, 3-10) as they did in their first meeting.
After holding Georgia Tech to 49 points on 28.3 percent from the floor two weeks ago in Tallahassee, the Noles defense swarmed the Yellow Jackets, limiting them to 47 points on 16-of-59 shooting from the floor (27.1 percent), 8-23 from 3-point range (34.8 percent) and forcing 14 turnovers.
The 47 points allowed by the Seminoles was the fewest in the 70-game history between the two schools and the lowest Florida State has allowed in an ACC game since it held Clemson to 41 points on Jan. 9, 2014.
Fresh off the first double-double of his career just one game ago, where he scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, senior center Christ Koumadje continued the most dominant stretch of his career on both ends of the floor.
The N’Djamena, Chad, native scored 10 points, tied a career-high with 12 rebounds and blocked three shots. His 10-point, 12-rebound performance marked his second consecutive game with a double-double and second such performance of his career.
Over his last two games, the big man is averaging 15.0 points, 12.0 rebounds and 2.5 blocks while shooting 15-19 (78.9 percent) from the floor.
After falling behind 8-7 in the first five minutes of gameplay, Florida State used an 18-4 run to lead 25-12.
With 14:10 left in the first half, freshman guard Devin Vassell hit a 3-point shot that gave the Seminoles a lead that they would not surrender for the rest of the afternoon.
A few possessions later, Vassell produced a thunderous block that led to a transition 3-pointer by graduate guard David Nichols.
Vassell, a native of nearby Suwanee, Ga., turned in his best performance of the season in conference play, as he led the Noles with 11 points, grabbed three rebounds, forced two steals and hit two 3-point shots.
After the Yellow Jackets made a 3-pointer with 6:50 left in the half to end the Florida State run, the Noles answered back with a pair of Koumadje dunks and a fast break layup from senior forward Terance Mann to bring the score to 31-15.
While Mann did not light up the scoreboard, the Seminoles’ senior leader continued to stake his claim as one of the conferences top all-around performers. Mann finished the matchup with seven points, eight rebounds and two steals in just 23 minutes of action.
After entering the second half up 34-23, the Seminoles began with back-to-back dunks from redshirt senior forward Phil Cofer and Mann in the first minute of action.
Up 43-28 with 13:12 left to play, sophomore guard M.J. Walker sparked a fast break with a chase-down block that led to a redshirt sophomore Mfiondu Kabengele slam to bring the Seminoles lead to 17.
Florida State continued to show that it’s just not the deepest team in the ACC, but one of the deepest teams in all of college basketball. In priding itself with the motto “18 strong,” the Noles bench outscored the Yellow Jackets 35-7.
In ACC play, Florida State’s bench has now outscored its opponents 397-154 in 12 conference games.
Up 45-30 with 9:31 left to play, the Noles used a 10-0 run to put the game out of reach. Senior guard PJ Savoy sparked the run with a 3-point shot from the wing, followed by a Nichols 3-pointer off of a pump fake that had his defender leaving his feet.
Nichols provided a steady hand throughout the contest, as he finished with nine points on three-of-five from beyond the arc. After missing his last nine three-point shots entering Saturday, Nichols’ three 3-point shots made were tied for the second most he’s made in a game in a Seminoles uniform.
With 1:30 left in the game and the Noles holding a commanding 65-39 lead, Florida State’s ‘Green Vipers’ – the self-proclaimed name for its scout team – entered the game.
Redshirt-sophomore forward Harrison Prieto slammed down a dunk off of a redshirt junior Justin Lindner assist, marking the third ACC game in which he has scored off the bench.
Lindner would then draw a foul and hit two free throws, marking his first career points in a Florida State uniform to bring the game to 69-47.
In its 69-47 victory over the Yellow Jackets, the Noles won their seventh conference game in a row, tying a school record for consecutive ACC victories set in 2012.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
0 Phil Cofer f 26 3 9 2 4 0 0 8 0 7 7 0 1 0 0 0
3 Trent Forrest g 20 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 0 3 0 0 0
14 Terance Mann g 22 2 5 0 0 3 4 7 2 6 8 1 1 0 0 2
21 Christ Koumadje c 21 5 7 0 0 0 2 10 3 9 12 3 1 6 3 0
23 MJ Walker g 19 4 9 1 6 0 0 9 0 1 1 3 2 3 1 0
1 RaiQuan Gray 12 0 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 2 3 1 2 1 0 0
5 PJ Savoy 12 1 6 1 6 0 0 3 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1
11 David Nichols 18 3 6 3 5 0 0 9 0 1 1 2 2 0 0 0
13 Anthony Polite 7 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 1
15 Justin Lindner 2 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1
20 Travis Light 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
24 Devin Vassell 16 4 7 2 3 1 2 11 0 3 3 1 1 1 1 2
25 Mfiondu Kabengele 16 2 5 0 2 4 4 8 2 4 6 2 2 0 1 0
31 Wyatt Wilkes 5 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 2 1 0 1 0 0
33 Will Miles 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
35 Harrison Prieto 2 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Team 2 2
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 25 64 9 30 10 14 69 10 40 50 17 17 14 6 7
Opp 200 16 59 8 23 7 11 47 6 32 38 10 9 14 3 7
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Georgia Tech |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Eight Straight For Florida State.
Kabengele puts up 19 and 11 as FSU men pick up school-record eighth consecutive ACC win
CLEMSON, S.C. - The No. 16 Florida State Seminoles set a school record Tuesday night in Clemson S.C., winning their eighth straight conference game after defeating Clemson, 77-64.
The Seminoles (21-5, 9-4) continued their dominant stretch of play, earning their third straight double-digit victory in the streak and having controlled the paint on both ends of the floor.
After outscoring Wake Forest and Georgia Tech 78-28 in the paint, holding a plus-28 rebounding advantage and averaging 6.0 blocks per game in their last two games, the Noles outscored the Tigers (15-11, 5-8) 36-26 in the paint, out-rebounded Clemson 43-32 and blocked four shots.
Redshirt sophomore forward Mfiondu Kabengele powered the Seminoles, earning his fourth career double-double by scoring a team-high 19 points, securing a team-high 11 rebounds, and also recorded two blocks while shooting nine of 13 from the floor.
The Burlington, Ont., native has been a force for the Noles all season, proving to be the only player in the country to lead his team in scoring while not yet starting a game. During the Noles’ current eight-game win streak, he has been even better.
Kabengele has averaged 15.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks while shooting 58.9 percent from the floor, 57.9 percent from 3-point range and 83.9 percent from the free-throw line during the streak, including two victories over the Tigers.
After a slow start that saw the Seminoles trail 6-2 in the game’s first four minutes, the Noles’ offense came alive.
Junior guard Trent Forrest sparked the offense, making a driving layup in the paint. On the next possession for the Tigers, senior center Christ Koumadje blocked a jump shot that led to a slam from redshirt senior forward Phil Cofer.
When the Tigers missed their fifth shot in a row on the following possession, Cofer later kicked out to senior forward Terance Mann, who hit a step back 3-point shot to give the Seminoles their first lead at 9-6.
Throughout the Noles’ eight-game win streak, Mann has showcased his ability to shoot the long ball, as he has been on a career-best pace. During the eight-game span, he has hit 10 3-pointers and has made 58.8 percent from beyond the arc.
A few possessions later, Kabengele hit a smooth turnaround jump shot that extended the Seminoles’ lead to 12-6 and capped a 10-0 run.
With 10:28 left in the first half, the bench gave a spark to add to the Seminoles’ lead. Off of a pass by redshirt freshman forward RaiQuan Gray, senior guard PJ Savoy hit a 3-point shot. On back-to-back possessions, Kabengele and Gray would hit their shots to bring the lead to 21-14.
Florida State’s depth continued to flex on Tuesday night. Nine different Seminoles scored, and the reserve unit outscored the Tigers’ reserves 30-2. Florida State’s ‘boom squad,’ the name given to its bench, has now outscored its opponents 427-156 in ACC play.
After Clemson answered Florida State with a 7-0 to bring the score to 23-21 with 5:21 left, Trent Forrest slammed home a driving dunk in the lane that began a 15-2 run of their own to end the half up 38-23.
Forrest continued to prove to be one of the better all-around guards in the ACC. The Chipley, Fla., native finished the game with 14 points, eight rebounds, three assists and a steal while shooting 5 of 8 from the floor.
The Noles began the second half by dominating the paint. Up 47-31 with 17:32 left in the half, Christ Koumadje recorded back-to-back slams to put the Seminoles up 51-36. After his second dunk, Koumadje would follow with a block on the defensive end of the court.
Koumadje continued his career-best stretch in a Seminoles uniform. After turning in back-to-back double-doubles, he followed by recording 10 points, seven rebounds and two blocks on 4-of-6 shooting.
Over his last three games, Koumadje is averaging 13.3 points, 10.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocks while shooting 76 percent from the floor.
Trailing 53-36 with 15:28 left in regulation, Clemson began to claw its way back in to the matchup by cutting the score down to 59-52 with 8:09 remaining.
Florida State then showed its experience as it fired back with the 16-6 run with a 9-2 run.
