2019-20 Men's Basketball - Year In Review | |
| Coaching Staff Leonard Hamilton, Head Coach Michael Bradley, Strength and Conditioning Stan Jones, Associate Head Coach Jarrod Lazarus, Director of Operations Jacob Ridenhour, Director of Operations Steve Smith, Assistant Coach Charlton Young, Assistant Coach  Click here to see individual photos |
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Nathanael Jack, 6-5, 195, G, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
Balsa Koprivica, 7-1, 260, C, Belgrade, Serbia
Naheem McLeod, 7-4, 230, C, Philadelphia, Pa.
Dominik Olejniczak, 7-0, 260, C, Torun, Poland
Patrick Williams, 6-8, 215, F, Charlotte, N.C.
Cleveland Yates, 6-2, 214, G, Memphis, Tenn.
Forrest Named To Defensive All-American Team. March 27, 2020 by Chuck Walsh
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Trent Forrest, who was named to the 2020 All-ACC Defensive Team, has been named to the 2020 Lefty Driesell Defensive All-America Team by CollegeInsider.com. His career-high eight
steals in Cameron Indoor Stadium against Duke on February 10, 2020 rank as the most by an opponent player in Cameron while his 59 total steals in 2020 were tied for the second most in the ACC this
season. Forrest was one of the leaders on Florida State's defense which ranked first in the ACC in steals (8.8 spg), second in blocked shots (5.2 bpg), fourth in field goal percentage defense
(.406), fifth in 3-point field goal percentage defense (.317) and fifth in scoring defense (65.7). Forrest totaled 224 steals in his four-year career as a Seminole - the third highest career total
by a Florida State player. He also completed his career tied for 22nd in ACC history and as one of only twenty-five players in conference history with at least 224 career steals. Forrest is one of
three ACC players named to the 2020 Lefty Driesell team along with Mamadi Diakite of Virginia, and Tre Jones of Duke. Forrest totaled at least one steal in 27 of Florida State's 31 games and earned
multiple steals in 16 games. He earned four steals in victories over Wake Forest (January 8), Virginia (January 15) and Notre Dame (January 25). Forrest finished his illustrious Seminole career
with 1,143 points (33rd in Florida State history), 562 rebounds (20th in school history), 455 assists (fifth in school history) and 224 steals (third in school history). He is joined by only Bob Sura
in Florida State history as Seminoles with at least 1,100 career points, at least 500 career rebounds, at least 400 career assists and at least 200 career steals.
2020 Roster - By Name
L
T PY
R No Name Pos Hgt Wgt Cl Ltr Hometown (Prior School)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* 0 RayQuan Evans G 6-4 200 Jr Billings, Mont. (Skyview/North Idaho College)
* 3 Trent Forrest G 6-4 210 Sr *** Chipley (Chipley)
* 1 RaiQuan Gray F 6-8 260 So-R * Fort Lauderdale (Dillard)
* 44 Ty Hands F 6-5 180 Fr-R West Palm Beach (Palm Beach Lakes)
* 11 Nathanael Jack G 6-5 195 Jr Mississauga, Ontario, Canada (Eastern Florida State College)
* 5 Balsa Koprivica C 7-1 260 Fr Belgrade, Serbia (Montverde Academy)
* 20 Travis Light G 6-5 175 Jr-R ** Vienna, Va. (Montverde Academy)
* 12 Justin Lindner G 6-1 180 Jr-R ** Memphis, Tenn. (Christian Brothers)
4 Naheem McLeod C 7-4 230 Fr Philadelphia, Pa. (Plymouth-Whitemarsh/Chipola College)
* 33 Will Miles F 6-6 220 Jr-R ** Orlando (Trinity Prep)
* 15 Dominik Olejniczak C 7-0 260 Sr-R Torun, Poland (Mississippi/Drake)
* 10 Malik Osborne F 6-9 250 So-R Matteson, Ill. (Rich South/Rice)
* 2 Anthony Polite G 6-6 215 So-R * Lugano, Switzerland (Saint Andrews)
* 30 Harrison Prieto F 6-8 230 Jr-R ** Mandeville, La. (Saint Paul's)
* 24 Devin Vassell G 6-6 180 So * Suwanee, Ga. (Peachtree Ridge)
* 23 MJ Walker G 6-5 213 Jr ** Riverdale, Ga. (Jonesboro)
* 31 Wyatt Wilkes F 6-8 220 Jr * Orlando (Winter Park)
* 4 Patrick Williams F 6-8 215 Fr Charlotte, N.C. (West Charlotte)
* 42 Cleveland Yates G 6-2 214 Fr Memphis, Tenn. (Briarcrest Christian School)
2020 Roster - By Number
L
T PY
R No Name Pos Hgt Wgt Cl Ltr Hometown (Prior School)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* 0 RayQuan Evans G 6-4 200 Jr Billings, Mont. (Skyview/North Idaho College)
* 1 RaiQuan Gray F 6-8 260 So-R * Fort Lauderdale (Dillard)
* 2 Anthony Polite G 6-6 215 So-R * Lugano, Switzerland (Saint Andrews)
* 3 Trent Forrest G 6-4 210 Sr *** Chipley (Chipley)
4 Naheem McLeod C 7-4 230 Fr Philadelphia, Pa. (Plymouth-Whitemarsh/Chipola College)
* 4 Patrick Williams F 6-8 215 Fr Charlotte, N.C. (West Charlotte)
* 5 Balsa Koprivica C 7-1 260 Fr Belgrade, Serbia (Montverde Academy)
* 10 Malik Osborne F 6-9 250 So-R Matteson, Ill. (Rich South/Rice)
* 11 Nathanael Jack G 6-5 195 Jr Mississauga, Ontario, Canada (Eastern Florida State College)
* 12 Justin Lindner G 6-1 180 Jr-R ** Memphis, Tenn. (Christian Brothers)
* 15 Dominik Olejniczak C 7-0 260 Sr-R Torun, Poland (Mississippi/Drake)
* 20 Travis Light G 6-5 175 Jr-R ** Vienna, Va. (Montverde Academy)
* 23 MJ Walker G 6-5 213 Jr ** Riverdale, Ga. (Jonesboro)
* 24 Devin Vassell G 6-6 180 So * Suwanee, Ga. (Peachtree Ridge)
* 30 Harrison Prieto F 6-8 230 Jr-R ** Mandeville, La. (Saint Paul's)
* 31 Wyatt Wilkes F 6-8 220 Jr * Orlando (Winter Park)
* 33 Will Miles F 6-6 220 Jr-R ** Orlando (Trinity Prep)
* 42 Cleveland Yates G 6-2 214 Fr Memphis, Tenn. (Briarcrest Christian School)
* 44 Ty Hands F 6-5 180 Fr-R West Palm Beach (Palm Beach Lakes)
4/9/2019 - Mfiondu Kabengele declared for the NBA draft.
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
2019-20 Conference Awards
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trent Forrest Atlantic Coast Conference - All-Conference - 2nd Team
Atlantic Coast Conference - All-Defensive Team
Leonard Hamilton Atlantic Coast Conference - Coach of the Year
Devin Vassell Atlantic Coast Conference - All-Conference - 2nd Team
MJ Walker Atlantic Coast Conference - All-Conference - Honorable Mention
Patrick Williams Atlantic Coast Conference - Sixth Man
Atlantic Coast Conference - All-Rookie
All-Conference - 5
2019-20 All-Americans
Name Organization
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trent Forrest CampusInsiders.com - Defensive Team
All-Americans - 1
2019-20 Noles in the Pros
Name No Pos Team
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dwayne Bacon 7 G Charlotte Hornets
Malik Beasley 25 G Denver Nuggets
Malik Beasley 5 G Minnesota Timberwolves
Jonathan Isaac 1 F Orlando Magic
Mfiondu Kabengele 25 C Los Angeles Clippers
Terance Mann 14 G Los Angeles Clippers
Noles in the Pros - 5
2020 Schedule and Results
GAME |
SCORE |
AP |
USA |
AP |
USA |
||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh | |||||||||||||
| Florida | |||||||||||||
| Western Carolina | |||||||||||||
| UT-Chattanooga | |||||||||||||
| St. Francis Coll, Pa | |||||||||||||
| Chicago State | |||||||||||||
| Tennessee Emerald Coast Classic, Niceville |
|||||||||||||
| Purdue OT, Emerald Coast Classic, Niceville |
|||||||||||||
| Indiana ACC/Big 10 Challenge |
|||||||||||||
| Clemson | |||||||||||||
| North Florida | |||||||||||||
| South Florida Sunrise |
|||||||||||||
| North Alabama | |||||||||||||
| Georgia Tech | |||||||||||||
| Louisville | |||||||||||||
| Wake Forest | |||||||||||||
| Virginia | |||||||||||||
| Miami OT |
|||||||||||||
| Notre Dame | |||||||||||||
| Virginia | |||||||||||||
| Virginia Tech | |||||||||||||
| North Carolina | |||||||||||||
| Miami | |||||||||||||
| Duke | |||||||||||||
| Syracuse | |||||||||||||
| Pittsburgh | |||||||||||||
| North Carolina State | |||||||||||||
| Louisville | |||||||||||||
| Clemson | |||||||||||||
| Notre Dame | |||||||||||||
| Boston College Regular Season ACC Champion |
|||||||||||||
EOY StatsRef Conference games in bold Overall Home Away Neutral ------------------------------------------------ FSU record is 26- 5 16- 0 7- 5 3- 0 vs ACC 16- 4 10- 0 6- 4 0- 0 Against Top 25 4- 1 1- 0 2- 1 1- 0 Final AP - 4 Final USA - 5
2019-20 Atlantic Coast Conference Results 1 Florida State 16- 4 26- 5 2t Duke 15- 5 25- 6 2t Louisville 15- 5 24- 7 2t Virginia 15- 5 23- 7 5 Georgia Tech 11- 9 17-14 6t North Carolina State 10-10 20-12 6t Notre Dame 10-10 19-12 6t Syracuse 10-10 18-14 9 Clemson 9-11 16-15 10t Boston College 7-13 13-18 10t Miami 7-13 15-16 10t Virginia Tech 7-13 16-16 13t North Carolina 6-14 14-19 13t Pittsburgh 6-14 16-17 13t Wake Forest 6-14 13-18
2019-20 CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT, Greensboro, N.C. Date Score Comments ========== ================================================== ================================== 03/10/2020 (13)Pittsburgh 81, (12)Wake Forest 72 Round 1 03/10/2020 (14)North Carolina 78, (11)Virginia Tech 56 Round 1 03/11/2020 (9)Miami 69, (8)Clemson 64 Round 2 03/11/2020 (5)North Carolina State 73, (13)Pittsburgh 58 Round 2 03/11/2020 (7)Notre Dame 80, (10)Boston College 58 Round 2 03/11/2020 (6)Syracuse 81, (14)North Carolina 53 Round 2 03/12/2020 (8)Clemson 0, (1)Florida State 0 Round 3, Cancelled because of coronavirus 03/12/2020 (5)North Carolina State 0, (4)Duke 0 Round 3, Cancelled because of coronavirus 03/12/2020 (7)Notre Dame 0, (2)Virginia 0 Round 3, Cancelled because of coronavirus 03/12/2020 (6)Syracuse 0, (3)Louisville 0 Round 3, Cancelled because of coronavirusStatement from the Atlantic Coast Conference:
2019-20 - 30 Point Club
Name Date Opponent FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- None2019-20 - 15 Rebound Club
Name Date Opponent O-REB D-REB TOTAL ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ None2019-20 - 10 Assist Club
Name Date Opponent Assists ------------------------------------------------------------------ None
--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
====================================================================================================================================
Devin Vassell 30 30 862 144 294 .490 44 106 .415 48 65 .738 380 12.7 38 114 152 5.1 58 0 49 23 29 42
Trent Forrest 31 31 955 130 283 .459 16 57 .281 83 101 .822 359 11.6 34 102 136 4.4 45 0 124 92 18 59
MJ Walker 26 24 655 85 229 .371 44 122 .361 61 76 .803 275 10.6 6 38 44 1.7 60 1 38 38 6 20
Patrick Williams 29 0 654 95 207 .459 16 50 .320 62 74 .838 268 9.2 38 78 116 4.0 47 0 29 50 30 29
Malik Osborne 31 28 599 71 154 .461 21 58 .362 23 39 .590 186 6.0 59 94 153 4.9 57 1 14 20 23 19
Anthony Polite 31 8 616 63 155 .406 34 96 .354 19 28 .679 179 5.8 24 67 91 2.9 48 0 35 36 7 37
RaiQuan Gray 29 24 565 58 148 .392 9 41 .220 48 69 .696 173 6.0 30 81 111 3.8 67 2 40 51 19 31
Balsa Koprivica 27 0 278 51 73 .699 0 0 .000 25 38 .658 127 4.7 31 34 65 2.4 41 1 8 17 7 9
Dominik Olejniczak 29 9 310 55 90 .611 0 0 .000 13 19 .684 123 4.2 33 33 66 2.3 46 1 4 26 16 9
Wyatt Wilkes 28 1 256 34 83 .410 24 63 .381 5 5 1.00 97 3.5 11 18 29 1.0 26 0 15 14 2 8
RayQuan Evans 29 0 330 31 68 .456 7 17 .412 24 33 .727 93 3.2 5 30 35 1.2 22 0 42 24 3 8
Nathanael Jack 13 0 74 15 38 .395 11 33 .333 2 2 1.00 43 3.3 2 9 11 0.8 14 0 5 5 0 1
Travis Light 9 0 16 3 8 .375 3 8 .375 2 2 1.00 11 1.2 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Justin Lindner 9 0 20 4 4 1.00 1 1 1.00 2 2 1.00 11 1.2 1 5 6 0.7 3 0 4 5 0 0
Harrison Prieto 10 0 35 4 8 .500 0 1 .000 1 4 .250 9 0.9 6 4 10 1.0 5 0 1 2 2 1
Will Miles 9 0 16 1 4 .250 0 1 .000 0 0 .000 2 0.2 1 0 1 0.1 2 0 1 1 0 0
Ty Hands 3 0 3 0 1 .000 0 1 .000 0 0 .000 0 0.0 0 1 1 0.3 1 0 0 0 0 0
Cleveland Yates 5 0 6 0 1 .000 0 0 .000 0 0 .000 0 0.0 0 1 1 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 0
Team 33 41 74 1 6
====================================================================================================================================
FSU 31 844 1848 .457 230 655 .351 418 557 .750 2336 75.4 352 750 1102 35.5 543 6 409 410 162 273
Opp 31 694 1708 .406 218 687 .317 431 588 .733 2037 65.7 324 698 1022 33.0 532 10 309 516 89 165
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Forrest Scores 19 But FSU Men Fall In Opener At Pitt.
by Tim Linafelt, Senior Writer
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - A thin margin for error and a steady diet of whistles put the Florida State men's basketball team at the wrong end of a back-and-forth affair at Pittsburgh.
Trent Forrest scored a game-high 19 points and Devin Vassell added 14, but the Seminoles were undone by a flood of Pitt free throws in a 63-61 defeat at the Petersen Events Center.
A missed free throw in the waning seconds gave Forrest a chance to tie or win the game, but his jumper at the other end missed and the Seminoles couldn't get up another shot before time expired.
Florida State (0-1, 0-1 ACC) led by as many as nine points in the second half, but the Panthers rallied back thanks to those free throws - they shot 31 total - and some timely perimeter shooting.
Pittsburgh made 9 of 26 3-point attempts, five of which came in the second half. The Panthers took the lead on a triple from Justin Champagnie with 4:37 to play and never trailed again.
FSU, meanwhile, shot 6-of-20 from distance and 21-53 (39.6 percent) overall.
The Seminoles got an encouraging contribution from Vassell - a 6-of-7 shooting night that included two 3-pointers - but, in keeping with the theme of the evening, it was tough not to wonder what he might have done were fouls not an issue.
He picked up two within the game's first 90 seconds and spent the rest of the first half on the bench. And Vassell was hardly the only one to come under the official's thumb. The Seminoles were whistled for 27 personal fouls - compared to 16 against Pittsburgh - and saw RaiQuan Gray, Malik Osborne and newcomer Balsa Koprivica all foul out.