Kabengele hit on a layup off of an offense rebound, followed by a jumper by Trent Forrest and a 3-point shot by Kabengele on consecutive possessions.
The ACC’s potential best sixth man saved his best basketball for the closing stretch of the game after Clemson closed the lead to seven. Kabengele scored seven points in a four-and-a-half-minute span that extended the Seminoles’ lead to 69-57 with 3:07 left.
With less than two minutes to play, the Seminoles began to close the game out with consistency from the free-throw line. Forrest and sophomore guard M.J. Walker each hit three of four free throws to put the game out of reach.
The Seminoles put an exclamation point on their fourth ACC road victory of the season after Terance Mann put home a break away dunk off of a Clemson free throw to put the score at 77-62.
Clemson would hit a layup to bring the score to 77-64 and Florida State then dribbled out the clock.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
0 Phil Cofer f 30 2 6 1 4 0 0 5 0 4 4 3 1 2 0 0
3 Trent Forrest g 27 5 8 0 0 4 6 14 0 8 8 1 3 2 0 1
14 Terance Mann g 35 3 10 1 4 2 2 9 2 3 5 2 4 1 0 1
21 Christ Koumadje c 14 4 6 0 0 2 2 10 2 5 7 2 0 1 2 0
23 MJ Walker g 29 2 5 1 2 4 6 9 0 1 1 4 2 2 0 0
1 RaiQuan Gray 9 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 2 3 2 1 0 0
5 PJ Savoy 11 2 5 2 5 0 0 6 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0
11 David Nichols 13 1 5 1 2 0 0 3 0 2 2 2 0 0 0 1
24 Devin Vassell 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
25 Mfiondu Kabengele 26 9 13 1 1 0 1 19 3 8 11 2 0 2 2 1
Team 2 1 3
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 29 60 7 18 12 17 77 10 33 43 21 12 12 4 4
Opp 200 23 60 8 23 10 16 64 8 24 32 18 11 11 4 5
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Clemson |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Noles Hang Tough Before Heels Pull Away, 77-59.
by Blake VonCannon
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — The No. 16 Florida State Seminoles saw their eight-game winning come to an end on Saturday as they fell to No. 8 North Carolina, 77-59, in Chapel Hill, N.C.
After winning reeling off a school-record for consecutive ACC wins, the Seminoles (21-6, 9-5) hung toe-to-toe with the Tar Heels (22-5, 12-2 ACC) throughout the first 30 minutes of competition, trailing 56-52 with 10:36 left. It was a late surge by the home team that put the game out of reach.
Graduate guard David Nichols led the way for the Seminoles behind a dominant performance from behind the arc. The transfer from Chicago, Ill., scored a team-high 16 points on 4-9 shooting from 3-point range, all while playing in 22 minutes of action.
For Nichols, his four 3-point shots made tied his FSU career-high (four; last vs. Clemson, January 22). In his last three games, Nichols has made eight of 16 from the beyond the arc, with eight 3-point shots made being the most he has made in a three-game period in a Florida State uniform.
The game began as a defensive affair, with North Carolina holding a 2-0 lead throughout the first 2:29 until senior center Christ Koumadje slammed home a dunk off a senior forward Terance Mann assist to open things up for the Seminoles with 17:31 left in the half.
Terance Mann continued to showcase his ability as one of the most complete players in the conference. The three-year starter stuffed the stat sheet against the Tar Heels, finishing with 10 points, a season-high tying six assists, four rebounds, two steals, a block and hit two 3-point shots.
After tying the game at 13-13, North Carolina went on an 18-5 run over a near seven-minute span that brought the score to 31-18 with 6:38 left in the first half.
Just when the Tar Heels punched what appeared to be a backbreaking run, the Noles continued to prove their resilient effort and fired back with their own 11-0 run in which four different Seminoles sparked the comeback effort.
The run was kicked off by redshirt freshman forward RaiQuan Gray, who connected on his sixth career 3-point shot to put the game at 31-21 with 5:25 left in the first half.
Having Christ Koumadje and redshirt sophomore forward Mfiondu Kabengele battling foul trouble through much of the game, it was Gray who shined in his 10 minutes to the Seminoles a lift. The Fort Lauderdale native finished with six points, three rebounds and a block on a perfect two-of-two from beyond the arc.
Forrest then contributed to the run with a driving two-handed flush off of a perfect feed from Mann. On the next possession, Mann hit a corner 3-pointer, putting the score at 31-26 in favor of the Tar Heels with 4:23 remaining.
After connecting on two 3-point shots in the contest, Mann has not only provided evidence of his ability to shine at all aspects of the game, but has showcased one of the greatest 3-point improvements in the ACC. After entering his senior season having made 24 threes on 27.2 percent shooting from the arc, Mann has skyrocketed his percentage to 47.2 on the year and has made 25 shots from deep.
Nichols capped the 11-0 run after hitting a three-point shot as the Seminoles trailed 31-29 with 3:03 left in the first half.
After finding themselves behind 31-18, the Seminoles closed the half by outscoring the Tar Heels 16-6, during which Nichols scored the last eight points.
The Seminoles clawed their way back into the contest, trailing the Tar Heels 37-34 at the half.
The second half started as a continuation of the first half, back-and-forth contest, as the game was shaping up to be a “game of runs.”
Leading 48-43 with 13:20 left in regulation, the Tar Heels used a 7-3 run to extend their lead to 55-46.
As they had done all afternoon, the Seminoles answered back with a 6-1 run of their own, where Mann continued to make plays all over the court. He hit a layup and then answered back by grabbing a loose ball and kicking out on the wing to Gray, who hit a 3-pointer, closing the gap to 56-52 with 10:36 left.
Florida State’s shooters then seemingly went cold, which made it more difficult by the minute to keep pace with the Tar Heels.
Over the final 10 minutes of play, North Carolina outscored the Noles 21-7.
Time would run out and the Seminoles would fall, 77-59 on the road after beating North Carolina a year ago.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
0 Phil Cofer f 29 1 6 0 3 0 0 2 0 4 4 1 0 0 0 0
3 Trent Forrest g 22 2 9 0 2 2 2 6 0 4 4 2 1 3 1 2
14 Terance Mann g 36 4 6 2 3 0 0 10 1 3 4 1 6 1 1 1
21 Christ Koumadje c 14 2 5 0 0 2 2 6 3 1 4 3 0 0 2 1
23 MJ Walker g 18 0 7 0 4 2 2 2 0 1 1 2 2 1 0 0
1 RaiQuan Gray 10 2 2 2 2 0 0 6 0 3 3 1 0 2 1 0
5 PJ Savoy 7 0 3 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
11 David Nichols 22 4 10 4 9 4 6 16 0 1 1 1 2 2 0 1
13 Anthony Polite 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 3 2 0 1 0 0
24 Devin Vassell 14 1 6 1 4 0 0 3 0 1 1 1 2 0 0 0
25 Mfiondu Kabengele 19 2 5 1 1 3 4 8 1 5 6 4 0 0 3 1
31 Wyatt Wilkes 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
35 Harrison Prieto 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Team 1 1
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 18 59 10 31 13 16 59 6 26 32 18 13 10 8 6
Opp 200 26 61 7 20 18 25 77 13 34 47 15 11 10 3 3
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| North Carolina |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Vassell, Mann Lead FSU Men Past Notre Dame, 68-61.
by Tim Linafelt, Senior Writer
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida State spent much of the second half against Notre Dame Monday night on the verge of a rally that would erase a seven-point deficit and provide a ninth win in 10 tries.
When the Seminoles finally did pull ahead, they spent the remainder of the game treating the Fighting Irish in kind.
FSU freshman Devin Vassell scored 13 points, including the go-ahead 3-pointer, and the No. 18 Seminoles held Notre Dame at arm’s length the rest of the way for a 68-61 victory in front of 9,519 fans at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
Notre Dame, now 13-15 and 3-12 in ACC play, led by as many as 10 points in the first half and eight in the second before giving way to the deeper, more capable Seminoles (22-6, 10-5).
Florida State has won 10 ACC games for the eighth time in school history and sixth time under coach Leonard Hamilton.
“Just keep pushing,” senior Terance Mann said. “We knew eventually it would happen for us if we just (kept) doing what we do.”
Which is to say that the Seminoles once again flexed the strength of its depth and wore down a weary opponent.
Florida State, as usual, saw 10 players check in to the game, with eight logging at least 12 minutes. Notre Dame’s rotation only went to seven, each of whom played at least 14 minutes.
As a result, the Seminoles’ defense got more and more suffocating as the game went on.
Beginning at the 6:42 mark of the second half – just seconds before Vassell hit his fateful 3-pointer – the Fighting Irish made just two of their final 13 shots.
And after making eight of their first 16 3-pointers, well above their season average of 31.5 percent, the Irish missed their next six from distance.
“I thought we ramped it up defensively late and in periods during the game,” Hamilton said. “We didn’t sustain that effort the entire game, but when we had to, I thought we got the deflections and steals and the stops.”
Added Notre Dame coach Mike Brey: “I’m really impressed with Florida State. They’ve got great poise and they made plays when they had to because they’ve won a lot.”
Indeed, on a night when the Seminoles weren’t always at their best, they still managed a handful of plays that looked as good on the highlight reel as they did in the box score.
There were big dunks from Mann (eight points, six rebounds) and Christ Koumadje (12, five), slick, no-look feeds from M.J. Walker, and a handful of 3-point shots that came as the result of one more pass.
None of those, though, quite stacked up with the sequence that Vassell and Mann combined for late in the second half.
It began with Vassell emphatically throwing down a putback dunk that cut FSU’s deficit to just one. A moment later, he grabbed a defensive rebound, hustled down the floor and brought in a feed from Mann before pulling up for the breakthrough 3-pointer at the top of the key.
It was yet another promising moment in a season full of them for Vassell, who became the team’s ninth different leading scorer of the season last week at Georgia Tech.
“He’s playing like a veteran now,” Hamilton said. “He’s very confident.”
Even with their first lead in nearly 15 minutes of game time, the Seminoles couldn’t quite pull away from a Notre Dame team desperate for a win that might salvage something positive from a lost season.
The Irish hung around, tying the game once and trailing by no more than five, for the next four-plus minutes. That’s when Mann finally slammed the door on the Irish with another second-chance dunk that might make for a late addition to “Sportscenter’s” nightly top-10 countdown.
“That’s just a freak of nature play,” Brey said.
“I just saw an opportunity and took it,” Mann added. “When you’re in a game like that, you’ve just got to make winning plays. It’s not your own stats or whatever. You’ve just got to worry about winning.”
After the game, Hamilton said that veteran assistant Dennis Gates scouted the Irish, and that his pre-game report suggested that the best route for the Seminoles to have success would be for everyone to contribute a small part, rather than have one or two players do all the heavy lifting.
And when Hamilton looked at the box score, that’s exactly what he saw.
No Seminole scored more than 13 points but no one who played at least five minutes scored fewer than three points, either.
Mfiondu Kabengele had 10, M.J. Walker nine, Mann and Trent Forrest eight, David Nichols five and P.J. Savoy three.
“We didn’t have anybody have a ‘lights-out’ game, but we had a lot of guys contributing,” Hamilton said. “That’s kind of who we are.”
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
0 Phil Cofer f 15 0 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 4 4 0 0 2 0 0
3 Trent Forrest g 27 2 3 0 0 4 6 8 0 0 0 0 4 2 0 1
14 Terance Mann g 35 4 8 0 2 0 0 8 4 2 6 3 3 2 0 0
21 Christ Koumadje c 12 5 7 0 0 2 2 12 1 4 5 1 0 0 1 0
23 MJ Walker g 28 4 8 1 4 0 0 9 1 3 4 3 1 3 0 2
5 PJ Savoy 7 1 2 1 2 0 0 3 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
11 David Nichols 21 1 6 1 5 2 2 5 0 1 1 1 2 2 0 0
13 Anthony Polite 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0
24 Devin Vassell 22 5 6 3 3 0 0 13 1 6 7 3 1 2 1 0
25 Mfiondu Kabengele 28 3 11 0 2 4 7 10 2 2 4 1 1 1 2 0
Team 4 2 6
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 25 56 6 19 12 17 68 13 27 40 12 12 14 4 3
Opp 200 22 56 8 21 9 13 61 6 20 26 14 9 9 4 10
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notre Dame | |||
| Florida State |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Free-Throw Shooting Helps No. 18 Noles Outlast NC State.
by Tim Linafelt, Senior Writer
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Midway through Leonard Hamilton’s post-game press conference, just a few moments after Florida State sealed a 78-73 victory over North Carolina State, a reporter asked Hamilton how he felt his team pushed through an imperfect offensive performance.
Fair enough, given that the 18th-ranked Seminoles (23-6, 11-5 ACC) made only 3 of 13 attempts from 3-point range, committed 16 turnovers and were outscored on the bench for just the second time this season.
Hamilton, though, smiled and said that if this imperfect, he’ll sign up for it every time.
Mfiondu Kabengele scored 16 points, M.J. Walker had 15 and Trent Forrest 13 as the Seminoles held off a Wolfpack team desperate for a win that would strengthen their hopes for an NCAA tournament bid.
Instead, Florida State kept alive its bid for a top-four seed in the upcoming ACC tournament – which will likely be decided when FSU hosts Virginia Tech on Tuesday – and improved to 14-1 at the Donald L. Tucker Center this season.
The Seminoles are 48-2 in their last 50 home games and will close out their home slate on Tuesday.
“An imperfect offensive game that I can win, that’s OK with me,” Hamilton said. “You’ve got to give the opposing team a little credit. … That’s just the nature, the challenge of what it is to be competitive in the ACC, night in and night out.
“That’s why I’m proud of our guys.”
Florida State never trailed but also never led by more than nine. And, for large stretches of the second half, the Seminoles held on tightly to one-possession advantages.
Seemingly every time NC State (20-9, 8-8) had a chance to tie or take the lead, though, the Seminoles turned them away.
Never more so than during the game’s final minute, when NC State’s Markell Johnson hit a 3-pointer that made it 76-73, Kabengele missed a layup at the other end and the Wolfpack got the ball back with 24 seconds to go.
But with the game on the line and the 9,988 fans in attendance on their feet, Florida State’s defense denied a clean look at the other end, then sent NC State’s Braxton Beverly to the free-throw line for a one-and-one.
Beverly missed the first attempt, Kabengele grabbed the rebound then made two free-throws of his own to provide the final margin.
“You can’t really control making every shot, but we can control what we do without the ball – and that’s playing defense as hard as we can,” Walker said. “Make sure we secure the rebound, get stops. And it worked out for us today.”
Excellent free-throw shooting played a part, too.
With NC State playing high-pressure defense and forcing the Seminoles into misfired passes and contested shot attempts, Florida State in the second half simplified the offensive game plan:
Get to the basket and get to the free-throw line.
The former worked well enough, as the Seminoles finished with 36 points in the paint.
And the latter worked even better. FSU drew 26 personal fouls from NC State, 14 in the second half, and finished 23 of 30 from the free-throw line.
That includes a 17-of-19 mark in the second half while attempting to hold off the Wolfpack’s rally.
“Wow,” Hamilton said, when told of that statistic. “That was huge.”
“When games are like this, extremely tight, and referees are (calling it tightly), you’ve got to make your free throws,” Kabengele added. “Missed free throws are close to turnovers, if you miss both.”
NC State’s D.J. Funderburk posted game highs in points (18) and rebounds (nine) before fouling out late in the second half. Torin Dorn, the Wolfpack’s leading scorer, finished with 12 after being held off the scoreboard in the first half.
“I thought we had our chances, especially late in the second half,” NC State coach Kevin Keats said. “It seemed like every time we cut the lead, I thought they did a great job making a big play – whether it was an offensive rebound or getting a steal.”
Or a block.
The Seminoles finished with nine blocked shots – compared to just one for NC State – which includes four from Kabengele and three from Christ Koumadje.
Twice Kabengele sparked the Seminoles’ transition offense with big blocks that shifted play toward the other end of the floor.
“I thought we got great play out of our two ‘bigs,’” Hamilton said. “Twenty-two points, 10 rebounds, seven blocks.
“We’ll take that any night of the week.”
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
0 Phil Cofer f 27 3 7 0 2 2 2 8 1 4 5 1 0 3 0 0
3 Trent Forrest g 31 5 10 0 0 3 3 13 1 5 6 1 3 3 1 2
14 Terance Mann g 29 3 9 1 1 4 6 11 3 1 4 3 3 0 0 0
21 Christ Koumadje c 21 3 4 0 1 0 0 6 1 4 5 1 0 2 3 0
23 MJ Walker g 27 4 6 1 2 6 6 15 1 1 2 3 1 3 0 0
1 RaiQuan Gray 12 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 1 3 4 3 2 1 0 0
5 PJ Savoy 5 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
11 David Nichols 17 3 5 0 2 0 3 6 0 3 3 3 0 1 0 1
24 Devin Vassell 12 1 3 0 2 0 0 2 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0
25 Mfiondu Kabengele 19 4 9 1 2 7 8 16 1 4 5 2 0 2 4 1
Team 1 1 2
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 26 54 3 13 23 30 78 11 26 37 18 9 16 9 4
Opp 200 24 59 9 19 16 21 73 11 19 30 26 7 12 1 9
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Carolina State | |||
| Florida State |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Senior Night Stunner: Noles Rally From 14 Down, Beat VT in OT.
by Tim Linafelt, Senior Writer
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – It might have been the message at halftime.
Or maybe the quick alley-oop from Terance Mann to Phil Cofer.
Or the hard, physical foul at the other end that denied a Virginia Tech dunk.
Seemingly everyone on Florida State’s roster had a different theory for when their game against the Hokies turned.
But they all agreed that it did.
And how.
Trailing by 14 at halftime and flirting with a deflating loss on Senior Night, the 14th-ranked Seminoles stormed back to take a lead, held on late as the Hokies forced overtime, then finally pulled away for a 73-64 victory in front of 10,611 fans at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
Mfiondu Kabengele had 17 points and nine rebounds to help FSU improve to 49-1 in its last 50 home games.
“I thought we showed a lot of character by being down such a large margin in the first half and not playing very well,” FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. “We could very easily have gotten discouraged, but … they didn’t panic. They totally felt we could win the game.”