When Vassell did return, he made the most of his outing. The sophomore began the second half with a 3-pointer that broke a 25-25 tie and went on to score 11 of FSU's first 13 points in the period.
Florida State led, 40-31, after an Osborne layup and had a chance for more after a quick defensive stop. But Anthony Polite (eight points, four rebounds) missed a 3-point shot and Pitt then launched a 10-0 run over the course of about three minutes.
Three Panthers - Xavier Johnson, Terrell Brown and Ryan Murphy - score 13 points each.
Florida State's Osborne, making his in-game debut after sitting out last season, scored two points and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds, although the Panthers finished with a slight advantage (37-35) on the glass.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 RaiQuan Gray f 27 3 6 0 2 1 2 7 2 1 3 5 2 1 0 0
3 Trent Forrest g 39 8 17 1 3 2 3 19 0 2 2 2 2 5 1 2
10 Malik Osborne f 23 1 4 0 2 0 0 2 2 7 9 5 0 1 4 0
23 MJ Walker g 16 0 4 0 2 4 4 4 0 5 5 4 0 0 0 0
24 Devin Vassell g 21 6 7 2 2 0 0 14 2 0 2 2 1 1 0 0
2 Anthony Polite 25 2 10 2 6 2 2 8 0 3 3 3 0 4 0 1
4 Patrick Williams 27 1 4 1 2 2 2 5 1 2 3 1 0 1 1 0
5 Balsa Koprivica 6 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 1 0 1 5 0 1 0 0
11 Nathanael Jack 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
30 Harrison Prieto 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
31 Wyatt Wilkes 8 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 1 0 0 1
Team 1 2 3
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 21 53 6 20 13 15 61 10 25 35 27 6 14 6 4
Opp 200 16 51 9 26 22 31 63 13 24 37 16 11 13 1 5
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Pittsburgh |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Super Six: Noles Topple No. 6 UF, 63-51.
FSU Men Earn Sixth Straight Win Over Gators.
by Kristin Smith, Sports Information Graduate Assistant
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Annually, the Florida State Seminoles and the Florida Gators clash in the Sunshine Showdown. For five straight years, the Seminoles had dominated the series, and that tradition continued for a sixth consecutive year with a 63-51 victory over sixth-ranked Gators at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center in Gainesville.
Devin Vassell scored 13 points and Trent Forrest added eight rounds and seven assists for the Seminoles, who head toward Friday's home opener with a 1-1 record.
During the first half, both teams struggled offensively, which kept the score tight for the full 20 minutes of play. With Florida State shooting 26 percent from the field and the Gators (1-1) at 22 percent, neither team was willing to let the other get too far ahead, having an answer for each point scored.
In a constant back and forth battle of layups, turnovers, and blocks, the Seminoles managed to lead 25-21 at the half.
Late free-throws by both Forrest and redshirt sophomore RaiQuan Gray helped the Seminoles to an advantage at the break.
Then, at the start of the second half, the Seminoles came back on fire.
Within the first few minutes, an explosive dunk by Vassell, assisted Forrest, set up the team's momentum, and, a few moments later, FSU had stretched its lead to double-digits at the 17:05 mark.
The Gators briefly got to within six, but a 3-point answer from Gray put them back at arm's length and the Seminoles were in control the rest of the way.
Vassell followed up a promising opener at Pitt with 13 points, six rebounds, two steals and a block in 34 minutes, while junior M.J. Walker (12 points) and redshirt sophomore Malik Osborne (10 points) joined him in double figures.
Other major scoring contributions came from Forrest (8), Anthony Polite (7), Gray (7), and freshman Patrick Williams (4).
Florida State is the only Power Five team in the nation to start the 2018-19 season with two true road games against Power Five teams.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 RaiQuan Gray f 24 1 5 1 3 4 6 7 0 5 5 1 2 1 0 1
3 Trent Forrest g 31 1 7 1 3 5 6 8 3 5 8 1 7 4 0 1
10 Malik Osborne f 26 4 7 0 0 2 2 10 2 2 4 4 0 0 0 1
23 MJ Walker g 33 3 10 1 5 5 6 12 0 3 3 1 1 2 0 1
24 Devin Vassell g 34 6 15 1 3 0 1 13 2 4 6 1 0 0 1 2
2 Anthony Polite 18 2 3 1 1 2 2 7 0 2 2 1 0 1 1 1
4 Patrick Williams 16 2 4 0 1 0 0 4 1 4 5 2 0 1 3 1
5 Balsa Koprivica 5 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0
15 Dominik Olejniczak 7 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 2 0 0 0 0
31 Wyatt Wilkes 6 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0
Team 2 2
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 20 55 5 17 18 23 63 11 26 37 17 11 9 5 8
Opp 200 14 50 4 22 19 24 51 13 26 39 19 6 16 4 3
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Florida |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Walker, Williams Lead Noles Past Western Carolina.
by Tim Linafelt, Senior Writer
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - At the end of a week of high-profile upsets and near-upsets across the college basketball landscape, the Florida State Seminoles had a close call of their own on Friday night.
But it was only that.
M.J. Walker scored 17 of his 18 points in the second half and freshman Patrick Williams added another 18 - including the go-ahead, three-point play with 45 seconds left - as the Seminoles erased a 17-point deficit and escaped with a 79-74 victory over Western Carolina in their home opener at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
"It was a good test for us," FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. "We're a team that's still trying to find ourselves. ...
"My takeaway from this game is that we have the potential to be a pretty good basketball team. We're a little inconsistent. We've got a long ways to go. We've just got to keep getting better and better."
The Seminoles, winners of 33 consecutive non-conference games at home, will next host Chattanooga on Wedensday.
They'll do so with a 2-1 record thanks in large part to Walker and Williams, who accounted for 26 of FSU's 43 second-half points.
Walker sparked the Seminoles' rally with three 3-point shots, including back-to-back triples midway through the second half that cut the deficit to four.
And Williams, a highly-regarded freshman, might have had something of a coming of age moment in his third collegiate game.
A former prep All-American, the 6-8, 225-pound forward scored nine of FSU's final 11 points, a run which includes three tough finishes at the basket, a free throw that gave the Seminoles the lead, and another pair of high-pressure free throws that stretched their advantage to three points.
Williams finished 5-of-8 from the floor and 7-of-7 at the free throw line in reaching double figures for the first time in his career.
"Each one of those free-throws, we needed," Hamilton said. "He's maturing. He's adjusting to playing at this particular level."
"It's big-time, seeing him step up," added senior Trent Forrest, who had 16 points. "That's probably his first time being in that environment like that, so it was definitely good for us and good for him to be able to come through for us."
Had he not, the Seminoles might have been headed for a headlines-making defeat, like the one No. 1 Kentucky suffered at the hands of Evansville earlier this week.
Instead, they'll chalk it up as a valuable, early-season lesson that ended in the right result.
"We definitely saw what was happening around the country," Forrest said. "It was big for us. We needed this win to kind of solidify ourselves to be a good team."
Thanks to hot 3-point shooting and a heroic effort from guard Mason Faulkner, the Catamounts embarked on a 34-10 run that led to a startling 38-21 lead late in the first half.
Western Carolina made 7-of-14 3-pointers in the first half, while Faulkner, a graduate transfer from Northern Kentucky, made seemingly everything else. He finished with a game-high 21 points and seven assists.
Threatened with an early-season stumble, the Seminoles switched things up and methodically crawled their way back into the game.
It started with an effort to get to the rim, where FSU enjoyed a decided size advantage (Western Carolina's tallest player is 6-foot-9). And when the Seminoles weren't finishing at the basket, they were typically drawing contact.
FSU made 14-of-18 free throws in the first half, 11 of which came in the last 5:50.
That provided the Seminoles a manageable, seven-point deficit at halftime, and, although it took a little while longer than they might have preferred, they eventually reclaimed the lead and didn't give it back.
"I don't ever want to be down 17 points," Hamilton said. "But I didn't see any panic in our guys. I thought they maintained their composure. I thought they stayed focused. And that was a positive sign."
So, too, was an offensive outburst from Walker, who had his highest scoring output since January 27 at Miami last season.
That much of his production came from the perimeter didn't hurt, either. Walker's three 3-pointers were his most in 11 games dating back to last season, and the junior guard added four assists, two rebounds and a block, too.
"It felt good," Walker said. "My teammates put me in good position to get that. I told them I was feeling it, and I just want to thank them for giving the opportunity to take those shots.
"It gave us a good run, and it's a game of runs. And it helped us tonight."
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 RaiQuan Gray f 17 1 4 0 1 2 2 4 1 1 2 1 1 2 1 0
3 Trent Forrest g 32 5 14 1 3 5 5 16 1 1 2 4 2 1 0 1
10 Malik Osborne f 25 2 2 0 0 2 3 6 4 5 9 2 1 1 1 0
23 MJ Walker f 26 5 11 3 6 5 7 18 0 4 4 3 2 1 1 0
24 Devin Vassell g 33 4 9 0 3 2 4 10 1 4 5 2 2 1 1 0
0 RayQuan Evans 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2 Anthony Polite 24 1 4 1 4 0 0 3 0 2 2 0 1 2 1 2
4 Patrick Williams 23 5 8 1 2 7 7 18 1 3 4 0 1 2 0 0
5 Balsa Koprivica 11 2 2 0 0 0 0 4 1 1 2 3 0 3 1 0
15 Dominik Olejniczak 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0
31 Wyatt Wilkes 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
Team 2 2
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 25 55 6 20 23 28 79 9 23 32 18 10 14 6 3
Opp 200 27 60 9 23 11 14 74 10 21 31 22 10 14 1 5
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Western Carolina | |||
| Florida State |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Basketball Tops Chattanooga, 89-53; Now 3-1.
by Tim Linafelt, Senior Writer
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - There was no drama or late-game heroics this time around.
Five days removed from a close call against Western Carolina, the Florida State men's basketball team made quick work of Chattanooga in an 89-53 victory in front of 7,572 on Wednesday night at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
And they did it without two key starters, as both M.J. Walker and RaiQuan Gray missed the game with minor injuries.
No matter. Devin Vassell scored 17 points and Patrick Williams added 16 as the Seminoles improved to 3-1, won their first game of the Emerald Coast Classic and earned their most lopsided victory since February 2017. They'll play two more home games - against Saint Francis (Pa.) and Chicago State - before meeting No. 20 Tennessee in Niceville next week.
"I thought our guys really responded well," FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. "We challenged them to focus on a much better job of executing. The other night, when we played against Western Carolina, I thought we were extremely aggressive and anxious. We had very poor ball movement and ball reversal. ... "(Tonight), we moved the ball and moved the defense and we had high-percentage shots, which gave some of our big guys a little more room to go to the offensive boards inside."
Hamilton said he was "anxious" to see how his team would manage without Walker and Gray, but their absences led to some positive contributions down the roster.
Like the best combined efforts in the young FSU careers of centers Balsa Koprivica (10 points, seven rebounds) and Dominik Olejniczak (10, three). And the first box score contributions of transfer guard RayQuan Evans' time at Florida State (four points, two assists). And the first 3-pointers of transfer shooting specialist Nathanael Jack's career (six points, five rebounds).
Even senior guard Trent Forrest enjoyed something of a different outing - FSU's leading scorer had only five points but also dished seven assists.
All told, Hamilton did exactly what he hoped he could during this stretch of the season: empty the bench, get plenty of minutes for plenty of players and workshop a variety of lineup combinations.
Even without the two starters, 15 Seminoles checked into the game, with nine logging at least than 12 minutes on the floor and only Forrest reaching 30.
A five-man lineup of Justin Lindner, Travis Light, Harrison Prieto, Will Miles and recent addition Cleveland Yates closed out the game for FSU, with Miles' 3-pointer capping the Seminoles' scoring.
"Our guys stepped up and knocked down some shots," Hamilton said.
The Mocs led, 12-10, in the early goings before the Seminoles flexed their muscles with a 16-1 run that all but put the game out of reach.
Florida State led by 12 at halftime and then by as many as 39 points during the second half.
And after starting 0-for-3 from 3-point range, the Seminoles responded by making four of their next five shots from distance and finished 10-of-25 - with six different players notching at least one.
"That definitely helps," Vassell said of FSU's extended rotation. "It also gives everybody some confidence. Some people aren't able to play as much or haven't played as much in these first couple games, but to come in and make an impact like that, that's a big boost of confidence and shows the type of team that we are."
Exactly what that is, Hamilton still isn't so sure.
He noted in his post-game press conference that the Seminoles are still determining their best lineups and strategies, a process that has been made more difficult by a rash of injuries up and down the roster.
Olejniczak, for instance, has been dealing with a calf problem for the past few weeks and just recently has started feeling close to full-strength.
Then, as soon as he does, the Seminoles find themselves without two veterans that are a big part of their plans for this season.
Hamilton said that neither Walker nor Gray have serious injuries, but that he doesn't expect them to play Saturday.
Still, if the Seminoles can figure things out on the fly while still winning by double-digits, all the early season roster fluctuations may turn out to be a net positive once ACC play begins in a few weeks.
"We're still trying to grow and learn," he said. "You guys (media) are finding out things we're that capable of doing as I am. We're probably learning about this team at the same time.
"I think we have potential and we have got a long ways to go. Tonight was a step in the right direction."
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
2 Anthony Polite g 25 0 4 0 3 1 2 1 0 2 2 1 0 1 0 0
3 Trent Forrest g 30 2 4 0 1 1 2 5 0 4 4 1 7 4 2 1
10 Malik Osborne f 20 4 10 1 3 1 1 10 0 3 3 1 2 1 0 0
24 Devin Vassell g 26 6 10 3 5 2 2 17 3 5 8 1 1 1 2 1
31 Wyatt Wilkes f 15 2 5 1 4 0 0 5 1 1 2 0 0 1 0 1
0 RayQuan Evans 13 0 1 0 0 4 6 4 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 4
4 Patrick Williams 20 6 10 2 3 2 2 16 1 2 3 0 3 0 0 2
5 Balsa Koprivica 13 5 6 0 0 0 2 10 3 4 7 1 1 0 1 0
11 Nathanael Jack 14 2 5 2 5 0 0 6 1 4 5 1 1 1 0 1
12 Justin Lindner 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 2 1 0 0
15 Dominik Olejniczak 8 5 6 0 0 0 0 10 2 1 3 1 0 0 0 0
20 Travis Light 3 1 1 1 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
30 Harrison Prieto 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
33 Will Miles 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
42 Cleveland Yates 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Team 2 2
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 34 65 10 25 11 17 89 11 30 41 7 20 11 5 10
Opp 200 23 59 5 24 2 6 53 8 22 30 17 8 16 5 4
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| UT-Chattanooga | |||
| Florida State |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Noles Roll Past Saint Francis, 80-65.
by Kristin Smith, Sports Information Graduate Assistant
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - From the moment the ball was tipped, the Florida State men's basketball team dominated its way to an 80-65 victory over Saint Francis (Pa.). The win is the Seminoles' fourth consecutive and 52nd at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center since 2016.
Florida State had a consistently strong offensive showing, leading by 12 points at the half and maintaining a double-digit lead for nearly the entire the game.
Even though key starters M.J. Walker and RaiQuan Gray are still sidelined with minor injuries, several other members of the squad were able to get in some valuable minutes.
Redshirt sophomore Wyatt Wilkes, for example, led the Seminoles with 14 points, went 3-for-5 in 3-pointers and grabbed two rebounds.
And freshman center Balsa Koprivica scored 11 points - his second consecutive game in double figures - to go along with senior Trent Forrest's 13.
FSU's freshmen showed signs of finding their way, as both Koprivica and Patrick Williams (six points, five rebounds) had explosive plays, particularly with some aggressive rebounds and dunks in the paint.