The victory comes with some pretty impressive notes and one significant milestone in the standings.
Fourteen points marks FSU’s largest rally in victory this season, and the Seminoles won their fifth consecutive overtime game in ACC play.
Most importantly, Florida State (24-6, 12-5 ACC) clinched fourth place in the final ACC standings, as well as the coveted double-bye in next week’s ACC tournament that comes with it.
The Seminoles will close the regular season Saturday at Wake Forest, then will begin postseason play Thursday in Charlotte, N.C., against either the tournament’s No. 5 or 12 or 13 seed.
“We’ve just got a lot of grit. We’re not going to go down without a fight,” Mann said. “And we’ve fought all year.”
Tuesday’s game was essentially for the four-seed, and for much of the first half, the Hokies (22-7, 11-6) seemed poised to claim it with ease.
Led by a hot-shooting offense and a physical, aggressive defense, the Hokies stunned FSU by sinking a series of 3-pointers and racing to a double-digit lead midway through the first half.
The Seminoles, meanwhile, found themselves forced outside, struggling to find open looks and, more often than not, settling for contested attempts that sometimes barely beat the shot clock.
The Hokies clearly had a plan for slowing down the Seminoles’ uptempo offense and, for at least the first 20 minutes, it worked to ruthless perfection.
Florida State went into the break trailing 33-19, having shot just 26.9 percent (including 3 of 16 from 3-point range) and with its lowest first-half scoring output of the season.
“They wouldn’t let us run any of our offensive system that we were accustomed to running,” Hamilton added. “They gave us all the 3-pointers that we wanted, and we took advantage of it.
“We took the bait.”
But perhaps it’s only fitting that, on Senior Night, a veteran group that has answered adversity throughout both this season and beyond, came together for yet another rally.
It started with a 3-pointer from Phil Cofer, his first of the game and FSU’s first successful attempt in 13 tries.
It continued with a pair of free-throws from Kabengele, a three-point play from Trent Forrest and then back-to-back buckets by Kabengele and Cofer – with a steal from Terance Mann sandwiched in-between.
In the span of just three minutes, 51 seconds, the Seminoles had launched an 11-2 run and trimmed a 14-point deficit to only four.
“We were a little discombobulated, because of them, on both ends of the floor,” Virginia Tech coach Buzz Williams said. “That first seven to eight game minutes in the second half, we were just completely out of sorts. And it was because of them.”
A few moments later, the Seminoles flexed their muscles at the other end of the floor.
With the Hokies holding a five-point lead, Virginia Tech forward Kerry Blackshear went to the basket for a dunk that might have quieted the crowd and switched momentum back to his side.
Instead, Forrest and Kabengele both met him at the rim, making had contact that sent all three players flying toward the floor.
Officials whistled Forrest for a foul and Blackshear made both of his free-throws, but by then it didn’t matter. The crowd had already gone wild, and FSU’s bench right along with it, and the Seminoles on the floor responded in kind with a startling surge that saw them take the lead a few moments later.
“That was just one of those plays where you give it everything you have,” Walker said. “I think that just gave us energy.
“I feel like the dog just came out in everyone and we turned it up a notch.”
But fighting for their own postseason positioning, the Hokies didn’t fold after surrendering their lead. Six times they managed to either cut FSU’s lead to one or tie the game, including for the final time when Ahmed Hill made the 3-pointer that forced overtime.
Florida State, however, was undeterred in the extra period, and scored eight of the first nine points to seal their 12th victory in their last 13 games.
The Seminoles made all six free-throw attempts in overtime as part of a 19-of-22 overall effort.
“We’ve seen everything,” Mann said. “We’ve got true leaders on the team who know how to take advantage of situations like that, calm the team down, stay poised and do what we do best.”
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
0 Phil Cofer f 36 4 9 2 5 1 2 11 1 2 3 1 0 1 0 0
5 PJ Savoy g 10 2 4 2 4 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
11 David Nichols g 26 2 7 1 6 0 0 5 0 2 2 2 2 0 0 0
14 Terance Mann g 40 4 10 2 7 4 4 14 1 5 6 2 4 1 0 2
21 Christ Koumadje c 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0
1 RaiQuan Gray 8 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 2 3 5 0 0 1 0 0
3 Trent Forrest 27 1 5 0 1 5 5 7 0 3 3 2 4 2 0 1
23 MJ Walker 27 4 8 3 7 0 0 11 1 2 3 3 0 1 0 1
24 Devin Vassell 6 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0
25 Mfiondu Kabengele 38 4 13 0 5 9 11 17 3 6 9 1 2 1 0 2
Team 1 1
=========================================================================
FSU 5 225 22 58 10 36 19 22 73 8 24 32 15 12 7 1 6
Opp 225 22 53 8 27 12 15 64 7 30 37 21 11 14 0 3
| 1 | 2 | OT | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia Tech | ||||
| Florida State |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Noles Swat Away Wake’s Upset Bid.
FSU Men Win School-Record 13th ACC Game In Regular Season Finale.
WINSTON SALEM, N.C. – The No. 14 Florida State Seminoles closed out one of the most successful regular seasons in school history on Saturday, defeating the Wake Forest Demon Deacons 65-57 in Winston Salem, N.C.
The Seminoles (25-6, 13-5) continued to break school records, winning their school-record 13th ACC game after setting the school record earlier in the season for consecutive ACC victories (eight). The Noles also swept each of their three home-and-home opponents, marking the first time they had beaten three ACC teams twice in the regular season since 2010-11.
Florida State used a balanced scoring attack to chip away at the Demon Deacons (11-19, 4-14 ACC). Led by junior guard Trent Forrest, whose 11 points marked the only individual in double figures, all 11 Seminoles who earned playing time scored and six different Noles scored at least five points.
On par with their balanced scoring outburst, the Seminoles turned in one of their best defensive performances of the season. Florida State limited Wake Forest to 26.2 percent from the floor – the lowest for an FSU opponent this season – while also holding the Demon Deacons to 17.6 percent from 3-point range.
The Seminoles continued to show their resilient attitude after beginning Saturday’s contest with a rocky start. Wake Forest blitzed Florida State from the tip, beginning the game on a 14-2 run in the first seven minutes.
After starting the game scoring two points in the first seven minutes and shooting 1-7 from the floor, Florida State turned to its “18-strong” bench to spark its offense.
In a span of nearly five minutes, Florida State’s bench scored all 11 points after it took its starters out, outscoring the Demon Deacons 11-6 during that time span.
With 8:45 left in the first half, senior center Christ Koumadje took over the game for the Seminoles, scoring the team’s next six points.
Koumadje began his personal run by slamming home a and drawing a foul as well. He would follow up that a few possessions later, dunking home a lob from senior Terance Mann.
On the next possession, Koumadje hit a jump shot to cut Wake Forest’s lead to one.
Koumadje finished off his final ACC regular season game on a dominant note. The N’Djamena, Chad, native finished the contest with eight points, 10 rebounds and three blocked shots.
After earning his first career double double against the Demon Deacons just a few weeks ago, Koumadje averaged 14.0 points, 11.0 rebounds and 2.5 blocks while shooting 70 percent from the field.
Trailing 31-24 at the end of the half, Florida State relied upon a second-half scoring outburst of 41 points on 53.6 percent shooting to compete its rally.
The Seminoles turned to redshirt senior Phil Cofer, who jumpstarted the offense out of the break. Cofer hit a jump shot to give Florida State its first points of the half, and followed with a put back layup on the next possession.
Trailing 34-29 with 16:43 left in the second half, Florida State continued to chip away. After Trent Forrest connected on two free throws, M.J. Walker hit a 3-point shot off of a Forrest assist to cut the Wake Forest lead to 34-33.
Walker provided the Seminoles a much-needed boost on both ends of the floor. The sophomore finished with six points, four rebounds and two steals, while hitting two 3-point shots. Both his steals and 3-pointers came in the second half.
With 14:01 left in regulation and trailing 39-33, Forrest connected on his fifth 3-point shot on the season, hitting a wing 3 in transition to cut the score to a three-point Wake Forest advantage.
Forrest finished with a team-high 11 points, a team-high five assists and four rebounds, while also connecting on his first 3-pointer since January 20 at Boston College.
Trailing 45-40 with 10:09 left in regulation, Florida State went on one of its most dominant stretches of basketball throughout the regular season, going on an 18-0 run that lasted the next 5:24 of game time.
After a jump shot by Forrest with 10:09 left to play to jumpstart the run, senior forward PJ Savoy hit a wing 3-point shot off of a Forrest assist to tie the game at 45-45.
A few possessions later, Forrest hit a floater to give the Seminoles their first lead of the game at 47-45 with 7:34 left in regulation.
Leading 52-45 with 5:10 left to play, Terance Mann hit an and-one layup. After the free throw hit off the front of the rim, Mann collected his offensive rebound and hit a lay-up, giving him an unconventional four-point play and extending the Seminoles lead to 56-45.
On the next possession, Mann would drive to the rim and hit two free throws, capping off a personal 6-0 run and giving the Seminoles a 58-45 advantage with 4:51 remaining.
As he has done throughout his four-year career, Mann continued to stuff the stat sheet against Wake Forest. The senior finished with eight points, seven rebounds, two assists and a steal on 3-of-6 shooting from the floor.
After Wake Forest cut the lead to 58-48, Florida State responded with a Kabengele lay-up, and Cofer free throw and dunk, bringing the lead to 63-48 with 2:31 remaining.
With the game all but decided, Wake Forest would score the next six, but Florida State hung on, 65-57, as the clock ran out.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
0 Phil Cofer f 26 4 9 0 3 1 2 9 2 2 4 0 0 2 0 0
3 Trent Forrest g 32 3 9 1 1 4 6 11 1 3 4 3 5 0 0 0
14 Terance Mann g 32 3 6 0 1 2 4 8 2 5 7 4 2 1 0 1
21 Christ Koumadje c 20 4 8 0 0 0 2 8 3 7 10 1 0 0 3 0
23 MJ Walker g 24 2 8 2 6 0 0 6 0 4 4 4 2 2 0 2
1 RaiQuan Gray 10 2 2 0 0 0 0 4 0 1 1 3 0 0 0 1
5 PJ Savoy 11 1 3 1 3 0 0 3 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
11 David Nichols 11 1 4 1 4 0 0 3 0 3 3 4 0 0 0 0
13 Anthony Polite 6 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
24 Devin Vassell 8 1 2 1 2 1 2 4 1 0 1 0 2 0 0 1
25 Mfiondu Kabengele 20 3 5 0 1 1 3 7 2 7 9 2 0 3 3 0
Team 1 1 1
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 24 56 6 21 11 21 65 11 33 44 23 11 9 6 6
Opp 200 16 61 3 17 22 29 57 16 29 45 21 4 8 0 4
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Wake Forest |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Big Shots In Charlotte: Vassell, Mann Lift FSU Past VT.
Noles Advance To ACC Semis With 65-63 Win Over Hokies.
by Tim Linafelt, Senior Writer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – For more than 40 minutes, Florida State’s game against Virginia Tech in Thursday’s ACC tournament quarterfinal look like a perfect mirror of the first meeting between the two last week.
One team jumped out to a big early lead, the other mounted a frantic rally in the second half and an overtime period was needed to finally provide a result.
There was, however, one major difference. Because had they followed the original script, the Seminoles would’ve been on the wrong end of a blown lead and a hard-to-stomach loss in overtime.
But Devin Vassell and Terance Mann had other plans.
One a freshman and the other a senior, Vassell and Mann combined for a pair of dramatic, late shots that first forced overtime and then lifted the Seminoles to a 65-63 victory over the Hokies here at the Spectrum Center.
The fourth-seeded Seminoles (26-6) will meet No. 1-seed Virginia on Friday in the first ACC tournament semifinal game.
“Our guys have been resilient,” FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. “They keep finding ways to win.
“We hit big shots when we have to make them, we get stops that have been necessary. That just says a lot about the character of this team.”
Vassell finished with 14 points and Mann 10 as Florida State used 12 3-pointers and a healthy rebounding advantage (43-30) to overcome an otherwise pedestrian shooting performance.
The Seminoles shot just 38.6 percent from the field but made up for it by going 12 of 31 from beyond the arc. The Hokies (28-8), meanwhile, finished at 44.1 percent, but were just 4 of 19 from 3-point range and didn’t make a single triple in the first half.
“I think these are two of the hardest-fighting teams in the ACC,” Virginia Tech’s Ahmed Hill said. “And I think every time we play them it will be a battle.”
Twice the Seminoles seemed to be staring down a loss that few in their fan base would have found much to quibble with.
Florida State is already assured a place in the NCAA tournament, and a close loss to Virginia Tech – itself a no-doubt tournament team – would have given FSU at least one extra day to rest and recuperate before the Big Dance next week.
The Seminoles weren’t interested.
Trailing by three with six seconds on the clock, Hamilton drew up a play with four shooting options and trusted junior point guard Trent Forrest to choose the right one.
Having to be mindful of the clock and also being careful not to let himself be fouled, Forrest resisted the urge to force the ball to a more experience teammate and instead looked to the left corner and found Vassell, a true freshman who has had plenty of promising moments but nevertheless averages 4.4 points and 9.5 minutes per game, and is rarely on the floor during high-pressure moments.
Vassell, though, had shown a hot hand on Thursday afternoon – he’d already made three from distance – and, with a Virginia Tech defender in his face, he stepped up and buried one more to force the extra frame.
“With the lack of experience with Vassell, I’m sure that (Virginia Tech) thought he would be the last option,” Hamilton said. “But he was open, and he’s a very confident freshman, and he knocked the shot down.”
Added Vassell: “As soon as we came out of the huddle, they were all focused on P.J., focused on Terance. I just figured, coming off a screen from Terance, they probably weren’t going to help (defensively). I ended up getting a great screen from Terance in the corner and was able to get a great shot.”
Mann would have his big moment just a few minutes later.
In overtime, Florida State again faced a three-point deficit and again had an answer. First with a corner 3 from Cofer – his third of the game – and then with a shot from Mann that might as well have come straight from the playground.
With the teams tied at 63-63 and the clocking ticking toward double-overtime, Mann drove to his right and, cut off from the basket by a Virginia Tech defender, threw up a falling, fadeaway jumper as his momentum carried him toward the baseline.
The ball bounced twice on the rim, kissed off the backboard and finally fell through the net.
The Hokies were stunned. The Seminoles were not.
Turns out that off-balance circus shots are one of Mann’s specialties during FSU’s pick-up basketball games.
“He’s really good at getting downhill, using his body and just throwing up a really good (shot) with a soft touch,” Mfiondu Kabengele said. “And to see him do it today, I mean, it was shocking because of the situation. But to see it go in, I wasn’t surprised.”
“That’s not a shot I’ve never taken before,” Mann added. “Normally I take the bump and call a foul and take the and-one in pick-up.
“I haven’t done it in games, just because that’s not a good shot you want to take.”
It was good enough for Florida State on Thursday.
“I don’t want to take any credit for that, because we don’t really teach that,” Hamilton said with a smile. “But he makes those kinds of shots, and he’s done it time and time again over his career.”
And, as a result, the Seminoles will have another shot at the Virginia Cavaliers.
UVA is 29-2, ranked No. 2 in the country and advanced to the semifinals after slowly suffocating North Carolina State, 76-56, in the first game of the afternoon.
Florida State needs no reminder of how devastating the Cavaliers’ “pack-line” defense can be: They scored a season-low 52 points and lost by double digits in their visit to Virginia earlier this year.
“We’ve got to bring our hard hats,” Cofer said. “We’ve got to do the same thing we did today and play 40 minutes of a dogfight.”
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
0 Phil Cofer f 37 3 7 3 5 0 0 9 0 5 5 2 1 0 0 0
3 Trent Forrest g 35 1 3 1 1 4 6 7 1 3 4 1 4 3 0 3
14 Terance Mann g 40 5 9 0 3 0 0 10 2 7 9 1 4 1 0 0
21 Christ Koumadje c 14 1 3 0 0 1 1 3 1 4 5 2 0 2 0 0
23 MJ Walker g 24 1 7 1 6 0 0 3 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0
1 RaiQuan Gray 9 1 2 0 0 2 2 4 1 2 3 2 0 2 0 0
5 PJ Savoy 9 2 3 2 3 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0
11 David Nichols 12 1 3 0 2 0 0 2 1 1 2 3 2 0 0 0
24 Devin Vassell 16 5 10 4 7 0 0 14 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 2
25 Mfiondu Kabengele 29 2 10 1 4 2 2 7 2 6 8 4 0 4 3 0
Team 3 2 5 4
=========================================================================
FSU 5 225 22 57 12 31 9 11 65 11 32 43 17 14 17 3 5
Opp 225 26 59 4 19 7 13 63 6 24 30 12 11 9 3 7
| 1 | 2 | OT | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | ||||
| Virginia Tech |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
UPSET! Noles Roll Past No. 2 UVA, Will Play For ACC Title.
Nichols Scores 14 As FSU Wins, 69-59.
by Tim Linafelt
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Despite their 26-6 overall record, despite their No. 12 national ranking and despite their fourth-place finish in the nation’s toughest basketball conference, the Florida State Seminoles didn’t seem to factor much into the plans for the ACC tournament’s Semifinal Friday.
There were, for the first time ever, three top-5 teams among the league’s final four. And then there was Florida State at 12.
There were three different shades of blue-bloods, two Hall-of-Fame coaches and, as anyone watching the television broadcast can attest, a superstar freshman waiting for the spotlight.
Picked to finish seventh in the ACC a few months ago, and not given a single selection to the league’s all-conference teams earlier this week, the plans here at Charlotte’s Spectrum Center seemed to suggest that the Seminoles would bow out to top-seeded and No. 2 Virginia, then await their NCAA tournament fates while the Cavaliers and either Duke or North Carolina took center stage in the ACC title game on Saturday night.
So much for that.
David Nichols scored a game-high 14 points – including 10 in the second half – and Christ Koumadje added nine points and nine rebounds as the Seminoles rolled to a stunning, 69-59 victory over Virginia in front of a full house at the Spectrum Center.