Malik Osborne, a redshirt sophomore in his first year as a contributor with the Seminoles, had nine points, all of which came from the 3-point line.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
2 Anthony Polite g 29 3 6 2 4 0 0 8 1 6 7 0 2 5 1 5
3 Trent Forrest g 26 3 7 0 1 7 7 13 1 4 5 1 4 3 0 2
10 Malik Osborne f 24 3 7 3 5 0 0 9 1 3 4 2 0 1 2 0
15 Dominik Olejniczak c 14 1 3 0 0 2 2 4 4 0 4 2 0 2 1 0
24 Devin Vassell g 17 2 4 0 0 0 0 4 0 1 1 4 1 0 0 1
0 RayQuan Evans 17 2 5 0 1 2 2 6 1 1 2 1 5 0 0 0
4 Patrick Williams 22 2 6 0 2 2 2 6 1 4 5 1 1 5 1 1
5 Balsa Koprivica 20 5 6 0 0 1 3 11 2 1 3 0 0 0 0 2
11 Nathanael Jack 9 1 5 1 5 0 0 3 0 1 1 1 2 2 0 0
12 Justin Lindner 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
20 Travis Light 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
30 Harrison Prieto 2 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
31 Wyatt Wilkes 16 5 7 3 5 1 1 14 1 1 2 1 0 1 0 0
33 Will Miles 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
42 Cleveland Yates 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Team 2 1 3
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 28 60 9 25 15 17 80 15 23 38 15 15 19 5 11
Opp 200 20 54 9 22 16 17 65 10 17 27 19 9 21 3 8
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Francis Coll, Pa | |||
| Florida State |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Noles Roll To Tucker Center Record Romp, 113-56.
by Bob Thomas
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Ruthlessly efficient from the opening jump ball, Florida State overwhelmed over-matched Chicago State Monday night, 113-56 for its fifth consecutive victory. It was the Noles' most lopsided victory in their 39 seasons of play at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
The Noles (5-1) will carry that momentum into Friday night's date against No. 17 Tennessee (5-0) in the third round of the Emerald Coast Classic, which moves to Northwest Florida State College in Niceville, Fla. It's the first of four consecutive games against high-level competition as the team moves closer to the bulk of its' Atlantic Coast Conference season.
FSU shot 73 percent from the floor in the opening half, converting 12 Cougar turnovers into 27 points on the way to a 65-29 lead at the break.
"I was pleased with that level of focus," FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. "From an effort standpoint and focus standpoint, I thought we took this game seriously and played hard the entire game."
The one-sidedness of the final score was not entirely unexpected.
Chicago State (3-4) had been outscored by 131 points in its first three games against Division I competition this season. Still, the 57-point winning margin was in stark contrast to the last time the two schools met; a 47-42 Noles victory on Dec. 20, 2003 in Hamilton's first season at the helm.
The Noles' previous largest margin of victory at the Tucker Center, which opened at the start of the 1981-82 season, was 55 points in a 118-63 rout of Nicholls State on Dec. 8, 2016.
"I've been in a lot of games," Chicago State coach Lance Irvin said. "I haven't been a part of a game against a team that shot the ball so well. ... We were like deer out there. The stuff we worked on in practice we couldn't even get into.
"We looked like we were running in quicksand."
Not only were the Noles effective in transition, boasting a 20-8 advantage in fastbreak points, but they were selfless on the offensive end, assisting of 14 of 22 first half field goals. Freshman Patrick Williams' slam of a Trent Forrest lob at the 11:20 mark of the first half gave the Noles a 29-9 lead.
To that point, FSU had managed just one 3-point field goal. They closed the half with eight, including three from newcomer Nathanael Jack (14 points) and a single-game, career-high two from Forrest (12 points), and two more from Wyatt Wilkes.
For the night, FSU shot 65 percent from the floor (38-of-58) and 43 percent (10-of-23) from 3-point range.
Devin Vassell and Williams shared team-high scoring honors with 16 points each, while freshman Balsa Koprivica added 10 to go along with seven rebounds.
Forrest likes the way the Noles are coming to play, regardless the opposition.
"It's just talking to my team and just getting them to know you can't worry about who is on the other team or what their rank is," he said. "We have to go out every night and compete, and if we do that I feel like we can come out and compete with anybody."
And the next four games will provide plenty of competition for a team that is surprisingly still not getting the attention of those casting votes in the AP and Coaches' polls. FSU is the top team in the AP poll among others receiving votes, while rival Florida, which has two losses including a 63-51 setback at the hands of the Noles in Gainesville, returned to the poll at No. 24 on Monday.
"Since the Pitt game we've done nothing but improve each week," Forrest said. "We're winning games like we're supposed to win. It was definitely a hard pill to swallow today to see that [poll] come out and we're still not in there, and teams we've beat are still ahead of us. It's a little motivation for us to keep pushing forward."
Friday's contest against Tennessee, and a Saturday date against either No. 20 VCU or Purdue, will provide the Noles with the another national forum. Those games will be followed by a trip to Indiana for the ACC-Big Ten Challenge before returning home to face Clemson on Dec. 8.
"We're looking forward to going and stepping up in competition the next four games we play, obviously taking them one at a time," said Hamilton, who has yet to have his full complement of players available for a single game.
That should change against the Volunteers, who defeated Chattanooga 58-46 Monday night, when MJ Walker is expected back after missing the last three games. RaiQuan Gray returned to action from a two-game injury absence with 16 minutes of action against Chicago State.
"I'm looking forward to having a full team," Hamilton said. "In practice I'm going to be celebrating. I'm going to be thankful. I'm going to be in the Thanksgiving spirit; extremely thankful to get everybody healthy and ready to go."
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
2 Anthony Polite g 15 3 4 1 1 2 2 9 2 2 4 0 5 0 0 3
3 Trent Forrest g 15 5 8 2 2 0 0 12 0 2 2 0 6 2 0 3
10 Malik Osborne f 15 2 2 0 0 0 0 4 2 3 5 1 1 0 0 0
15 Dominik Olejniczak c 16 3 4 0 0 2 2 8 1 3 4 3 0 2 2 0
24 Devin Vassell g 12 6 7 1 2 3 4 16 2 0 2 0 1 1 0 3
0 RayQuan Evans 21 2 4 0 2 2 2 6 0 0 0 3 2 2 0 1
1 RaiQuan Gray 16 1 3 0 2 4 4 6 2 5 7 3 1 3 0 1
4 Patrick Williams 20 6 8 0 1 4 4 16 1 2 3 3 1 1 0 1
5 Balsa Koprivica 18 3 4 0 0 4 5 10 2 5 7 1 0 2 0 0
11 Nathanael Jack 14 4 6 4 6 2 2 14 0 1 1 3 2 0 0 0
12 Justin Lindner 4 1 1 0 0 2 2 4 0 2 2 1 0 2 0 0
20 Travis Light 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
30 Harrison Prieto 6 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 1 2 1 0 0 0 0
31 Wyatt Wilkes 19 2 7 2 7 2 2 8 1 2 3 2 2 0 1 1
33 Will Miles 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0
42 Cleveland Yates 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Team 1 1
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 38 58 10 23 27 31 113 14 29 43 23 21 16 3 13
Opp 200 19 52 3 14 15 26 56 11 9 20 21 3 22 0 9
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago State | |||
| Florida State |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Basketball Tops No. 17 Tennessee, 60-57.
NICEVILLE, Fla. - Devin Vassell scored 13 points and made a key steal and pair of free throws in the final minute as Florida State upended No. 17 Tennessee 60-57 on Friday in the Emerald Coast Classic. Florida State (6-1) started hot, sprinting to a 14-2 lead. The Seminoles never trailed, although the Volunteers (5-1) twice closed the gap to three points in the final 3 minutes.
Ten players scored for Florida State, but M.J. Walker was the only other Seminole in double figures with 10 points.
Lamonte Turner led the Vols with 20 points. Yves Pons added 13. Jordan Bowden had 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Bowden hit a 3-pointer and Davonte made a pair of free throws in the final two minutes to narrow the margin to 57-54. Trent Forrest made one of two free-throw attempts with 32 seconds left to put Florida State ahead by four before Vassell stole the ball. He then made two free throws to ice the game.
The Seminoles notched their second victory over a ranked team and extended their winning streak to six games since losing 63-61 at Pittsburgh to open the season. They won at then-No. 6 Florida, 63-51, on Nov. 10. FSU went into Friday’s game with the most votes of any unranked team in the AP college basketball poll, so defeating Tennessee could put the Seminoles into the Top 25. A victory in the tournament championship game would only solidify their case to be ranked.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
3 Trent Forrest g 34 3 11 0 0 3 5 9 0 4 4 2 4 8 1 1
10 Malik Osborne f 16 1 1 1 1 1 4 4 2 4 6 1 0 0 0 3
15 Dominik Olejniczak c 14 1 3 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 4 4 0 0 0 2
23 MJ Walker g 24 3 10 1 3 3 5 10 1 2 3 3 2 1 0 0
24 Devin Vassell g 30 2 9 1 4 8 10 13 1 4 5 3 0 0 0 3
0 RayQuan Evans 7 1 4 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
1 RaiQuan Gray 18 1 3 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0
2 Anthony Polite 17 1 5 0 3 0 0 2 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 1
4 Patrick Williams 18 4 6 0 0 0 1 8 0 2 2 0 1 2 0 1
5 Balsa Koprivica 19 2 2 0 0 4 4 8 1 2 3 3 0 1 0 2
31 Wyatt Wilkes 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Team 1 2 3
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 19 54 3 11 19 29 60 8 23 31 21 7 13 2 13
Opp 200 14 42 5 22 24 29 57 7 26 33 20 5 21 7 4
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Tennessee |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Basketball Wins Emerald Coast Classic Championship.
NICEVILLE, Fla. - Trent Forrest scored 17 points to lead Florida State to a 63-60 overtime victory over Purdue in the Emerald Coast Classic championship game on Saturday night.
The Seminoles (7-1) outscored the Boilermakers 5-2 in the extra period by getting their points at the free-throw line including the final two with only one second left to play.
Purdue (4-3), trailing by only a point, took several potentially winning shots in the last minute but was unable to score against a stifling Florida State defense.
Devin Vassell was the only other Seminole scoring in double figures with 13 points. That included the final two free throws in overtime after getting fouled when he grabbed a missed Purdue shot.
Matt Haarms led the Boilermakers with 16 points followed by Jahaad Proctor with 12 and Eric Hunter Jr. with 10.
It was a back-and-forth game with 10 lead changes and 11 ties. Florida State never led by more than four points while the Boilermakers briefly went ahead by seven early in the second half after trailing 27-24 at the intermission.
Purdue won the rebounding battle 48-33 but had 24 turnovers to only 13 for Florida State.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
3 Trent Forrest g 39 6 13 0 3 5 6 17 2 2 4 0 0 2 0 3
10 Malik Osborne f 18 1 3 0 1 2 2 4 2 4 6 2 0 0 0 0
15 Dominik Olejniczak c 13 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0
23 MJ Walker g 26 2 8 1 5 2 2 7 0 0 0 0 2 4 1 1
24 Devin Vassell g 36 4 9 0 1 5 6 13 2 4 6 4 1 1 2 2
0 RayQuan Evans 6 1 2 0 0 2 2 4 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0
1 RaiQuan Gray 25 2 10 0 4 2 4 6 1 6 7 1 2 3 1 4
2 Anthony Polite 21 1 2 0 1 0 2 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
4 Patrick Williams 17 2 6 0 1 0 1 4 0 1 1 1 2 1 0 3
5 Balsa Koprivica 15 2 2 0 0 0 0 4 0 2 2 4 0 1 2 1
31 Wyatt Wilkes 9 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
Team 1 3 4
=========================================================================
FSU 5 225 22 58 1 17 18 25 63 10 23 33 16 7 13 6 16
Opp 225 21 62 5 24 13 17 60 18 30 48 24 10 24 3 6
| 1 | 2 | OT | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | ||||
| Purdue |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Basketball Falls At Indiana In ACC / Big Ten Challenge.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana guard Devonte Green felt great shooting the ball Tuesday night.
He made sure everyone knew it, too.
The senior scored a career-high 30 points, knocked down five 3-pointers and helped fuel a late spurt with two big shots to lead the undefeated Hoosiers past No. 17 Florida State 80-64 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
"It's something you just feel, I can't explain it," Green said. "Shots were dropping tonight, so I guess I had the hot hand."
There was no guesswork about it.
Green went 10 of 15 from the field, 5 of 7 on 3s and 5 for 7 at the free throw line. He also grabbed six rebounds and finished with three assists and two steals - not bad for someone who missed Indiana's first three games with an injured hamstring.
With Green back, the Hoosiers (8-0) are off to their best start since 2012-13. They earned their third straight win over a ranked team dating to last season and head into Big Ten play with a boost of confidence.
Trent Forrest scored 13 to lead the Seminoles (7-2), who had their seven-game winning streak snapped. M.J. Walker and Devon Vassell added 10 points apiece.
Clearly, though, the difference was Green.
"He had one of those nights," Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton said. "Tonight was his night."
After Indiana took a 15-point lead in the first half, the Hoosiers watched Florida State methodically cut into the deficit.
When the Seminoles opened the second half with three successive 3s in less than two minutes, Indiana's lead was down to 47-41.
Green helped steady the Hoosiers, who extended the margin to 10 with 13:53 left. But when Anthony Polite made a 3 with 10:23 left, the Seminoles trailed 53-50.
That's when Green helped spur the decisive sequence. Jackson-Davis and Smith each hit three of four free throws, Green scored on a nifty layup and hit a contested 17-footer, and Damezi Anderson closed out the 13-2 run with a 3 from the corner to give Indiana a 72-58 lead with 3:35 to go.
Florida State never challenged again.
"Obviously, Devonte Green was special tonight," Indiana coach Archie Miller said. "There wasn't a whole lot of coaching that went into that."
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
3 Trent Forrest g 35 5 9 0 0 3 6 13 4 0 4 2 2 4 0 1
10 Malik Osborne f 22 3 5 1 2 0 0 7 1 2 3 1 1 1 0 2
15 Dominik Olejniczak c 9 2 2 0 0 0 2 4 1 1 2 1 0 0 0 0
23 MJ Walker g 19 4 8 2 6 0 0 10 0 4 4 5 0 2 0 0
24 Devin Vassell g 34 3 7 3 3 1 3 10 0 4 4 3 0 1 0 2
0 RayQuan Evans 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
1 RaiQuan Gray 26 4 10 0 2 0 1 8 0 3 3 4 2 2 0 1
2 Anthony Polite 18 2 4 1 3 2 2 7 1 2 3 4 0 1 1 1
4 Patrick Williams 26 2 7 0 2 1 2 5 0 1 1 2 2 1 1 1
5 Balsa Koprivica 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0
31 Wyatt Wilkes 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Team 1 1
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 25 53 7 19 7 16 64 7 18 25 25 7 14 2 8
Opp 200 25 45 7 15 23 38 80 10 25 35 19 10 18 4 5
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Indiana |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Noles Bury Tigers For First ACC Victory.
by Bob Thomas
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Newly-anointed Florida State football coach Mike Norvell will have to wait a few months for his first opportunity to beat Clemson, but he's off to a good start when it comes to energizing the Seminole fan base.
Leonard Hamilton's 17th-ranked basketball team followed Norvell's inspiring halftime address to the Donald L. Tucker Center crowd on Sunday with a rousing second half performance against Clemson. The Noles erased a six-point deficit with a 10-0 opening run, sprinting away to a 72-53 victory in their ACC home-opener.
The Noles (8-2, 1-1 ACC) knocked down 11-of-18 second half 3-point shots and put the Tigers (5-4, 0-2) on lock down defensively, forcing them to misfire on 20 of 27 shot attempts.
Opting to go with a smaller lineup in the second half, FSU followed its opening surge to erase a 33-27 halftime deficit with runs of 7-0, 9-0 and 9-0. When the dust settled the Noles had outscored the Tigers 45-20 in the second half.
"To hold them to 20 points in the second half says a lot about our guys' effort, determination and commitment to wanting to go out and get stops," Hamilton said.
"We really struggled once the momentum went against us," said Clemson coach Brad Brownell. "I just don't think we responded very well. They turned it up defensively and were very good. Once they get momentum and start making a few 3s it becomes very difficult...
"I think out poor offense took away a lot of our energy. We let out offense dictate our attitude. Our hunger wasn't as good and then they played well; they played extremely well."
Devin Vassell led the Noles with 14 points and Anthony Polite drilled a career-high four 3-pointers in the second half on the way to 12 points. M.J. Walker shook off an 0-for-4 shooting start to finished with 11 points, while freshman Patrick Williams and senior Trent Forrest added nine each.