Florida State’s victory …
“When you’re in a conference with the quality teams that are in the ACC, and you’re trying to find a way to get into that hierarchy, it’s challenging.”
Consider what happened Friday night as one more chip off the hierarchy’s foundation.
Because the Seminoles (27-6) didn’t just beat the Cavaliers (29-3). For large stretches, they dominated.
Florida State led for more than 38 minutes of game time, lit up UVA’s famed “pack line” defense to the tune of 56.5-percent shooting – the second highest percentage allowed by the Cavs this season – and held a plus-15 advantage on the glass.
Four Seminoles scored in double figures, two more scored nine points and FSU’s bench outscored Virginia’s 28-8.
UVA All-American Kyle Guy, meanwhile, had just 11 points, well below his season average (15.8), and was held scoreless in the second half.
“Florida State played well, they defended well, they were sound and tonight they were the tougher team,” Virginia coach Tony Bennett said.
“Hat’s off to Florida State. That’s a well-coached, good team.”
Hamilton all season has preached that the Seminoles “win by committee,” and that they’re greater than the sum of their individual parts.
On any given night, any one player in FSU’s 12-man rotation can be a hero.
In FSU’s win overtime win against Virginia Tech, it was Devin Vassell and Terance Mann.
Against the Cavaliers, it was Nichols’ turn to wear the cape.
A senior transfer from Albany, Nichols a year ago was playing in front of about 4,500 fans in the America East tournament.
Fast-forward 12 months, and Nichols was making the biggest shots in the biggest game of his life.
The Chicago native finished 6 of 8 from the floor, added five rebounds and three assists and grabbed two steals.
When the Cavaliers took a brief lead midway through the second half, Nichols’ turnaround jumper put the Seminoles back on top.
A few moments later, his feed to Mfiondu Kabengele on the wing led to a 3-pointer that gave the Seminoles some breathing room.
And when Virginia’s Ty Jerome answered with a triple of his own that cut FSU’s lead to one, Nichols answered by scoring the Seminoles’ next six points and sparking an 11-1 run that sealed the game.
Not bad for a guy who only scored five points when the Seminoles first met UVA in January.
“Nichols was so good tonight,” Bennett added. “Even at times when we did guard him, he just made some shots in our face.”
“I was really just playing off my teammates,” Nichols added. “They were doing a great job of driving the ball downhill and opening up lanes for me. Christ was a big presence down low. They had to respect his lobs. Phil hit a lot of big 3s, so they couldn’t sink in off him, and that just all created lanes to drive.”
After finishing his post-game media obligations, Hamilton donned a black FSU cap, headed out of the locker room and made his way onto the arena floor to catch a few minutes of North Carolina-Duke.
From his vantage point in the corner, he could see that his Seminoles might not have much in common with either the Tar Heels or Blue Devils.
Both teams are loaded with future professional stars, and main attraction Zion Williamson is a virtual lock to be the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft later this year.
Williamson earned ACC player of the year honors after a highlight-filled freshman year at Duke, and he’s just one of five representatives from UNC or Duke to be named first- or second-team All-ACC selections.
It’s a stark contrast to the Seminoles and their five seniors, their one junior and their revolving cast of heroes.
Hamilton, though, wouldn’t have it any other way.
“We don’t have a Zion Williamson or a one-and-done guy that’s playing 38, 39 minutes,” Hamilton said. “Our guys are best suited for the way we’re playing. They’ve bought into it, they make sacrifices for one another. They play with an unselfish spirit.
“And tonight, we just happened to put it all together against a very, very good basketball team.”
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
0 Phil Cofer f 32 4 11 3 9 0 1 11 0 2 2 1 1 0 0 0
3 Trent Forrest g 26 4 7 1 1 1 2 10 1 5 6 2 3 3 0 0
14 Terance Mann g 31 1 3 0 1 0 0 2 0 3 3 3 2 3 0 0
21 Christ Koumadje c 19 3 3 0 0 3 4 9 3 6 9 3 0 2 1 0
23 MJ Walker g 30 3 6 1 1 2 2 9 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0
1 RaiQuan Gray 11 2 3 0 1 0 0 4 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
5 PJ Savoy 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
11 David Nichols 22 6 8 0 1 2 2 14 0 5 5 1 3 2 0 2
24 Devin Vassell 11 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0
25 Mfiondu Kabengele 16 3 4 1 2 3 4 10 3 3 6 3 0 0 2 0
Team 2 2 1
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 26 46 6 16 11 15 69 9 26 35 16 10 13 3 3
Opp 200 22 53 5 24 10 13 59 7 13 20 17 8 8 2 5
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Virginia |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Noles Fall To Duke In ACC Title Game, 73-63.
by Tim Linafelt, Senior Writer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Playing in their third game in three days, against a team loaded with future pros and in front of a heavily partisan crowd, the Florida State men’s basketball team could hardly have asked for a better first half in Saturday’s ACC tournament final.
The Seminoles went toe-to-toe with the Duke Blue Devils, led for a long stretch and by as many as eight points, and went into the break tied and with the promise of a potentially classic second half to come.
But that classic half never materialized.
With superstar freshman Zion Williamson leading the way, Duke found another gear while Florida State’s shooting touch floundered in a 73-63 defeat at Charlotte’s Spectrum Center.
Mfiondu Kabengele (14 points, three rebounds) and Terance Mann (12, eight) each earned All-Tournament team honors for the Seminoles (27-7), who will return to Tallahassee Sunday morning and await their NCAA tournament destination.
The Blue Devils (29-5) claimed their record 21st ACC title.
“I thought Duke raised their level of intensity, probably right at the beginning of the second half,” FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. “I didn’t think we matched that level of athleticism and aggressiveness.
“I thought they were maybe jumping a little higher, moving a little quicker, ran a little faster than we did during that period.”
As a result, the Blue Devils turned what had been a close game into an uphill climb for FSU in the span of about nine minutes.
After Terance Mann got the Seminoles started out of the break with a 3-pointer, the Blue Devils launched an 18-5 run that had FSU playing catch-up for the remainder of the contest.
Duke’s Williamson scored a game-high 21 points – bringing his three-game total to 80 – on his way to tournament MVP honors.
But he wasn’t the only one causing problems.
All four of Duke’s freshman starters scored in double-figures, with R.J. Barrett (17 points, nine rebounds) and Tre Jones (18 points, six rebounds) both making plays in critical moments.
Williamson is virtual lock to be selected No. 1 in the NBA draft later this year, and fellow freshmen Barrett, Jones and Cam Reddish are all expected to be future pros as well.
“It’s hard when you have athletes like they do,” FSU guard Trent Forrest said. “I mean, we have athletes. But none of us jump that high or anything like that. It’s just hard competing with that.”
The Seminoles, though, did compete.
As they often have, both in this season and beyond, the Seminoles regrouped, rallied and gave themselves a chance to get back into the game.
Despite missing 12 of its first 15 shots in the second half, FSU held Duke scoreless long enough to trim its deficit to 63-58 with 4:43 to play.
But the Seminoles could get no closer, and found themselves down by double-digits again a few moments later thanks to a difficult jumpshot from Jones and a 3-pointer by Reddish.
“We got it to five, and you know how we are – we were ready to come back,” Mann said. “We had a lot of good looks. And we also missed the front end of a one-and-one.
“I think that just happens. That’s basketball.”
Indeed, it’s hard not to wonder about how things might have played out had the Seminoles shot better in the second half. They finished 8 of 32 (25.0 percent) over the last 20 minutes, finished the game 20 of 63 (31.7 percent) and, most damaging, connected on just five of 18 layup attempts.
The Blue Devils, meanwhile, hit at nearly a 60-percent clip after a relatively cold first half.
“We had bunnies that we missed. A lot of shots that we usually make just didn’t go for us,” Forrest said. “With three games in three days in the ACC, eventually your legs are going to wear out. So, I feel like maybe a little fatigue probably set in for us, too.
“But other than that, we just couldn’t hit shots.”
Then again, the other team might have had something to do with it, too.
“I’ve got to give them credit,” Hamilton said. “I thought that they, mentally and emotionally, were at a different level than they were in the first half. … We got beat by a team that played better and that hopefully we can learn from.”
Do that, and the Seminoles will likely be a tough out in the NCAA tournament.
Saturday’s loss was just FSU’s second since mid-January – the other came at No. 3 North Carolina three weeks ago – and the Seminoles have already matched a school record for wins in a season.
Their place in the NCAA tournament has been secure for weeks. The only question left is what road they’ll travel.
Count the Hall-of-Fame coach in the opposing locker room as a believer.
“I expect them to be a very high seed,” Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski said. “I would be shocked if they weren’t a three- or four-seed.
“And Leonard and I are really good friends, you know. He has a program there (at Florida State). He doesn’t (only) have a team. It’s built on great kids, a lot of kids and playing good defense.”
Besides, even with the NCAA tournament looming, the Seminoles are unlikely to play another stretch like the one they just finished here in Charlotte – against three ranked teams in three days – any time soon.
At least not until the first weekend in April.
Maybe that’s why Hamilton still had a small smile on his face as he wrapped up his post-game media session.