Williams' putback basket at the 17:37 mark of the second half gave the Noles their first lead since the opening basket of the game at 35-33.
Vassell, who carried the Noles in an uneven opening half with nine points, sparked FSU's second run with a 3-pointer and a mid-range jumper for a 47-38 advantage that the Tigers never threatened. The sophomore guard did most of his second half damage on the opposite end of the floor, with a career-highs in rebounds (nine) and blocked shots (three).
"We really focus on the defensive end, but when you start getting confidence on the offensive end it helps us out on both ends," Vassell said.
Polite was the beneficiary on the offensive end, offering up a catch-and-shoot barrage as the Noles repeatedly dribbled into the teeth of the Clemson defense and pitched the ball out for open looks.
"We were a lot more aggressive attacking the paint and it definitely made it a lot easier for our shooters to just catch the ball and shoot," Polite said. "Offensively, it was just a lot smoother."
Hamilton was clearly pleased with the way things turned around after intermission.
"Our ability to drive and kick gave us a lot more opportunities," he said. "Our crisp ball movement gave us cleaner looks. In the second half the ball didn't stick as much and I thought it really created more movement for our players and created some indecision on their part defensively."
The second half was in stark contrast to the first, when the Noles labored offensively. FSU missed 19 of 29 first half shots, including 10 from beyond the arc and led just once, 2-0, on Trent Forrest's steal and layup on Clemson's first possession.
The Tigers led by as many as eight in the first half (30-22), aided in part by a strong perimeter games. Clemson converted five of their first six 3-point attempts.
"They played with great confidence and swagger in the second half," Brownell said of the Noles, who won't play again until Dec. 17 when they host North Florida.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
3 Trent Forrest g 30 4 8 1 3 0 0 9 0 3 3 2 5 2 0 1
10 Malik Osborne f 22 2 5 1 4 0 0 5 1 5 6 3 1 1 2 0
15 Dominik Olejniczak c 8 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 3 2 1 1 0 1
23 MJ Walker g 28 3 9 3 6 2 2 11 0 0 0 1 2 3 0 1
24 Devin Vassell g 28 6 10 2 6 0 2 14 1 8 9 1 2 2 3 1
0 RayQuan Evans 11 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 2 2 0 1
1 RaiQuan Gray 17 1 2 1 2 4 4 7 0 2 2 2 1 0 1 1
2 Anthony Polite 18 4 7 4 6 0 0 12 1 2 3 0 2 1 0 0
4 Patrick Williams 26 3 6 2 4 1 2 9 1 3 4 2 0 0 2 0
5 Balsa Koprivica 7 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0
12 Justin Lindner 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 3 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
33 Will Miles 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
42 Cleveland Yates 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
44 Ty Hands 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
Team 2 1 3
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 25 54 15 32 7 10 72 9 25 34 14 16 13 9 6
Opp 200 19 53 9 27 6 10 53 11 21 32 14 8 18 0 5
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clemson | |||
| Florida State |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Freshman Koprivica Scores Career High As Noles Bounce UNF.
by Tim Linafelt, Senior Writer
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Under a steady barrage from the nation's top 3-point shooting team, the Florida State men's basketball team simply scored more.
And from everywhere on the floor.
Freshman Balsa Koprivica scored a career-high 15 points and was one of seven Seminoles to reach double figures in a 98-81 victory over North Florida on Tuesday night at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
UNF, which came into the game leading the nation in both 3-pointers attempted and made, connected on 13-of-34 from distance against the Seminoles.
But otherwise, the Ospreys couldn't keep pace with Florida State, which improved to 9-2 and will play USF on Saturday (2 p.m., FS2) in the Orange Bowl Classic at BB&T Arena in Sunrise, Fla.
"This team has challenged us and stretched all our defensive fundamentals to the max," FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. "They have a unique, special, challenging style of ball that you have to be on your defensive game in order to compete against."
While UNF (7-6) did its expected damage from the 3-point line, it also made just 13 2-pointers.
The Seminoles, meanwhile, shot 56.9 percent from the floor, got enough from distance (6-of-19) and outrebounded the Ospreys 39-27.
That helped FSU to score 19 second-chance points and finish with 15 more baskets than UNF.
"It was good, I'm glad we had that matchup," said FSU junior M.J. Walker, who had 12 points and three assists in 18 minutes. "Because throughout the rest of the season, we're going to have to play teams that have good shooters, that knock down shots."
The Ospreys knocked down plenty in the first half, which helped them to trail by just three points with about eight minutes to go before the break.
FSU responded with a run of its own, but, by halftime, UNF had made 9-of-17 from distance.
UNF's Ivan Gandia-Rosa accounted for two of those first-half triples, and he'd go on to finish with four 3s and a game-high 23 points.
"We worked very hard on coming up with some defensive schemes to make sure we contested those shots," Hamilton said. "But they executed so well that they were able to play to their strengths, and they got good looks in spite of our guys really, really playing hard."
Hamilton expects to the Ospreys to challenge for the Atlantic Sun title and a spot in the NCAA tournament, which they've done regularly during the last few years of coach Matthew Driscoll's tenure.
On Tuesday, though, their upset bid was undone by the stronger, more talented and ultimately deeper Seminoles.
That was made plain during the first few moments of the second half, when FSU scored nine of the period's first 11 points.
With 11 players logging at least 10 minutes of game action - and six with at least 18 - the Seminoles led by as many as 21 points in the second half and kept the Ospreys at a comfortable distance the rest of the way.
The Seminoles flexed their depth with five players scoring exactly 11 points, and none more than Koprivica's 15.
"(The Seminoles) have multiples players at every position that look the same and play the same," UNF's Driscoll said. "You probably have nine starters ... (Playing against them is) sort of like salmon all the time. You're going upstream."
Tuesday also marked an impressive step forward for Koprivica, the 7-1 center who now has four double-digit scoring efforts in his young career.
A native of Belgrade, Serbia, Koprivica finished 6-of-8 from the floor and grabbed three rebounds.
"I told our staff that I'm seeing something develop there," Hamilton said. "He's responding to coaching. We've been challenging him. We've been holdingaccountable. We've been pushing him. And he's eager to learn. He's a sponge."
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 RaiQuan Gray f 22 5 6 0 1 1 2 11 0 3 3 1 5 2 1 3
3 Trent Forrest g 26 4 9 1 4 2 2 11 0 3 3 1 1 1 0 0
15 Dominik Olejniczak c 17 5 7 0 0 1 2 11 1 2 3 0 0 1 0 2
23 MJ Walker g 18 5 7 1 2 1 1 12 0 1 1 1 3 0 0 0
24 Devin Vassell g 20 5 10 1 3 0 0 11 1 3 4 2 3 0 0 3
0 RayQuan Evans 9 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 2 0 1
2 Anthony Polite 20 2 6 0 2 0 0 4 1 3 4 1 0 1 0 0
4 Patrick Williams 21 4 7 1 2 2 2 11 3 1 4 0 3 2 1 1
5 Balsa Koprivica 14 6 8 0 0 3 5 15 3 0 3 3 1 2 1 1
10 Malik Osborne 10 1 5 0 1 0 0 2 3 2 5 0 1 0 1 0
11 Nathanael Jack 7 2 4 1 3 0 0 5 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
31 Wyatt Wilkes 16 2 2 1 1 0 0 5 0 4 4 2 3 0 0 0
Team 3 1 4
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 41 72 6 19 10 14 98 15 24 39 13 20 11 4 11
Opp 200 26 56 13 34 16 19 81 7 20 27 14 16 16 2 4
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Florida | |||
| Florida State |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
No. 19 Florida State rallies past South Florida 66-60.
SUNRISE, Fla. - No. 19-ranked Florida State used smothering defense to overcome a 10-point deficit in the final seven minutes and beat South Florida 66-60 Saturday in the Orange Bowl Classic.
The Seminoles forced 24 turnovers, including seven as they outscored the Bulls 19-3 down the stretch. Florida State forced four shot-clock violations and won despite being outrebounded by 14 and shooting only 40 percent, including 7 for 27 from 3-point range.
RaiQuan Gray had 11 points, seven rebounds and three of Florida State's 13 steals. Anthony Polite, Trent Forrest and M.J. Walker also scored 11 points apiece.
Florida State (10-2) scored 21 points off turnovers to earn its third win in a row. South Florida (6-6) lost to a ranked team for the 27th consecutive time since 2012.
A flurry of nine points in 39 seconds by the Bulls - including a pair of 3s and two free technical foul free throws - helped them lead 57-47 with 6:32 to go. But they didn't score another field goal until garbage time with 3 seconds left, and committed turnovers on four consecutive possessions as the Seminoles pulled ahead.
Devin Vassell's jumper with two minutes left put Florida State in front to stay.
Michael Durr had 15 points and seven rebounds for the Bulls, but they shot just 3 for 15 from 3-point range.
EARLY DEFICIT
The Seminoles trailed for more than 33 minutes, and made only one of their first 13 shots as South Florida raced to a 17-4 advantage. Florida State missed its first 10 3-point tries.
Xavier Castaneda's driving layup with three seconds left in the first half gave the Bulls a 31-28 halftime lead.
Trent Forrest's layup with eight minutes to go gave the Seminoles their first lead, 47-46.
BIG PICTURE
Florida State is unbeaten in three neutral-site games.
South Florida has a .500 record for the fifth time this season.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 RaiQuan Gray f 28 4 10 1 3 2 2 11 3 4 7 2 1 2 1 3
3 Trent Forrest g 38 5 10 1 2 0 0 11 0 1 1 2 3 2 3 2
15 Dominik Olejniczak c 5 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0
23 MJ Walker g 24 2 9 1 6 6 7 11 1 0 1 0 1 2 0 2
24 Devin Vassell g 17 2 7 1 5 3 4 8 0 1 1 1 2 0 4 1
0 RayQuan Evans 12 1 1 1 1 1 2 4 0 2 2 1 2 1 1 0
2 Anthony Polite 24 4 9 2 7 1 2 11 1 4 5 1 4 0 1 2
4 Patrick Williams 25 2 4 0 1 2 2 6 2 3 5 3 2 4 0 1
5 Balsa Koprivica 9 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 3 0 0 0 0
10 Malik Osborne 14 1 2 0 1 0 0 2 1 0 1 2 1 1 0 2
31 Wyatt Wilkes 4 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
Team 3 3
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 22 55 7 27 15 19 66 8 20 28 17 16 13 10 13
Opp 200 24 56 3 15 9 15 60 16 26 42 17 5 24 1 8
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| South Florida |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Newcomers Shine In 38th Straight Non-Conference Home Win.
by Bob Thomas
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The 17th-ranked Florida State men closed out its fifth consecutive season of non-conference perfection at the Donald L. Tucker Center Saturday, cruising past North Alabama, 88-71.
The Seminoles (11-2, 1-1 ACC) led by as many as 30 points in the second half against the Lions (5-8), on the way to their 38th consecutive home victory against a non-conference opponent. It's the third-longest active streak in NCAA Division I basketball.
Senior point guard Trent Forrest was a junior at Chipley High when the Noles dropped a 70-55 loss to Nebraska on Dec. 1, 2014; their last home setback against a non-ACC opponent.
"I didn't even know that," said Forrest, one of five Noles in double figures (10 points) against the Lions, to go along with a game-high six assists. "That is crazy.
"We take pride in playing good for our home crowd; just really trying to get Florida State basketball back to prominence. Since my first year here, that's just been the goal, to continue to get support and I feel like we've been able to do that."
Forrest had plenty of support from a host of first-year teammates during Saturday's matinee. Junior transfer Malik Osborne scored a team-high 14 points - his best in 13 games at FSU - while freshmen Balsa Koprivica and Patrick Williams chipped in 13 and 12, respectively.
Redshirt sophomore Anthony Polite chimed in with 11 for the cause on a day when the Noles were a perfect 17-of-17 from the free throw line and used a 27-9 run to erase their only deficit (7-6) midway through the first half.
Despite some uneven play over the final 10 minutes, it was the kind of confidence-building win the Noles needed as they head into the bulk of the ACC schedule which begins Tuesday at home against Georgia Tech. Tip-off is set for noon.
"Everybody bought into the game plan and we all got rewarded for it," Osborne said. "I'm very happy for Balsa, for Pat…It's definitely a confidence-booster going into ACC play with these guys being young guys; new guys. They're pretty anxious to play in the ACC like the rest of us are."
Leonard Hamilton likes where his team is positioned in terms of development on the cusp of 18 consecutive ACC games, especially as it pertains to the growth and development of the Noles' newcomers.
"What we're trying to do is allow them to mature and improve at a normal rate without the pressure," Hamilton said. "They're capable of impacting the games, there's no doubt that ... I'm expecting them to be factors in our season. They've shown that they're capable. We want them to continue to get better and I think saw signs today that they're improving and they're comfortable. They are showing a level of maturity and becoming more consistent."
Balsa, a 7-foot-1 center from Serbia, was a force as the Noles launched their game-changing, first half run. He followed a jump hook with a free throw for a three-point play, slammed home a Devin Vassell feed and dropped two more free throws for his first seven points in a 90-second stretch.
Osborne scored eight straight points, aided by a pair of 3-pointers, as FSU pushed its lead to 38-23. Williams went on a personal 7-0 run to make it 45-25.
The Noles led 47-26 at the half.
"We're just as confident in those guys as we are in the starters," Forrest said of the newcomers. "It doesn't matter who it is. If we can have that balance like we did tonight with those guys coming in, bringing the energy and that spark off the bench, it's going to be hard to stop us."
Hamilton was also encouraged by the contributions of junior transfer point guard RayQuan Evans, who pitched in seven points in 12-plus minutes of relief work for Forrest.
The Noles haven't only been good against non-conference opponents at home. They have won 40 of their last 50 games at the Tucker Center, thanks in large part to their 15-1 home record last season, on the way to a 29-8 record and a trip to the Sweet 16.
"We don't really talk about the record, but we talk about having pride," said Osborne, who sat out last year after transferring in from Rice. "We're going to have pride playing in the Tucker Center. We instill that mindset into our younger guys ... This is our home court and we're going to defend it until we can't walk anymore."
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 RaiQuan Gray f 18 1 5 0 2 0 0 2 2 1 3 0 2 1 1 1
3 Trent Forrest g 23 3 4 1 1 3 3 10 2 2 4 2 6 3 1 0
10 Malik Osborne f 18 6 12 2 5 0 0 14 3 1 4 2 0 0 1 1
23 MJ Walker g 26 1 6 0 2 4 4 6 0 4 4 3 1 1 0 2
24 Devin Vassell g 22 4 9 0 3 0 0 8 1 2 3 1 2 0 2 2
0 RayQuan Evans 13 2 3 0 0 3 3 7 0 2 2 0 1 1 0 0
2 Anthony Polite 15 4 5 1 2 2 2 11 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 1
4 Patrick Williams 19 4 9 2 2 2 2 12 0 3 3 2 3 2 1 1
5 Balsa Koprivica 21 5 6 0 0 3 3 13 0 3 3 2 0 2 0 0
11 Nathanael Jack 7 1 2 1 2 0 0 3 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
12 Justin Lindner 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 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 0
30 Harrison Prieto 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
31 Wyatt Wilkes 13 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1
33 Will Miles 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
42 Cleveland Yates 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
Team 2 1 3
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 32 64 7 21 17 17 88 10 21 31 15 17 12 6 9
Opp 200 24 52 10 20 13 18 71 8 21 29 17 10 18 3 4
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Alabama | |||
| Florida State |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Noles' Depth, Perseverance Prevail Against Tech, 70-58.
by Bob Thomas
TALLAHASSEE - It took nearly 30 minutes for the 18th-ranked Florida State men to finally gain separation from Georgia Tech in Tuesday's New Year's Eve matinee at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
In a match-up of suffocating defenses, preventing either team from opening up a lead of more than five points, the Noles seized control by outscoring the Yellow Jackets 22-13 over the final 10 minutes for a 70-58 victory.
FSU led 48-45 when Anthony Polite drew a flagrant foul from Jordan Usher on a drive to the basket. Polite sank both free throws and RaiQuan Gray's driving reverse layup off the ensuing inbounds pass put the Noles in front 52-45 with 9:50 remaining. Devin Vassell's slam of a Trent Forrest lob and Patrick Williams' soft baseline jumper pushed the lead to nine and the Yellow Jackets never recovered.
Vassell led a balanced attack with 14 points and Williams added 12 to lead the Noles (12-2, 2-1 ACC), who won their 15th consecutive home game and head to No. 7 Louisville on Saturday.
"We emphasize closing out the game; closing out any game," said Vassell, who grew up a Georgia Tech fan. "We go through a lot of situations in practice ... We were prepared and ready for the moment."
For a good portion of the game, neither team appeared ready or capable of seizing the moment.
"A couple years ago when I had kidney stones and we had to play against North Carolina, that's what it felt like," joked FSU coach Leonard Hamilton. "It was about as painful."
The Noles got through those by solving Georgia Tech's match-up zone by moving the basketball, especially over the final 10 minutes.
"I think we made 275 passes and we normally try to make about 240," Hamilton added. "We moved the ball and their match-up zone defense created situations where we had to move the ball in order to find high percentage shots.
"There were periods late in the second half where I thought our guys were really locked in. They executed, got some stops and made some energy plays."
FSU had plenty of positives moments, to wit:
"That just shows the character that we have on our team, to be able to persevere through the tough times, and the confidence that Coach Hamilton has is us to go out and play to our ability," Vassell said. "We were just relying on each other and making big plays."
Georgia Tech coach Josh Pastner lamented a run of missed dunks, transition layups and errant, open 3-pointers when the outcome was still hanging in the balance. The Jackets trailed by two points (47-45) with 10:54 to go after Jose Alvarado's layup but would get no closer.
"We just couldn't get over the hump," Pastner said. "In a game like this, especially on the road in the ACC, you can't give away those type of possessions."
Michael Devoe led the Jackets with 19 points on the strength of 6-of-8 3-point shooting.
Dominik Olejniczak added nine points a, while Polite and Forrest added eight each for the Noles. Malik Osborne finished with seven, all of which came over the final 12 minutes.
"I really like how everybody really contributed in a really, really big way," Olejniczak said. "That's a good time to have that. We have 11 guys and if everybody can contribute, you're not going to be able to stop that."
"That's what happens when the quality of your depth is involved as much as it was," Hamilton added. "Our guys were a little fresher in that tough period when we were able to break the game open."
The Noles led 31-29 at the half with Nathanael Jack's runner providing the cushion.
Neither team led by more than four points over the first 20 minutes as the respective defenses set the tone. The Noles and Jackets combined for 21 turnovers in the half and at one point - 15 minutes into the game - FSU had more blocked shots (eight) than Georgia Tech had field goals.
Olejniczak, returning from a one-game absence due to illness, scored seven points as the Seminole reserves outscored the Jackets' bench 16-3 in the half. Olejniczak's contributions were further enhanced when fellow big man Balsa Koprivica went down hard after a made basket at the 13:57 mark of the first half. Koprivica added a free throw to complete the three-point play for an 11-8 lead, but hobbled off the court and did not return.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 RaiQuan Gray f 24 1 4 0 0 2 4 4 1 1 2 4 1 5 2 1
2 Anthony Polite g 29 2 8 2 4 2 2 8 1 3 4 1 2 2 0 2
3 Trent Forrest g 35 4 11 0 2 0 0 8 0 3 3 2 6 1 2 1
10 Malik Osborne f 22 3 5 1 1 0 0 7 0 4 4 1 2 0 1 2
24 Devin Vassell g 34 6 13 2 5 0 0 14 2 7 9 2 1 1 1 2
0 RayQuan Evans 10 1 3 1 2 0 0 3 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 0
4 Patrick Williams 26 6 9 0 1 0 0 12 3 1 4 1 0 1 2 1
5 Balsa Koprivica 2 1 1 0 0 1 1 3 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 1
11 Nathanael Jack 1 1 2 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
15 Dominik Olejniczak 15 4 6 0 0 1 2 9 1 1 2 0 2 1 1 1
31 Wyatt Wilkes 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0
Team 1 1 2
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 29 63 6 17 6 9 70 10 23 33 12 16 12 9 11
Opp 200 22 55 8 22 6 8 58 10 23 33 11 15 20 3 7
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia Tech | |||
| Florida State |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Walker leads No. 18 FSU to 78-65 win over No. 7 Louisville.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - M.J. Walker scored 23 points for Florida State as the 18th-ranked Seminoles beat No. 7 Louisville 78-65 on Saturday.
The Seminoles (13-2, 3-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), who were 6 1/2-point underdogs, endured a big game from Louisville's Jordan Nwora to pull the upset. The preseason All-American scored 32 points, matching a career high.
But the Cardinals (11-3, 2-1) could not overcome a 55.2% shooting performance by the Seminoles in losing their second straight. Florida State made a season-best 11 of 23 3-pointers.
Nwora had a hot hand early for Louisville, scoring 21 points in the first half. The junior shot 6 of 9 from the floor, but the Cardinals combined to make just 10 of 37. They went the last 5:04 without a field goal as the Seminoles took 39-32 lead into the break.
Walker helped offset Nwora's early barrage. The junior came off the bench to score 15 points in the first half on 6-of-8 shooting, including 3 of 5 from 3-point range.
Walker finished one point short of his career high. Trent Forrest added 20 points on 9-of-11 shooting, and Devin Vassell scored 14.
Florida State led 52-42 with 13:43 remaining. Louisville cut that to 54-51 on Nwora's putback, but that was as close as the Cardinals would get.
BIG PICTURE
Florida State: The Seminoles' perimeter shooting not only helped them beat a top-10 team on the road, it also gave them wins at Louisville in consecutive seasons for the first time in a series that dates back to 1968.
Louisville: Playing for the third time in 17 days, the Cardinals had their worst shooting half of the season in the first half. They followed that up by committing 11 of their 16 turnovers in the second.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 RaiQuan Gray f 21 0 2 0 0 2 2 2 0 5 5 2 0 4 1 1
2 Anthony Polite g 18 1 5 1 4 0 0 3 2 0 2 2 1 1 0 0
3 Trent Forrest g 34 9 11 1 1 1 2 20 1 2 3 1 5 3 0 2
10 Malik Osborne f 29 3 7 1 3 0 0 7 4 5 9 4 1 1 1 0
24 Devin Vassell g 30 6 13 2 6 0 0 14 1 5 6 2 3 0 0 1
0 RayQuan Evans 8 3 3 1 1 0 0 7 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1
4 Patrick Williams 24 1 4 0 1 0 0 2 1 2 3 1 1 3 3 1
15 Dominik Olejniczak 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0
23 MJ Walker 28 9 13 5 7 0 1 23 0 1 1 1 3 1 1 0
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 32 58 11 23 3 5 78 9 22 31 15 15 13 6 6
Opp 200 24 62 8 19 9 14 65 19 18 37 13 12 16 5 5
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Louisville |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Vassell, No. 10 Florida State beat Wake Forest 78-68.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Devin Vassell scored 17 points and No. 10 Florida State pulled away in the final 10 minutes to beat Wake Forest 78-68 on Wednesday night.
M.J. Walker scored 12 of his 15 points in the first half for the Seminoles. They trailed early in the second half before going ahead for good on RaiQuan Gray's 3-pointer at the 14:04 mark.
FSU (14-2, 4-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) has won seven straight and 14 of 15, including a weekend win at then-No. 7 Louisville that signaled Leonard Hamilton's Seminoles are again a factor in the league race.
Still, this wasn't always pretty. Florida State shot less than 40% for much of the second half before padding that number by hitting its last four shots, three of those coming on dunks as they remained in control and the Demon Deacons in catch-up mode.
Brandon Childress scored 20 points to lead Wake Forest, which played without starter Chaundee Brown due to a lower-leg injury. The Demon Deacons (8-6, 1-3) got off to a slow start to fall behind by a dozen in the opening minutes, but ran off 11 straight points out of halftime to erase a 41-34 halftime deficit and get back in it.
BIG PICTURE
Florida State: Arrived with plenty of momentum following the Louisville win, with its past three league wins all coming by double-figure margins dating to early December. Yet the Seminoles had a tougher time putting away the Demon Deacons, bumbling their way through the opening minutes of the second half to let Wake Forest get ahead before finally starting to assert control in the final 10 minutes.
Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons were coming off a big win at Pittsburgh, rallying from 16 down for the victory. But they were short-handed for this one without Brown, a 6-foot-5 junior averaging 13.3 points and 6.5 rebounds. They fell behind 15-3 and trailed by seven at halftime before opening the second half with the 11-0 run for the lead, then stayed within a shot or two of the Seminoles before Florida State made its clinching move.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 RaiQuan Gray f 13 3 4 1 2 2 6 9 0 1 1 4 2 1 0 0
3 Trent Forrest g 34 5 11 0 1 4 4 14 3 7 10 1 2 1 0 4
10 Malik Osborne f 21 3 6 1 1 2 2 9 3 2 5 2 0 1 0 3
23 MJ Walker g 32 5 14 3 8 2 3 15 0 0 0 3 2 2 0 0
24 Devin Vassell g 33 4 8 1 3 8 9 17 1 4 5 1 1 1 3 2
0 RayQuan Evans 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0
2 Anthony Polite 15 2 5 0 3 0 0 4 0 1 1 3 1 0 0 0
4 Patrick Williams 22 3 9 0 4 0 0 6 0 2 2 3 0 1 1 0
15 Dominik Olejniczak 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 2 0 2 0 0
30 Harrison Prieto 10 2 3 0 0 0 0 4 2 0 2 2 0 1 1 1
31 Wyatt Wilkes 7 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0
Team 1 3 4
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 27 62 6 23 18 24 78 12 22 34 22 10 10 5 10
Opp 200 19 48 6 18 24 32 68 9 25 34 22 7 17 2 1
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Wake Forest |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Vassell's Career-High 18 Lead Seminoles Over Virginia, 54-50.
by Tim Linafelt, Senior Writer
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Tony Bennett did all he could to prepare for Florida State, pulling out every scout-teamer and student manager he could find in an effort to replicate the Seminoles' depth, length and athleticism.
But with his tongue in his cheek, the Virginia coach noted that, if they could do that, none of those people would be scout-teamers and student managers at UVA.
The genuine article turned out to be as good as Bennett feared.
Because on a night when points - or even good looks at the basket - came at a heavy premium, and when one of their top scorers was held to his lowest output in almost two months, the Seminoles got just what they needed from a variety of sources in a 54-50 victory over the Cavaliers.
That Devin Vassell led all scorers with a career-high 18 is hardly a surprise. He's the Seminoles' top scorer and a budding superstar.
But Anthony Polite's big night might raise some eyebrows. The redshirt sophomore scored a career-high 14 points, was a perfect 4-for-4 from 3-point range and knocked down a crucial triple that tied the game at 47-47 with 2:27 to play.
That shot snapped a five-minute scoring drought for the Seminoles and sparked a 10-3 FSU run to close the game.
"Anthony exudes confidence," FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. "... He spends a lot of time in the gym getting shots up, and, when he shoots the ball, I think everyone who sees him (sees) a lot of confidence."
Florida State's victory is its eighth consecutive and moves the Seminoles (15-2, 5-1 ACC) into a three-way tie with Duke and Louisville atop the ACC standings. FSU beat Louisville earlier this month and will visit the Blue Devils on February 10.
The Cavaliers (11-5, 3-3 ACC) are reeling after suffering a third consecutive loss for the first time in three years.
Hamilton said he expected a sharp and desperate effort from the defending national champions, and that the Cavaliers did not leave him wanting.
"But," he added in his next breath, "that's why I feel so fortunate and pleased that we were able to come away with a victory."
They did so thanks in large part to dominance near the end of each half.
Twice the Cavaliers held leads late in a period, and twice the Seminoles surged back in resounding fashion.
Trailing 24-20 late in the first half, Polite and Vassell teamed up for an 11-0 run over the final 3:41 that gave the Seminoles a 31-24 lead at the brake.
Along the way, FSU forced six turnovers on UVA's last seven possessions. The Cavaliers finished the game with 18 turnovers.
"Their pressure bothered us at times," Bennett said. "Their pace gets you a little frantic and it takes a strong, composed mind and skill level to not get rattled with that."
Even still, the Cavaliers rallied back in the second half and, holding a three-point with 3:11 to play, seemed to be headed toward a win that might change their fortunes.
A three-point deficit against most teams with that amount of time remaining is typically nothing to worry about.
But against the Cavaliers, who boast the nation's No. 1 scoring defense and No. 1 field-goal percentage defense, it can be a different story.
UVA had already held the Seminoles off the scoreboard for five minutes of game time and limited them to just one made field goal on their previous five attempts.
And, had Braxton Key finished the layup that would have put the Cavaliers ahead by five, it might have been insurmountable.
Instead, FSU's Trent Forrest blocked the attempt, grabbed the rebound and hurried down the floor. A few moments later, Polite's fateful 3-pointer was in the bottom of the net and the Seminoles had turned the tide.
"It's a shot," Polite said. "I've just got to take it with confidence, and I was able to make it."
For Forrest, the block was part of a strong sequence in which the senior guard showed all the ways he can impact a game.
Despite shooting 1 of 6, finishing with five points and committing five turnovers, Forrest still managed seven assists, seven rebounds, four steals and two blocks.
And his tight defense on Virginia's Kihei Clark just moments after Polite tied the game forced a turnover that gave the ball back to the Seminoles.
Forrest then drew a foul and knocked down two free-throws that gave FSU the lead for good.
"He's our leader - offensively, defensively," Vassell said of Forrest. "You could tell he started to get frustrated a little bit, but he didn't let that affect him on the defensive end."
In a sense, Forrest's outing reflected the game as a whole.
It wasn't necessarily one for the highlight reel - games against the plodding, defensive-minded Cavaliers rarely are - but it still brought about satisfying result.
Never mind the low shooting percentages, extended scoring droughts or 34 combined turnovers.
Hamilton didn't see any of those things when he looked up at the final scoreboard.
"Some people will say this was not a very pretty game," Hamilton said. "It's beautiful to me."
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 RaiQuan Gray f 23 1 5 0 1 1 2 3 1 3 4 0 1 1 0 0
3 Trent Forrest g 34 1 6 0 2 3 4 5 1 6 7 2 7 5 2 4
10 Malik Osborne f 26 2 5 1 3 0 0 5 3 1 4 0 0 0 1 0
23 MJ Walker g 28 2 9 1 6 0 0 5 0 1 1 2 0 3 0 1
24 Devin Vassell g 34 7 15 2 4 2 2 18 1 4 5 1 3 0 0 1
0 RayQuan Evans 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 2 0 0
2 Anthony Polite 19 5 6 4 4 0 0 14 0 1 1 2 0 2 0 3
4 Patrick Williams 12 2 6 0 1 0 0 4 3 0 3 3 0 2 1 0
15 Dominik Olejniczak 9 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 1 1
31 Wyatt Wilkes 8 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
Team 2 1 3
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 20 54 8 22 6 8 54 12 19 31 10 11 16 5 10
Opp 200 21 46 3 15 5 8 50 5 24 29 12 10 18 2 6
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia | |||
| Florida State |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
No. 9 Florida State rallies past Miami in OT, 83-79.
CORAL GABLES, Fla. - The No. 9-ranked Florida State Seminoles forced 24 turnovers, including three in a row in overtime, and rallied from a nine-point deficit in the final 4:33 of regulation Saturday to earn their ninth consecutive victory by beating Miami 83-79.
Sophomore Devin Vassell set a career high for the second consecutive game by leading Florida State with 23 points while adding 11 rebounds and five assists. His two free throws with six seconds left sealed the win.
M.J. Walker added 19 points in 23 minutes for the Seminoles, who won despite shooting 42 percent and committing 16 turnovers. Malik Osborne's three-point play put them ahead to stay with 2:25 left in overtime, 74-71.
Florida State (16-2, 6-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), which began the day tied with No. 3 Duke for the league lead, beat Miami for the fourth time in a row. The Hurricanes (10-7, 2-5 ACC) lost in league play at home for the third time.
Chris Lykes had 24 points but also six turnovers for the Hurricanes. Their turnover total was a season high.