“We didn’t play well enough to beat a very good team in the finals of a championship tournament. That’s what I take away from it,” he said.
“Now what we want to do is go back and evaluate it for what it is, evaluate our shortcomings, see how we can improve on them and regroup and try to prepare ourselves to get ready to participate in the NCAA tournament.”
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
0 Phil Cofer f 19 2 3 0 1 0 0 4 0 1 1 0 0 2 0 0
3 Trent Forrest g 28 2 10 0 0 5 5 9 0 2 2 2 3 1 0 2
14 Terance Mann g 31 3 9 2 3 4 4 12 5 3 8 1 1 3 0 1
21 Christ Koumadje c 9 2 2 0 0 0 0 4 3 0 3 2 0 0 0 0
23 MJ Walker g 29 2 8 0 3 2 3 6 0 3 3 3 1 0 0 1
1 RaiQuan Gray 14 1 6 0 0 1 1 3 1 0 1 3 2 0 0 1
5 PJ Savoy 4 1 1 1 1 2 2 5 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0
11 David Nichols 16 0 7 0 3 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 1 2 0 0
13 Anthony Polite 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
24 Devin Vassell 24 2 6 2 4 0 0 6 1 6 7 1 0 1 2 0
25 Mfiondu Kabengele 26 5 11 3 5 1 1 14 1 2 3 3 0 2 3 0
Team 3 3
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 20 63 8 20 15 16 63 12 21 33 16 8 12 5 5
Opp 200 27 55 2 14 17 21 73 10 29 39 17 11 13 6 8
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Duke |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Mann And Fi Lead As FSU Men #MarchOn With 76-69 Win Over UVM.
by Tim Linafelt
HARTFORD, Conn. – Terance Mann drove through the lane, switched the ball from his left hand to his right on the way to the basket, then finished a pretty layup with ease.
As he hit the floor, Mann looked to Florida State’s bench and flexed toward his teammates, all of them seeming to share the feeling that had just settled over Hartford’s XL Center:
That after a tense, back-and-forth struggle with hot-shooting Vermont, the Seminoles would be just fine after all.
Mann scored 19 points – 17 in the second half – and Mfiondu Kabengele added 21 points and 10 rebounds as Florida State, seeded fourth in the NCAA tournament’s West region, topped No. 13 Vermont, 76-69.
“Any separation that we got down that game felt like a big moment,” Mann said. “Because it was back and forth the whole time – up three, three; up one, down one.
“I think that was one of the plays that gave us momentum. And it was at a crucial time.”
Florida State (28-7), which has won five consecutive first-round games and set a new school record with 28 wins in a single season, will meet No. 12 Murray State here on Saturday.
The Racers upset fifth-seeded Marquette later on Thursday.
“That felt more like an ACC regular season game than we expected,” FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. “(Vermont) were very well prepared. They’re a good basketball team and sound fundamentally.”
Neither an uncharacteristic 3-point shooting for the Catamounts (27-7), nor a heavily-partisan Vermont crowd could derail the Seminoles, and neither could a rash of injuries both before and during the game.
Which isn’t to say they all didn’t try.
With FSU senior Phil Cofer sidelined by a foot injury, Vermont shot well above its head from beyond the arc and led by as many as nine points midway through the first half.
The Catamounts came into the game shooting just 35.9 from 3-point range, but against FSU connected on a season-high 16 of 32 (50 percent).
That more than helped them counter Florida State’s overwhelming size advantage, and it helped them to a 27-27 tie after a first half in which they outshot and out-rebounded the heavily-favored Seminoles.
“We knew they were a good shooting team,” Hamilton said. “But, gosh, it’s very hard to go win a basketball game when a team makes 16 3s.”
The Seminoles, though, did win, and they did it the same way they usually do – with a deep bench, with top-tier athleticism and with imposing size.
Even without Cofer, and with Mann and David Nichols playing through knocks picked up during the game, the Seminoles enjoyed healthy discrepancies in bench points (30-7), points in the paint (30-14), points off of turnovers (17-5) and points from the free-throw line (31-7).
They also submitted a few bids for end-of-day highlight shows.
One, in which Kabengele beat a triple-team on his way the basket, made it 61-53 with less than four minutes to play, and effectively put the Catamounts at arm’s length for good.
“I think, when the kid stepped through a triple team and dunked it, it was kind of telling that we were wearing down,” Vermont coach John Becker said.
FSU’s Trent Forrest was a little less technical in his analysis:
“It’s crazy,” Forrest said, stretching the word “crazy” into three syllables. “That’s probably the craziest dunk I’ve seen by a big man in a long time …
“‘Fi,’ he’s just a beast in the paint.”
So were his teammates, once they found their stride.
All told, nearly 40 percent of Florida State’s points came in the paint, aided by an efficient 13-of-20 clip via dunks and layups.
And when they weren’t finishing at the basket, the Seminoles were drawing fouls.
FSU’s 37 free-throw attempts were a season high, and their 83.8 conversion rate was nine percentage points above their season average.
“One of our goals for this season was to be a much-improved free-throw shooting team,” Hamilton said. “And I think you’re seeing it kind of paying off in games like this, where every point is important. Every possession is important. We were able to come through with excellent free-throw shooting down the stretch.”
And, despite Vermont’s hot night at the 3-point line, the Seminoles made it difficult for the Catamounts at seemingly every other spot on the floor.
UVM’s Anthony Lamb, the America East conference player of the year, led the Catamounts with 16 points and eight rebounds, but he also finished just 4 of 13 from the field and took only five shots in the second half.
And the Catamounts generally found things tougher and tougher the closer they got to the basket.
The Seminoles blocked four shots, grabbed nine steals and forced Vermont into 16 turnovers.
“We had a point there in the second half where we got some deflections and steals and got the ball out and got some easy baskets there,” Hamilton said. “We got some stops, and I think we scored six points in a row in transition. … I thought that gave us some separation and sped them up a little bit during that time.
“I thought that really made the difference in the game.”
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 RaiQuan Gray f 21 2 9 0 1 4 5 8 2 1 3 3 1 1 1 2
3 Trent Forrest g 32 1 6 0 0 6 6 8 1 2 3 1 1 2 1 1
14 Terance Mann g 31 6 8 0 1 7 8 19 1 7 8 3 1 0 1 1
21 Christ Koumadje c 11 2 3 0 0 2 2 6 0 3 3 0 0 0 0 1
23 MJ Walker g 25 2 6 1 2 0 0 5 0 1 1 4 2 1 0 1
5 PJ Savoy 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
11 David Nichols 13 2 5 2 4 1 2 7 1 2 3 3 1 0 0 1
13 Anthony Polite 9 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0
24 Devin Vassell 25 0 4 0 2 2 2 2 0 4 4 0 0 0 0 1
25 Mfiondu Kabengele 29 6 13 0 1 9 12 21 4 6 10 3 0 3 1 1
Team 3 3
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 21 55 3 12 31 37 76 12 27 39 18 6 7 4 9
Opp 200 23 53 16 32 7 13 69 7 26 33 27 9 16 3 2
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Vermont |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Noles Carry Cofer Family With Them In Win Over Murray State.
by Tim Linafelt, Senior Writer
HARTFORD, Conn. – They all wore “MC” badges on their warm-up shirts and jerseys.
Some, like Terance Mann, wrote Michael Cofer’s name, along with a Bible verse, on their shoes.
Every member of Florida State’s basketball team found a way to honor the memory of Mike Cofer on Saturday night, whether inward or outward.
And perhaps the best way of all came on the court, where the Seminoles made quick work of Murray State to ensure that Mike’s son, Phil, will write at least one more chapter in his college basketball career.
With Phil Cofer encouraging his teammates from the bench, a little more than 48 hours after learning that his father, Mike, had died after a lengthy illness, Florida State topped the Racers, 90-62, to clinch a spot in next week’s Sweet 16 in Anaheim, Calif.
Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton is optimistic that Cofer will recover soon enough from a foot injury to play again this season, maybe even as soon as Thursday against Gonzaga.
For now, though, both the coach and his players were happy to provide an evening of relief from a most difficult week.
“It means a lot to us,” said Mann, who had 18 points and eight rebounds against the Racers. “It means a lot to us to try and play hard for him. We knew how much of a fighter he was. We kind of wanted to embody that.”
Safe to say they did.
Mike Cofer played linebacker at Tennessee and for the NFL’s Detroit Lions, with whom he racked up 62.5 sacks and a 1988 Pro Bowl selection over the course of an 11-year career.
On Saturday night, the Seminoles were tough, aggressive and physical in handling one of their most difficult defensive assignments of the year.
Sure, they’d seen plenty of high-level players in the ACC, icluding presumed No. 1 draft pick Zion Williamson.
But they hadn’t seen anything quite like Ja Morant.
Murray State’s point guard can score from anywhere on the floor, and he makes the types of passes usually reserved for NBA all-stars.
And, after dismantling Marquette on Thursday, he had become one of the early stories of the NCAA tournament.
“With social media, it’s kind of hard not to hear it,” FSU’s Anthony Polite said. “But we just stayed focused on us and what we do.”
No, a tragedy within their inner circle didn’t propel the Seminoles to magically play better on Saturday night.