The Hurricanes had to call a timeout when they were trapped on the game's first possession. They blew a dunk, threw up air balls and had 10 shots blocked.
But Miami stayed in the game early with a strong defensive effort of its own. DJ Vasiljevic sank a 3-pointer and then scored on a breakaway to give the Hurricanes their biggest lead with 5:20 remaining, 65-56.
Walker's three free throws cut the spread to 65-61, and his 3-pointer with 40 seconds left in regulation tied the game at 69.
Following a Miami turnover, Trent Forrest missed a 15-footer with 1 second to go, forcing overtime.
BIG PICTURE
One more sign the Seminoles win with defense: Their winning streak includes four victories while shooting less than 44 percent.
The addition of Hurricanes freshman Anthony Walker to the rotation gave them more depth. Walker, who sat out the past two games because coach Jim Larranaga was unhappy with his effort, played 13 minutes and had three rebounds.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 RaiQuan Gray f 14 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 1 2 3 4 0 2 0 2
3 Trent Forrest g 38 4 9 0 0 4 4 12 2 1 3 1 5 3 1 2
10 Malik Osborne f 31 2 4 0 1 2 3 6 1 4 5 3 0 0 1 1
23 MJ Walker g 23 6 15 4 9 3 3 19 0 0 0 3 2 1 1 1
24 Devin Vassell g 37 9 16 2 5 3 4 23 3 8 11 1 5 4 2 3
0 RayQuan Evans 12 1 4 1 2 1 2 4 1 0 1 2 4 0 0 0
2 Anthony Polite 32 4 9 2 6 0 0 10 2 3 5 1 3 2 0 5
4 Patrick Williams 17 0 4 0 2 2 2 2 0 2 2 3 1 2 4 1
11 Nathanael Jack 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0
15 Dominik Olejniczak 9 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
31 Wyatt Wilkes 11 1 4 1 3 0 0 3 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0
Team 3 2 5 1
=========================================================================
FSU 5 225 29 69 10 28 15 18 83 13 23 36 20 21 16 10 15
Opp 225 29 62 11 24 10 17 79 14 27 41 18 13 24 4 7
| 1 | 2 | OT | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | ||||
| Miami |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
In Front Of Roaring, Capacity Crowd, No.5 Noles Deliver Dramatic Win Over ND.
by Tim Linafelt, Senior Writer
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The fifth-ranked Florida State men's basketball team did its part in bringing the first sold-out crowd to the Donald L. Tucker Center in nearly a year on Saturday night.
That crowd then did its part helping to deliver an ear-splitting final few moments and a dramatic finish worth the price of admission.
After leading by as many as 14 points, the Seminoles found themselves clinging to a one-point advantage with 2.6 seconds on the clock and Notre Dame holding the ball.
But with everyone in the arena on their feet and a deafening chant of "Dee-fense" raining down, FSU kept the Irish away from the basket and forced an off-balance shot that fell harmlessly away as the clock hit zero.
When it did, the arena somehow got even louder as fans celebrated No. 5 FSU's 85-84 win over Notre Dame - the Seminoles' 10th victory in a row and 59th in their last 62 home games.
"I think we needed every yell that was coming from the stands," FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said with a smile. "We needed all the energy that we could muster. That ball was bouncing around and I was on the sideline praying.
"So prayers were answered tonight."
Matched up with one of the most 3-point heavy teams in the country, the Seminoles outdueled the Fighting Irish from distance by connecting on 12-of-18 3-point attempts - well above their season averages for 3-pointers made (7.4) and 3-point average (34.2).
And they did so thanks in large part to Wyatt Wilkes, the sharpshooting reserve who typically plays about eight minutes per game.
With freshman Patrick Williams out due to a toe injury, Wilkes stepped into an expanded role and more than delivered by scoring a team-high 19 points, connecting on 5-of-6 3-point attempts and even grabbing two rebounds in 19 minutes on the floor.
Wilkes, a redshirt freshman from Orlando, matched his previous career high (14 points) by halftime.
"(Wilkes) gave us a tremendous lift," Hamilton said. "I told our guys a couple weeks ago that when he leaves here, he'll go down as one of the all-time best shooters in the history of our program. He's showing his potential."
Anthony Polite added three more 3-pointers for FSU, while Trent Forrest and RaiQuan Gray each scored 13 points.
Forrest, a senior from nearby Chipley, Fla., became the latest Seminole to reach the 1,000-point mark for his career.
And he did so in emphatic fashion, throwing down a heavy dunk in transition that was part of an 18-0 FSU run in the first half.
"That was definitely one of my goals, if I was here for four years," Forrest said. "I'm glad to say I accomplished it."
Forrest's 1,000th point mattered to more than just the record books, as it came during a stretch that helped FSU turn around from a deflating start that threatened to spoil a night to celebrate all things Florida State basketball.
Playing with their highest ranking in a home game, and with both themselves and their fans dressed for a "blackout" game, the Seminoles trailed 15-4 a little more than four minutes into the game.
But, in a response that was as quick as it was impressive, the Seminoles came out of a timeout and reminded every one of the 11,500 fans in attendance why they showed up in the first place.
Starting with a layup from center Dominik Olejniczak, the Seminoles embarked on a 22-3 run - which included a stretch of 18 consecutive points - that led to a 13-point lead before halftime.
In the span of just three minutes, 50 seconds, FSU had turned what perhaps looked like a lopsided affair in Notre Dame's favor into what could have been a rout for the home team.
Neither came to fruition.
Because despite leading by 14 points with 7:56 to play, cold shooting from FSU, combined with a steady parade of Notre Dame players to the free-throw line, helped the Irish get back in it.
Notre Dame made 22-of-27 free-throw attempts - compared to 13-of-14 for FSU - while the Seminoles missed their final nine shots over the last 5:16 of the game.
Even still, it didn't seem like it would matter after Forrest made two free throws at the 27-second mark to stretch FSU's lead to six points.
But an off-balance 3-pointer from Notre Dame's Prentiss Hubb, followed by an FSU turnover on the ensuing inbounds pass and a quick Irish layup, cut that lead to just one in the span of only a second.
Then, when another inbounds turnover gave possession back to Notre Dame, the Seminoles suddenly were defending with the game on the line.
It was right about then that Hamilton started praying.
"I thought we had moments in the game where we played very, very good basketball," Hamilton said. "And I thought we had moments in the game where our inexperience showed.
"And I thought it almost cost us."
Almost, but not quite.
As he awaited Notre Dame's final inbounds pass with 2.6 seconds to play, Forrest flashed back a year ago - to when the Seminoles let a one-point slip away at the buzzer against Duke.
Back then, FSU's defenders lost track of a 3-point shooter and paid a painful price.
This time, every man was covered and the Irish had no choice but to take a desperate heave toward the basket.
"I had a flashback to Duke and I was just trying my best to not let that happen again," Forrest said. "You've just got to kind of be on your toes, but also in the game plan."
Irish coach Mike Brey thought his team might have deserved another trip to the free-throw line during the endgame sequence, but officials allowed for physical defense and the Seminoles - who first built their national reputation on defense a decade ago - got the stop they needed.
Aided, in no small part, by the capacity crowd making the building shake.
"There's literally nothing like a Florida State basketball game when the fans are turned on like that," Wilkes said. "In my opinion, we've got the best fans in the world."
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 RaiQuan Gray f 22 6 10 1 1 0 0 13 0 4 4 2 0 3 1 0
3 Trent Forrest g 32 3 9 0 0 7 8 13 1 4 5 2 7 4 0 4
10 Malik Osborne f 14 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 2 0 0
23 MJ Walker g 24 3 8 2 3 0 0 8 0 1 1 2 0 3 1 0
24 Devin Vassell g 28 4 8 1 1 2 2 11 2 5 7 1 2 2 0 1
0 RayQuan Evans 12 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 3 0 2 0 0
2 Anthony Polite 25 3 7 3 5 0 0 9 1 1 2 1 5 0 0 3
5 Balsa Koprivica 13 2 6 0 0 2 2 6 4 2 6 3 1 0 0 1
11 Nathanael Jack 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
15 Dominik Olejniczak 10 2 3 0 0 0 0 4 2 3 5 4 0 2 0 0
31 Wyatt Wilkes 19 6 10 5 6 2 2 19 2 0 2 1 0 0 0 0
Team 1 1
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 30 65 12 18 13 14 85 12 22 34 21 15 18 2 9
Opp 200 26 59 10 27 22 27 84 10 22 32 15 12 15 2 8
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notre Dame | |||
| Florida State |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Vassell Scores 17, But No. 5 Florida State Falls Late At Virginia, 61-56.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - With the clock running down and its 10-game winning streak on the line, the Florida State men's basketball team could hardly have asked for a much better opportunity.
Needing a 3-pointer to tie the Virginia Cavaliers, the Seminoles gave the ball to their 3-point specialist, who just two days before had played the hero in a win over Notre Dame.
Then, when Wyatt Wilkes' shot from the top of the key missed, a rebound and kickout made its way to FSU's best and most battle-tested player.
But Trent Forrest's 3-point attempt missed as well, and, a few moments later, the No. 5 Seminoles officially had a 61-56 defeat that came with a bitter reminder of a mantra that coach Leonard Hamilton often likes to repeat:
Nothing comes easy in the ACC, especially on the road, and games are typically decided by the finest of margins.
"We had a hard time getting any separation at all," said Hamilton, whose team led by eight in the early goings but otherwise was locked into a one-score affair for most of the second half.
"And when we did get a few points ahead, I thought they did great job of staying focused and moving the ball and attacking us off the dribble."
Indeed, that's what put the Seminoles into their last-minute deficit in the first place.
UVA's Mamadi Diakite had a game-high 19 points, but, in the second half, it was the quickness and athleticism of guard Kihei Clark that caused problems.
Working his way into the paint, often against bigger defenders, Clark scored 15 points, shot seven free throws and dished four assists. UVA finished with a 24-20 advantage in points in the the paint, and doubled FSU's combined dunks and layups.
"We're not the rim-protecting team we've been in the past," Hamilton said. "We had a hard time containing the dribble. ...
"(Clark) is a very clever guy with the ball."
Devin Vassell scored 17 points and six rebounds, and RaiQuan Gray added eight points for FSU, which lost for the first time in nearly two months.
Vassell reached double-digit scoring for the seventh consecutive ACC game, and three times in the second half made shots when the game was either tied or within one point in either direction.
It made for a cruel turn, then, when Vassell's last shot attempt, with 35 seconds to play and the Seminoles trailing by one, missed and fell to the Cavaliers.
"We depend on him," Hamilton said. "He made a couple timely shots for us. We just didn't have enough of them going."
Already playing in one of the ACC's most consistently difficult environments, the Seminoles found another hurdle midway through the second half when UVA's Clark drew a hard foul from FSU freshman Balsa Koprivica.
Officials initially ruled it a Flagrant 1 foul, but, after replay review, upgraded it a Flagrant 2 - giving UVA two foul shots, possession of the ball and, worst of all for FSU, ejecting Koprivica for the remainder of the game.
At the time, the Seminoles led by three points with 7:04 to play. They were then outscored, 17-9, the rest of the way.
Hamilton, though, refused to accept that call or its consequences as an excuse.
"He's not a malicious kid," Hamilton said. "I don't think he intended to hurt anybody. I just think he was overly aggressive and (the officials) made the decision based on the letter of how they interpret the rules. ...
"I don't think that had anything to do with the game."
Still, even as the Cavaliers mounted their late-game surge, and as their crowd roared awake in kind, the Seminoles still had that chance tie the game and force overtime.
Hamilton said he thought the Cavaliers might foul on the way down the floor, forcing a Seminole to the free-throw line and denying the opportunity for three points.
But UVA, notorious for its defense under coach Tony Bennett, opted to play it straight.
"We've won however many games with hitting those shots and we missed them today," said Wilkes, who made five 3-pointers against Notre Dame on Saturday. "Virginia is extremely tough, they're going to play you tough and they're at home. That's how it is."
FSU will look to start its next winning streak not far from where this one ended. The Seminoles will play at Virginia Tech (14-7, 5-5 ACC) on Saturday (4 p.m., ACC Network).
The Hokies lost at Miami, 71-61, on Tuesday night.
"I would love to have gone undefeated for the remainder of the season, but we probably were not going to do that," Hamilton said. "I think what we'll have to do is evaluate and learn from the challenges that UVA gave us, and hopefully we can better prepared for the next time we play them, and also prepared for the next game that we play."
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 RaiQuan Gray f 16 3 4 2 2 0 0 8 0 3 3 4 1 2 0 0
3 Trent Forrest g 31 1 4 0 1 2 2 4 2 1 3 3 3 1 1 3
10 Malik Osborne f 25 2 7 0 2 1 1 5 1 3 4 2 0 0 2 1
23 MJ Walker g 31 3 10 1 2 0 0 7 0 0 0 1 2 0 1 1
24 Devin Vassell g 34 7 15 3 8 0 0 17 0 6 6 2 2 0 0 2
0 RayQuan Evans 9 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 0 2 2 0 0 0 1 0
2 Anthony Polite 22 1 4 0 2 2 4 4 2 1 3 3 1 0 0 1
5 Balsa Koprivica 14 1 3 0 0 0 2 2 0 1 1 2 0 1 0 1
15 Dominik Olejniczak 6 1 3 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
31 Wyatt Wilkes 12 2 4 1 3 0 0 5 0 0 0 3 0 2 0 0
Team 1 1
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 21 54 7 20 7 11 56 5 18 23 20 9 7 5 9
Opp 200 18 41 5 12 20 23 61 6 30 36 15 11 17 4 1
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Virginia |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Vassell's Career High 27 Points Lead No. 5 Florida State Over Virginia Tech 74-63.
BLACKSBURG, Va. - Devin Vassell tied an ACC record by shooting 7 for 7 from 3-point range and scored 27 points to lift No. 5 Florida State to a 74-63 victory over Virginia Tech on Saturday.
Vassell helped the Seminoles (18-3, 8-2) rebound from Tuesday night's loss at Virginia that snapped a 10-game winning streak. Florida State remained a game out of first place in the ACC standings.
The Seminoles led for much of the first half, were ahead 34-29 at the break and held the lead the rest of the way. Florida State grabbed a 60-44 advantage on a free throw by Trent Forrest with 9:25 remaining before the Hokies scored the next nine points. They cut the lead to 60-53 on a dunk by Nahiem Alleyne with 6:23 left, but got no closer.
Tyrece Radford paced the Hokies (14-8, 5-6) with 18 points. Virginia Tech lost its third consecutive game.
Vassell connected on his first six shots from the floor - five 3-pointers - and made 8 of 10 for the game.
BIG PICTURE
Florida State: The Seminoles have all the traits needed to make a deep NCAA Tournament run. They feature a deep roster (10 players scored), have forced more turnovers than any team in the ACC, and possess on underrated star in Vassell, who has scored in double figures in eight consecutive games. He is averaging 17.6 points per game in that span.
Virginia Tech: When the Hokies don't hit 3-pointers, they struggle, and that happened again Saturday. Virginia Tech made just 7 of 30 from beyond the arc against the Seminoles. In their three-game losing streak, the Hokies are shooting just 30.1% (22 of 73) from 3-point range.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 RaiQuan Gray f 20 3 5 1 1 0 0 7 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 2
2 Anthony Polite g 27 3 9 0 5 1 3 7 1 3 4 3 2 2 1 0
3 Trent Forrest g 34 3 7 0 2 1 1 7 1 8 9 0 5 1 1 1
10 Malik Osborne f 10 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0
24 Devin Vassell g 33 8 10 7 7 4 4 27 0 3 3 2 3 0 1 0
0 RayQuan Evans 15 2 3 0 1 0 0 4 0 1 1 0 2 1 0 0
4 Patrick Williams 24 3 10 0 2 1 1 7 1 3 4 2 1 1 0 0
5 Balsa Koprivica 10 1 3 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
15 Dominik Olejniczak 17 2 5 0 0 0 0 4 0 2 2 1 0 2 2 1
31 Wyatt Wilkes 10 3 5 2 4 0 0 8 0 1 1 0 2 1 0 0
Team 2 4 6 1
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 28 57 10 22 8 11 74 6 27 33 8 16 9 5 4
Opp 200 25 58 7 30 6 6 63 6 24 30 12 12 10 2 4
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Virginia Tech |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Williams Surges, Defense Stifles In 65-59 Win Over UNC.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Patrick Williams grew up in Charlotte, N.C., was the top recruit in his home state and has friends on the roster at the University of North Carolina.