But given all that Cofer had been through, and all that they’d felt with him and for him, they were hardly about to let themselves get embarrassed, either.
“I think that’s why you saw our guys so focused,” Hamilton said. “… And I think the night was in response to the respect we had for Murray State, but also the respect we had for Mr. Cofer. And we wanted him to be happy with the way we performed tonight.”
Added Mann: “We’re playing for a bigger purpose at that point.”
And from this point forward.
The Seminoles will leave Hartford on Sunday morning, spend a day in Tallahassee and then get right back on the road for the Sweet 16, needing just two more victories to advance to FSU’s second-ever Final Four.
Phil Cofer, in the meantime, will head home to be with his family before re-joining his teammates for the rest of their tournament run.
If Cofer returns to the lineup, and Hamilton seemed to think that he might, it would make for perhaps the most emotional moment of this year’s NCAA tournament.
But even if he doesn’t, the Seminoles have left no doubt that both Phil and Mike Cofer will be with them for every step of their journey.
“The kids wanted to dedicate the remainder of the season to Mike Cofer,” Hamilton said. “And I think a lot of the energy they played with tonight, and the emotion that they displayed, was a result of that true commitment.”
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 RaiQuan Gray f 24 3 7 3 4 2 2 11 1 2 3 1 1 2 0 5
3 Trent Forrest g 35 4 6 0 0 0 0 8 0 2 2 0 5 3 0 2
14 Terance Mann g 30 7 11 0 1 4 5 18 3 5 8 2 6 2 0 0
21 Christ Koumadje c 16 3 5 0 0 0 0 6 4 5 9 3 0 2 1 0
23 MJ Walker g 20 0 5 0 3 0 0 0 1 5 6 2 3 3 0 1
5 PJ Savoy 11 3 9 3 8 0 0 9 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
13 Anthony Polite 14 3 4 2 2 1 2 9 2 2 4 2 3 0 0 1
15 Justin Lindner 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
20 Travis Light 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
24 Devin Vassell 9 1 3 1 2 0 0 3 0 1 1 0 2 0 1 0
25 Mfiondu Kabengele 23 10 12 2 2 0 0 22 2 5 7 2 0 0 3 1
31 Wyatt Wilkes 10 1 3 0 2 0 0 2 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 1
33 Will Miles 2 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
35 Harrison Prieto 2 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 4 0 0 0 0 0
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 36 71 11 27 7 9 90 15 30 45 16 21 12 6 11
Opp 200 20 61 7 18 15 21 62 13 20 33 8 7 13 2 8
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Murray State |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Historic Season Ends In Hard-Fought Sweet 16.
by Tim Linafelt, Senior Writer
ANAHEIM, Calif. – In the NCAA tournament, heartbreaking losses rarely come with a chance for a rematch.
Given an unlikely opportunity to strike back at Florida State for last year’s Sweet 16 upset, Gonzaga didn’t let it go to waste.
FSU’s Trent Forrest had perhaps his best game in months, scoring 20 points and dishing four assists as the Seminoles rallied to cut a 14-point deficit to just four late in the second half.
But it wasn’t enough to overcome the top-seeded Bulldogs, who used 17 points from future pro Rui Hachimura to pull away for a 72-58 victory in the NCAA West region semifinal at the Honda Center.
The Seminoles, in the Sweet 16 for the sixth time ever, finished their 2018-19 campaign at 29-8 and set a new school record for wins in a single season.
“We dug ourselves a hole in the first half,” FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. “Proud of my kids for coming back and cutting the margin in the second half. But we came up short against a really good team.”
The Seminoles came out shorthanded, too.
With seniors Phil Cofer (personal) and David Nichols (ankle) each out of the lineup, Florida State tried to flex its depth at Gonzaga but often had to lean on less experienced players.
Redshirt freshman RaiQuan Gray started his third consecutive game in place of Cofer, and the Seminoles were forced to play some first-time lineups and make some on-the-fly rotations – some of which they hadn’t tried all season.
Those changes opened the door for Gonzaga to attack some pressure points and build a 14-point lead in the first half.
“We had enough bodies,” Hamilton said. “But we had to make a complete overhaul as to our rotations and how we’ve been accustomed to doing certain things.”
“They withstood our depth,” FSU’s Mfiondu Kabengele added. “They played really well to knock down shots.”
The Seminoles, meanwhile, struggled to answer those shots.
Although FSU nearly matched Gonzaga from the field (each finished around 40 percent), the Seminoles critically made only 3 of 20 from 3-point range.
The Bulldogs (33-3) took advantage and, thanks to a 7-of-19 night from distance, outscored the Seminoles by 12 points at the perimeter.
“We’ve had a tendency, every once in a while, not to shoot the ball very well,” Hamilton said. “And, for whatever reason, against a team that was playing more of a pack-line type defense that gave us plenty of opportunities, we shot very poorly.
“And that’s a bad combination against a real good team that’s as talented as Gonzaga.”
FSU missed Cofer and Nichols in a number of ways, but the Seminoles might have missed their shooting the most. Cofer has long been one of the team’s most reliable 3-point shooters, and Nichols had shown himself to be capable as well.
Asked how things might have been different if they had been available, senior Terance Mann laughed to himself and said, “We definitely would have made a lot more 3s.”
In the first half, the Seminoles struggled to find much shooting stride at all. They connected on 10 of 30 shots in the first 20 minutes and fought through a three-minute scoring drought as the Bulldogs built a 33-19 advantage with 4:46 to go in the period.
Gonzaga’s aggressive rebounding didn’t help, either. The Bulldogs finished with a 45-36 edge on the glass, and turned 17 offensive boards into 12 points.
“We just couldn’t hit shots,” Forrest said. “We were getting everything right there at the basket, but outside shots weren’t falling for us.”
A few moments later, though, FSU seemed to have survived the worst of it and, after a quick 8-2 run, cut its deficit to eight and had two chances to get within two possessions at the end of the half.
That window, however, shut quickly when Gonzaga’s Josh Perkins grabbed a steal, got down the floor for a layup and was fouled with under a second to go.
Perkins completed the three-point play and the Bulldogs led, 38-27, at halftime.
“It wasn’t so much them, it was mostly us,” Kabengele said. “We didn’t execute as well as we wanted to in our game plan. We didn’t get enough turnovers. We didn’t rebound well. We didn’t knock down shots to spread the floor out. We didn’t get to the free-throw line like we needed to.”
Florida State, however, rallied in the second half thanks to change in offensive approach and a valiant effort from Forrest.
With the Seminoles’ shots not falling, FSU’s coaches delivered a simple message to their veteran point guard: Be assertive and get to the basket.
Forrest responded in kind, scoring 15 of his 20 points in the second half, and more often than not taking his defender straight to the rim.
Never mind the painful toe injury that had limited him for most of the season.
“My coaches kept telling me to be aggressive,” Forrest said. “And that’s kind of what I did.”
That was part of the plan, anyway.
The other part was to draw fouls, get to the free-throw line – where the Seminoles connect at a 74.1-percent clip – and cut into Gonzaga’s lead while the clock wasn’t running.
And that part never came to fruition. After a tight first few minutes, officials allowed a tough, physical game and called only seven fouls on Gonzaga in the second half.
As a result, FSU took just four free throws in the final 20 minutes.
“Our intentions were to try to (extend) the clock a little bit, take the ball to the basket and get to the free-throw line,” Hamilton said. “I thought our inability to get to the free-throw line and draw fouls had a lot to do with it as well.”
Even still, the Seminoles put one last scare into the Bulldogs, cutting their deficit to 60-56 after Forrest split a pair of free throws with 4:11 to play.
But Gonzaga then responded the way No. 1-seeded teams often do: With a 3-pointer on its next possession and a stop at the other end. The Bulldogs followed up Zach Norvell’s triple with two free throws and an alley-oop dunk as part of 12-2 run to finish the game.
“You think you’ve got a chance,” FSU assistant Stan Jones said. “And you just can’t seem to get that break to get over the hump.
Forrest finished with his highest scoring total since mid-December, and also chipped in with the four helpers, five rebounds, three steals and a block.
FSU senior Terance Mann, in his collegiate finale, added five points, seven rebounds, three assists and one highlight-reel dunk.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 RaiQuan Gray f 20 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 6 6 2 1 3 1 2
3 Trent Forrest g 36 8 11 0 0 4 6 20 0 5 5 0 4 2 1 3
14 Terance Mann g 39 1 8 0 4 3 4 5 2 5 7 4 3 0 2 2
21 Christ Koumadje c 11 4 4 0 0 0 0 8 1 2 3 4 0 2 0 0
23 MJ Walker g 29 3 9 1 4 0 0 7 0 4 4 3 0 2 0 2
5 PJ Savoy 18 2 8 2 7 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
13 Anthony Polite 8 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0
24 Devin Vassell 12 2 7 0 1 0 0 4 0 1 1 1 2 1 0 0
25 Mfiondu Kabengele 27 4 11 0 2 0 1 8 2 5 7 4 0 1 2 0
Team 2 1 3 1
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 24 61 3 20 7 11 58 7 29 36 20 10 14 6 9
Opp 200 25 62 7 19 15 20 72 13 32 45 16 11 14 6 6
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Gonzaga |