And yet, in the moments before he and his Florida State teammates took the floor to take on Williams' home-state Tar Heels, the freshman didn't show any sign of extra nerves, extra excitement or extra anything in between.
"He just lets the game come to him," senior Trent Forrest said. "It's just kind of natural for him, and, once he gets out there, he's good to go."
The latest in a series of promising freshmen to play for coach Leonard Hamilton, Williams was perhaps as good he's ever been on Monday night. He scored 14 points, added a career-high nine rebounds and was near-perfect from the floor in No. 8 FSU's 65-59 victory over UNC in front of 10,015 fans at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
Forrest added another 14 points for the Seminoles (19-3, 9-2 ACC), who have won 18 consecutive home games dating back to last season.
"It was just another game for me, just another opportunity to come out and play the game that I love," said Williams, who added that he couldn't remember whether UNC recruited him out of high school.
Regardless, there were times on Monday when Williams might have been the best player on the floor.
Like when he surprised UNC's Justin Pierce with a block on what should have been an easy dunk. Or when he drained a 3-pointer late in the second half that completed the Seminoles' rally from an eight-point deficit and sent them into the break with a lead. Or when he outmuscled UNC's post players for a late defensive rebound that put a stop to the Tar Heels' comeback bid.
All told, the 6-8, 225-pound forward finished 3-for-4 from the field, 6-of-6 at the free-throw line and 2-for-2 from 3-point range.
He hadn't previously made a 3-point shot since December 28.
"He's a superior athlete," Hamilton said. "He has the ability to go get rebounds in crowds. He has such fast-twitch muscles that he can spring up in an instant and get a nice, uncontested shot.
"And even though he only was credited with one block, I thought he made a big difference in getting his hand up and changing shots."
Indeed, Williams helped lead one of FSU's most inspired defensive efforts of the season.
Matched up with a fledgling college hoops heavyweight desperate for a momentum-changing victory, the Seminoles frustrated the Tar Heels (10-12, 3-8) and star freshman Cole Anthony (16 points on 5-of-22 shooting) for most of the evening.
UNC shot a paltry 30.9 percent (21-of-68) from the floor - narrowly missing the third sub-30-percent shooting game of coach Roy Williams' tenure - and was particularly poor from inside the 3-point arc, where it made only 15 of 49 attempts (30.6).
That's nearly five percentage points lower than worst shooting team in college basketball.
"They do a great job defensively," UNC's Williams said. "We ended up standing more than we did anything else. We couldn't get better spacing to drive the ball to the basket either. We didn't make shots. Didn't make free throws."
During a long period of the second half, the Seminoles didn't allow the Tar Heels to make anything at all.
When UNC's Garrison Brooks made a jumper at the 16:22 mark of the second frame, it pushed the Tar Heels to a 37-33 advantage.
They wouldn't make another shot from the field for the next 10 minutes and 59 seconds - a dry spell during which they missed 17 consecutive shots.
That more than allowed the Seminoles to rally from their modest deficit, and they took the lead for good when guard Raiquan Evans scored back-to-back buckets midway with about 12 minutes to play.
"Their defense," UNC's Williams said, "was stronger than our offense."
Hamilton, though, joked that UNC's shooting woes didn't seem so significant, and the scoreboard down the stretch showed why.
Despite their defensive dominance, the Seminoles rarely led by more than two possessions. And they gave the home crowd a scare when they turned the ball over an inbounds play with less than a minute to play and only a four-point lead.
But then it was only appropriate that, despite the miscue, FSU's defense rose to the occasion. The Seminoles denied Anthony in the paint, and his friend - the talented Florida State freshman showing out against his home-state team - came down with the rebounds.
Williams made a pair of free throws at the other end of the floor and, a few moments later, the Seminoles were celebrating their 12th victory in 13 games.
They'll get a chance to extend their historic run on Saturday, when they host a rematch with Miami (noon, ACC Network).
FSU beat the Hurricanes in overtime last month.
"We're still a work in progress," Hamilton said, "And that's probably the most positive thing that I take away from where we are, (which) is that we're still working and still developing.
"And while we're doing that, we're finding ways to (win) another 'ACC blowout' - five or six points."
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 RaiQuan Gray f 24 5 9 0 1 2 2 12 2 5 7 3 1 4 4 2
2 Anthony Polite g 12 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0
3 Trent Forrest g 35 5 12 1 3 3 4 14 0 4 4 1 3 4 2 1
10 Malik Osborne f 15 3 5 1 1 1 1 8 2 4 6 1 0 0 0 0
24 Devin Vassell g 36 3 8 0 3 0 0 6 2 7 9 3 2 3 2 0
0 RayQuan Evans 12 2 4 0 0 3 4 7 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 0
4 Patrick Williams 24 3 4 2 2 6 6 14 0 9 9 3 2 1 1 0
5 Balsa Koprivica 7 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
15 Dominik Olejniczak 10 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 4 2 0 0 1 0
23 MJ Walker 25 1 7 0 4 0 0 2 1 2 3 3 0 2 0 0
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 23 55 4 15 15 17 65 9 34 43 19 9 16 10 3
Opp 200 21 68 6 19 11 17 59 14 23 37 18 10 9 2 7
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Carolina | |||
| Florida State |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
No. 8 Noles Blow Past Canes, 99-81.
Depth overwhelms Miami.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - In their first meeting with the Miami Hurricanes, a few weeks ago in Coral Gables, the Florida State Seminoles needed all of regulation and then some to erase a big deficit and emerge with an overtime victory.
This time around, FSU did away with the drama in much quicker fashion.
Patrick Williams and M.J. Walker scored 14 points, Devin Vassell added 13 and the No. 8 Seminoles shot 50 percent from the 3-point line to erase an early deficit and surge past Miami, 99-81, in front of a sold-out Donald L. Tucker Center.
Thirteen different players scored and five finished in double figures for FSU, which improved to 20-3 overall and a program-record 10-2 mark after 12 games in league play.
The Seminoles, projected as a No. 3-seed in the NCAA's "March Madness Preview Bracket" released Saturday afternoon, will play at No. 7 Duke on Monday.
"I thought Miami came out with the right game plan," FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said, "putting them in a position where they made the game extremely interesting in the first half."
Maybe a little more interesting than the Seminoles would have liked.
With a rival in town and its home arena sold out for the second time in three games, FSU watched as the fledgling Hurricanes (11-12, 3-10 ACC) raced to a 10-2 lead less than three minutes into the game.
They did it by attacking the Seminoles off the dribble and taking advantage of an FSU post defense that Hamilton has often said isn't quite as strong as it's been years past.
Each of Miami's first five points came either at the rim or the free-throw line, and the Hurricanes finished the first half with 18 points in the paint.
"They elected to just drive the ball," Hamilton said. "We had a very hard time, with our defensive system, containing the dribble in the first half. And they almost scored on us at will."
The good news for the Seminoles is that they were just as effective on the other end of the floor.
Freshman Patrick Williams woke up the crowd - and maybe his teammates - with a transition dunk that sparked FSU out of its early malaise, and, within the next four minutes, the Seminoles had their first lead when Wyatt Wilkes banked in midrange jumper.
From there, it was virtually all offense, all the time.
Both teams shot better than 50 percent from the field - with the Seminoles pushing 60 percent - and FSU went into the break holding a 50-47 lead, its highest first-half scoring total in ACC play this season.
"Very obviously, we couldn't stop them," Miami coach Jim Larranaga said after the game.
That trend, however, continued in only one direction in the second half.
Because, after tightening up their defensive efforts - attributable, they said, only to taking "more pride" in getting stops - the Seminoles' offense kept right on going in what quickly turned from a close game into a rout.
Thanks to hot shooting and an overwhelming depth advantage (as shown in a 54-11 advantage in points from the bench), the Seminoles outscored the Hurricanes by 15 points over the final 20 minutes while holding UM to just 10-of-33 from the field.
Miami, which surrendered a nine-point lead late in its first meeting with FSU, briefly threatened to return the favor with an 8-0 run that cut the Seminoles' lead to six with 8:23 to play.
Florida State, however, then slammed the door shut and hammered some nails in it, too, with a 15-3 answering run that featured points from Anthony Polite, RayQuan Evans, Trent Forrest, Vassell and Williams.
Williams capped the wave with back-to-back dunks that made it 90-70 at the 3:27 mark.
"Second half, I thought our guys did a much better job containing the dribble," Hamilton said. "And then I thought that made a big difference in the game."
Vassell, FSU's leading scorer, put in 11 of his 14 in the second half, and the Tucker Center got a treat when Hamilton emptied his bench and allowed popular walk-ons Travis Light, Justin Lindner, Harrison Prieto and Will Miles to log a few minutes.
And Light drew one of the afternoon's biggest reactions by draining back-to-back 3-pointers in the game's waning minutes.
"For Travis to knock down shots, Justin to get everybody involved, Harry to get a rebound and a put-back, it's just huge for their confidence," Vassell said. "I'm just thankful for them."
After virtually every win his team has earned this season, Hamilton has liked to say that they'll enjoy it for a short while before getting back to work.
This time, he'll really mean it. The Seminoles will play at Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium in a little more than 48 hours.
The No. 7 Blue Devils played at North Carolina on Saturday night.
"We've got to take it one day at a time, one game at a time," Vassell said, "so now we're focused on Duke."
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 RaiQuan Gray f 12 1 3 0 0 0 0 2 0 4 4 1 1 0 0 0
3 Trent Forrest g 23 3 6 0 1 4 4 10 2 4 6 1 6 3 0 2
10 Malik Osborne f 12 2 3 2 2 0 0 6 1 2 3 2 0 0 0 0
23 MJ Walker g 30 4 10 2 4 4 4 14 0 1 1 4 2 2 0 1
24 Devin Vassell g 24 5 9 1 4 2 2 13 2 3 5 1 3 1 1 0
0 RayQuan Evans 17 3 5 1 1 1 2 8 2 2 4 0 3 0 0 0
2 Anthony Polite 17 1 2 0 1 0 0 2 1 7 8 1 0 3 0 1
4 Patrick Williams 19 5 9 2 3 2 2 14 3 2 5 4 1 3 1 1
5 Balsa Koprivica 9 1 3 0 0 1 1 3 1 4 5 1 0 2 0 0
11 Nathanael Jack 3 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
12 Justin Lindner 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 2 1 0 0
15 Dominik Olejniczak 13 3 4 0 0 2 2 8 2 0 2 1 0 3 2 0
20 Travis Light 1 2 2 2 2 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
30 Harrison Prieto 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
31 Wyatt Wilkes 15 4 7 3 6 0 0 11 1 0 1 2 0 1 0 0
33 Will Miles 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 35 66 13 26 16 17 99 16 30 46 20 18 19 4 5
Opp 200 26 64 8 24 21 25 81 9 15 24 17 8 13 1 6
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miami | |||
| Florida State |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
b>Noles Fall at Duke 70-65.
DURHAM, N.C. - Tre Jones had 13 points to help seventh-ranked Duke overcome a turnover-heavy performance to beat No. 8 Florida State 70-65 on Monday night.
The Blue Devils (21-3, 11-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) were coming off a wild and emotionally draining overtime win against rival North Carolina on Saturday. And the teams entered this game tied for second in the ACC, sitting one game back in the loss column of No. 5 Louisville.
The Blue Devils responded by grinding through a tough win, shooting 45% and hitting 7 of 17 3-pointers to overcome 21 turnovers in one of their highest totals of the season. And the defense gave the Seminoles tough looks, forcing FSU's Trent Forrest to carry the offensive burden for much of the night.
Big man Vernon Carey Jr. had a quiet offensive night (10 points and 10 rebounds), but Duke got a boost with junior guard Jordan Goldwire matching his career high with 13 points on 5-for-5 shooting - including three 3s - after coming in averaging 4.0 points.
Freshman Matthew Hurt also had a couple of big moments in the final seconds, going 4 for 4 at the line in the final 11.7 seconds to help the Blue Devils clinch this one.
Forrest finished with 18 points, nine rebounds and eight steals to lead the Seminoles (20-4, 10-3), who shot just 38%.
BIG PICTURE
Florida State: The Seminoles helped themselves in this one by scoring 15 points off turnovers, but their poor outside shooting (3 of 18 from behind the arc) proved troublesome. FSU also made just 12 of 20 free throws, which loomed larger as the Seminoles found themselves in a tight game coming down the stretch. They ended up losing to Duke for the fifth straight meeting, including last year's ACC Tournament championship game.
Duke: It wouldn't have been a surprise to see Duke look a bit flat considering how much energy and emotion the Blue Devils spent in the comeback win in Chapel Hill two nights earlier - complete with buzzer-beating shots to force overtime (by Jones) and later to win (by freshman Wendell Moore Jr.). The Blue Devils shot the ball solidly enough, at least, to overcome the turnover problem. And when it was over, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski took a moment to motion to the "Cameron Crazies" for more noise as his team prepared to leave the court, while the players did a line of high-fives on their way to the tunnel after a big pair of wins.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 RaiQuan Gray f 17 2 4 0 2 2 2 6 1 1 2 5 3 1 0 2
3 Trent Forrest g 32 6 13 0 3 6 6 18 3 6 9 1 4 2 1 8
10 Malik Osborne f 23 6 13 2 6 0 0 14 4 1 5 3 0 2 2 0
23 MJ Walker g 25 1 5 0 3 1 2 3 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 1
24 Devin Vassell g 34 5 14 1 2 0 2 11 1 5 6 2 0 0 2 2
0 RayQuan Evans 8 1 2 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0
2 Anthony Polite 16 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0
4 Patrick Williams 22 2 9 0 1 3 5 7 1 1 2 0 0 1 1 3
5 Balsa Koprivica 7 1 2 0 0 0 1 2 1 1 2 1 0 0 0 0
15 Dominik Olejniczak 11 1 3 0 0 0 0 2 3 1 4 1 0 3 1 0
31 Wyatt Wilkes 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
Team 2 2 4
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 25 66 3 18 12 20 65 17 19 36 18 7 12 7 16
Opp 200 23 51 7 17 17 22 70 11 28 39 17 13 21 5 6
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Duke |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Twelve Stitches Can't Stop Walker From Leading Noles Past Cuse.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - It might be in the next few hours, or it might not be until tomorrow morning.
But sometime soon, M.J. Walker is going to find that his lower lip is awfully sore.
For now, though, he's all smiles. Even if that smile is a little swollen.
Despite missing about 20 minutes of game time to get 12 stitches in that lip, Walker scored 16 points that helped No. 8 Florida State to a 70-67 win over Syracuse on Saturday afternoon at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
Walker, who had scored nine points before his injury and seven more after his return, was 5-of-9 from the 3-point line, and his four-point play with 2:36 to go in the second half helped turn the game FSU's way after a late Syracuse surge.
"I can't say enough about M.J.," FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. "To get a cut like he got, and 12 stitches is an awful lot of stitches to have to recover from. You have to get an awful lot of shots.
"For him to come back out and represent his team in that fashion with no fear, with a lot of confidence and aggressiveness says a lot about his will, his desire and toughness and, more than anything else, the culture that we've been able to develop, that he wanted to get in there and help his team."
Freshman Patrick Williams scored 17 point and senior Trent Forrest added 13 for the Seminoles, who won their 20th consecutive home game despite playing without leading scorer Devin Vassell.
Vassell warmed up and watched the game from the bench, but Hamilton declined to comment on the sophomore's status or whether he'd be available when FSU hosts Pittsburgh on Tuesday.
As usual, FSU's depth more than made up for the absence. The Florida State bench outscored Syracuse's by 28 points and all 10 Seminoles who played scored at least two points.
The Orange, meanwhile, had four players log at least 32 minutes.
"We talk to the (reserves) all the time about staying ready, staying in the gym, getting your reps in," Forrest said. "Those guys do a good job. To have (41) points from the bench, I mean, that's big-time for us."
Syracuse's Elijah Hughes (25 points) and Joseph Girard III (22) did enough to give the Seminoles a scare, but FSU mitigated their damage by holding Buddy Boeheim, the Orange's second-leading scorer and one of the country's top 3-point shooters, off the scoreboard entirely.
Boeheim, who came into the contest averaging more than 16 points per game, finished 0-for-7 from the field and 0-for-3 from 3-point range.
"The respect we have for what he's capable of doing is the reason why we gave him a tremendous amount of attention," Hamilton said. "Very seldom do you see a guy who's going out and getting 18 straight points in an ACC game (which Boeheim did against Virginia Tech last month). That gets your attention.
"The fact that we were able to win by 3, another typical ACC blowout, and one of their top players didn't score as well as he is normally capable of scoring, says a lot about how important the defensive job that we did on him was."
Hamilton is right. Because despite Walker's heroics, FSU's dominant depth and a healthy advantage at the 3-point line (11 for FSU, 7 for Syracuse), the Seminoles still found themselves - and their home winning streak - threatened down the stretch.
FSU led by as many as 11 midway through the second half, but a 24-9 Syracuse run, aided by a field-goal drought of more than five minutes for the Seminoles, helped the Orange to a 68-64 lead with 3:49 to play.
But, as they've done often over the last several months, the Seminoles made the needed plays when it mattered most.
It started when Dominik Olejniczak grabbed a defensive rebound from a shot that could've stretched the Orange's lead even further.
And continued when guard Anthony Polite made a pair of free throws.
Then, following a Syracuse bucket at the other end, Walker made his biggest contribution - a 3-pointer from the elbow while drawing contact from his defender.
Walker made his free throw and, in an instant, had turned a three-point deficit into a one-point lead.
All while still shaking the effects from those numbing agents and the stitches in his mouth.
"The doctors did a good job," Walker said. "I kept asking them, ‘Are we winning? Are we winning?' I was hearing the crowd get hyped, and then I'd hear it get dull for a minute. So I was trying to see what was going on. But they did a good job of keeping me updated.
"And I was happy to get back out there."
From there, the Seminoles gained a small bit of separation after Hughes missed a layup and then made four free-throws in the final seconds that made the lead stick.
Hughes threw up one more 3-pointer as the clock expired - a shot that went a lot closer to the basket than it probably should have - but it missed and the Seminoles celebrated.
Hamilton said that he intended for one of his players to foul Hughes and deny the 3-point opportunity, but that they were cautious about fouling him and sending him to the free-throw line.
"He was smart with it, because he knew we were coming to foul," Forrest said. "We would come at him and then he would start getting ready to pick the ball up. So you kind of had to take one or the other. We kind of forced him into - I wouldn't say a bad shot - but we were lucky and got the miss."
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 RaiQuan Gray f 21 0 8 0 3 2 2 2 5 5 10 4 3 3 0 0
2 Anthony Polite g 24 1 5 0 2 2 3 4 3 2 5 4 1 1 1 0
3 Trent Forrest g 37 5 7 1 1 2 5 13 1 4 5 1 6 6 0 2
10 Malik Osborne f 17 1 4 0 0 2 2 4 2 1 3 1 0 0 0 2
23 MJ Walker g 18 5 11 5 9 1 1 16 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0
0 RayQuan Evans 17 2 4 2 3 0 0 6 0 2 2 1 4 0 0 0
4 Patrick Williams 32 7 14 1 2 2 2 17 2 5 7 3 1 2 1 2
5 Balsa Koprivica 7 2 3 0 0 0 0 4 3 0 3 0 0 1 1 0
15 Dominik Olejniczak 14 2 3 0 0 2 2 6 1 3 4 5 0 2 0 0
31 Wyatt Wilkes 13 3 6 2 5 0 0 8 1 2 3 2 1 1 0 1
Team 2 3 5 1
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 28 65 11 25 13 17 80 20 27 47 22 17 18 3 7
Opp 200 28 63 7 25 14 18 77 10 19 29 20 11 11 7 5
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Syracuse | |||
| Florida State |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Depth Dominates Pitt in 82-67 Win.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - When Florida State lost at Pittsburgh to open the season a few months ago, the prevailing wisdom suggested that, disappointing as it was, the setback might turn out to be a net positive.
The early wakeup call sparked the Seminoles to an inspired performance - and a win - their next time out at then-No. 5 Florida and on to one of the best seasons in the program's history.
Everything that followed FSU's opener at Pitt suggested that its rematch with the Panthers would look much different. And the No. 8 Seminoles more than made good on that promise with an emphatic, 82-67 victory over Pitt in front of 9,014 fans on a Tuesday night at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
No, it might not quite count as a "revenge" game. But given that the Seminoles had lost two straight and five of seven against Pitt, it sure felt good to win it.
"We kind of took it personally," junior guard M.J. Walker said. "I also think that we're still kind of focused on us. We know what kind of team we are, and we feel like when we're good mentally and focused on the game plan, we're unbeatable."
They've been awfully close to it this season. FSU improved to 22-4 (12-3 ACC) ahead of Saturday's visit to North Carolina State and won its 21st consecutive home game dating back to January of last year.
Patrick Williams led the Seminoles with 16 points and five rebounds, the latest star turn in what has been a February to remember for the freshman.
Fresh off a 17-point performance in Saturday's win over Syracuse, Williams on Tuesday went 7-of-12 from the field, drained his only 3-pointer and wowed the crowd with a trio of heavy dunks, including this reverse, one-handed jam in the second half:
Williams has scored in double figures in four of his last five games and has been the Seminoles' leading scorer in each of those five.
"I'm very proud of him," FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. "I think you're only seeing him scratch the surface of his potential. I think he's only going to get better and better and he's going to make a huge difference for us."
Hamilton said he was pleased with about 75 percent of the game, but that the remaining 25 percent "concerned" him.
He was likely referring to the game's opening minutes, when the Seminoles committed five turnovers and fell into an eight-point deficit.
No matter.
Paced, as usual, by an overwhelming depth advantage, the Seminoles overcame those early jitters, erased that deficit with a 12-0 run and never really looked back.
They led by as many as 22 points in the second half before giving away to reserves and walk-ons as the second half came to a close.
FSU's bench outscored Pitt's, 53-15, and the Seminoles enjoyed a plus-13 rebounding advantage.
"They take away everything," Pittsburgh coach Jeff Capel said. "They're one of the better defensive teams in the country."
Indeed, after watching the Panthers find some early shooting success, the Seminoles mixed in some zone defenses that seemed to throw Pitt off-balance.
By the time it was over, the Panthers had shot just 37.5 percent from the field (including 3-of-12 from 3-point range) and, were it not for a busy night at the free-throw line, the final score might have been even more lopsided.
"We were able to go zone and kind of keep them out of the lane, force them make tough shots," Williams said. "I feel like that kind of shook them up a little bit.
And then, man-to-man, the coaches did a great job of preparing us for all of their plays. We kind of knew what was coming. The coaches and players on the bench were calling out the plays before they even started running them."
Tuesday marked another interesting night for Walker, as well. A little more than 48 hours removed from being elbowed in the lip and suffering a cut that required 12 stitches, Walker was in the lineup Tuesday and contributed seven points, four assists and four rebounds.
Walker started the game with a clear, protective mask over his face. But after missing a pair of free throws - he said after the game that the mask restricted his breathing - Walker ditched the protective apparatus and played the rest of the game without.
A few moments later, he narrowly dodged a high elbow from a Pittsburgh player while challenging for a rebound. The Panther was called for a flagrant 1 foul and, this time, Walker made both free throws.
"When I looked up, (the mask) blocked off my vision," Walker said, "so I just went ahead and took it off and just kept playing."
Walker revealed after the game that he had some further complications with his wound, which required a middle-of-the-night visit to the Emergency Room.
But with a little more time to heal and a more intensive treatment plan, Walker showed few effects of his ailment on Saturday. At least not once he took off his mask.
"It's not easy, fellas, to have an injury like he had," Hamilton said. "It says a lot about him."
So, too, did a defensive sequence near the end of the game.
With the Seminoles comfortably ahead late in the second half, a Pittsburgh player took off on a breakaway for what would've been an easy - and ultimately inconsequential - dunk.
Walker, though, wasn't having it. He sprinted down the floor, jumped to meet the player at the basket and swatted away the dunk attempt as the crowd erupted.
Tempers flared (Walker was actually issued a technical foul after flexing on his way down the floor), but there was no mistaking Walker's message.
"Nothing easy," Walker said. "It's just a level of pride for me, I feel like you've got to have. I wasn't trying to hurt the kid or nothing like that, but I'm a competitive person. I have pride for this program. I'm going to make the play when it needs to happen. ...
"I think that's the toughness I need to bring, and it sparks everyone else on the team."
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 RaiQuan Gray f 14 1 3 0 0 2 2 4 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1
3 Trent Forrest g 25 4 9 2 4 0 0 10 0 2 2 1 3 4 0 2
10 Malik Osborne f 11 2 4 0 2 1 1 5 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 1
23 MJ Walker g 24 1 7 1 4 4 6 7 1 3 4 4 4 2 0 0
24 Devin Vassell g 20 1 5 1 3 0 0 3 1 3 4 3 2 0 0 0
0 RayQuan Evans 14 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 1 1 3 1 0 0
2 Anthony Polite 19 4 6 2 4 0 0 10 1 5 6 1 0 1 0 2
4 Patrick Williams 22 7 12 1 1 1 1 16 4 1 5 2 0 1 1 0
5 Balsa Koprivica 17 3 4 0 0 1 2 7 4 3 7 4 3 0 0 0
11 Nathanael Jack 4 2 2 1 1 0 0 5 0 2 2 1 0 1 0 0
12 Justin Lindner 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
15 Dominik Olejniczak 11 4 4 0 0 0 0 8 1 1 2 2 0 1 2 0
20 Travis Light 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
30 Harrison Prieto 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
31 Wyatt Wilkes 15 2 6 1 3 0 0 5 0 1 1 1 2 2 1 0
33 Will Miles 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Team 3 3
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 32 64 9 22 9 12 82 17 23 40 21 20 16 6 6
Opp 200 21 56 4 22 21 26 67 12 15 27 13 13 14 1 13
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh | |||
| Florida State |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Walker, Williams help No. 8 Seminoles beat Wolfpack 67-61.
RALEIGH, N.C. - M.J. Walker scored all 12 of his points after halftime to help eighth-ranked Florida State take control in the second half and beat North Carolina State 67-61 on Saturday.
Patrick Williams also scored 12 points for the Seminoles, who have won six of seven to stay near the top of the Atlantic Coast Conference standings. FSU spent much of the second half shooting better than 50% and repeatedly got into the interior of the Wolfpack defense while controlling the glass in the final 20 minutes.
The Seminoles (23-4, 13-3) also threw out some zone looks to get the Wolfpack off stride early in the second half, helping them quickly erase the 32-27 deficit and go ahead for good with about 13 1/2 minutes left.
Devon Daniels scored 18 points to lead N.C. State (17-10, 8-8), which was trying to follow its lopsided home win against No. 6 Duke on Wednesday with another big one to bolster its NCAA Tournament resume. But the Wolfpack shot 40% after halftime and couldn't get to the line with the same first-half frequency, a combination that turned scoring into a tougher test as FSU asserted control.
The frustration built for the Wolfpack, so much that coach Kevin Keatts picked up a technical foul with 9:21 left after Markell Johnson couldn't draw a whistle on a drive.
Johnson, who had a career-high 28 points against Duke, finished with seven points on 3-for-10 shooting.
BIG PICTURE
FSU: The Seminoles handled the halftime deficit with composure. They shot 44% after the break, though they made 10 of their first 17 shots to take a 57-48 lead on Trent Forrest's basket in the lane. They were up big on the boards for much of the second half before finishing the half with a 23-17 advantage. Walker helped, too, by scoring 10 points in the first 5 minutes of the second half. He was limited to 6 first-half minutes after picking up two fouls.
N.C. State: This week has been all about improving the tournament resume, with Keatts describing the doubleheader with Duke and FSU as a big opportunity for his Wolfpack. N.C. State helped itself immensely with Wednesday's 22-point rout of the Blue Devils, pushing them to No. 51 in the NET rankings as of Saturday with five Quadrant 1 wins. But with only one more Quadrant 1 game left on the schedule, N.C. State could have helped itself by getting this one, too.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 RaiQuan Gray f 16 1 3 0 0 1 2 3 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 1
3 Trent Forrest g 29 4 9 0 2 2 2 10 1 1 2 2 3 3 0 0
10 Malik Osborne f 30 4 8 0 3 1 6 9 5 7 12 2 0 0 2 0
23 MJ Walker g 26 3 7 1 4 5 7 12 0 4 4 2 3 0 0 2
24 Devin Vassell g 37 4 11 2 3 1 2 11 3 3 6 3 0 1 1 3
0 RayQuan Evans 9 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 1 1 0
2 Anthony Polite 10 1 4 1 3 0 0 3 2 1 3 0 1 0 0 0
4 Patrick Williams 28 3 8 0 1 6 8 12 2 4 6 2 0 2 0 0
5 Balsa Koprivica 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0
15 Dominik Olejniczak 5 1 1 0 0 2 2 4 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0
31 Wyatt Wilkes 6 1 2 1 2 0 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0
44 Ty Hands 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Team 1 1 2
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 22 54 5 19 18 29 67 15 24 39 15 8 10 4 6
Opp 200 23 56 6 19 9 13 61 11 23 34 21 9 11 4 5
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| North Carolina State |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Williams, Forrest Slam No. 6 Noles Past No. 11 Cards.
by Tim Linafelt, Senior Writer
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Patrick Williams got his hand on the ball, and the whole building knew exactly what was coming.
With the Florida State men's basketball team in the midst of a game-changing run that had erased a double-digit deficit and given the Seminoles a modest lead of their own, Williams grabbed a steal near the baseline and took off on a breakaway toward the basket.
As Williams reached top speed, each of the 11,500 fans in the sold-out Donald L. Tucker Center rose, in unison, in anticipation of what came next:
A leaping dunk that started near the free-throw line, thrown down in emphatic fashion that blew the lid off of the 39-year-old arena and gave the Seminoles more than enough to finish off an 82-67 victory over the No. 11 Cardinals on Monday night.
"The place went crazy once he dunked it," said senior Trent Forrest, who had a team-high 16 points. "We basically had the crowd standing on their feet for the last 10 minutes of the game."
And the guy responsible for it didn't even hear it.
He said he never does.
"I didn't hear anything," said Williams, a freshman who finished with 11 points. "They told me it got really loud, but when I'm in the game I really can't hear anything."
The Cardinals certainly heard it. So, too, did the rest of the ACC and all of those bracket gurus projecting the matchups for next month's NCAA tournament.
After sweeping Louisville for the first time in more than 40 years, FSU (24-4, 14-3) sits alone atop the ACC standings - a half-game ahead of Duke - and will likely be in the mix for the conference's regular-season crown the rest of the way.
The Seminoles also won their 22nd consecutive home game and 15th straight home game against ACC opponents.
"I'm very proud of the guys. This was a very, very important game," FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. "And our plan was not to allow the game to be more important to Louisville than it was to us.
"But I have to give Louisville credit. They came out and played extremely well."
The final box score doesn't indicate just how well.
Because, in the early goings of the second half, the Cardinals didn't just seem poised to win the game. They seemed like they might deal the Seminoles a lopsided defeat.
Louisville led 40-32 at halftime - FSU's largest home deficit at the break this season - and extended that lead to as many as 12 points.
When freshman Lamarr Kimble answered a quick 5-0 run by the Seminoles with a difficult 3-pointer, the Cardinals seemed to be in control.
What followed a few moments later was one of the more remarkable sequences of Hamilton's 18 years in Tallahassee - a 15-0 run punctuated by Williams' dunk that had the Cardinals shook and the Tucker Center shaking.
"They're really talented," Louisville coach Chris Mack said. "But I think the more impressive thing isn't their talent level - although it's impressive - it's just how hard they play."
As is often the case, the Seminoles visibly wore down their opponents over the course of the second half.
Five Seminoles scored in double-figures, but none more than Forrest's 16, and each of the nine players to log at least 12 minutes scored at least 12 points.
Then consider that Louisville's two leading scorers at halftime - Jordan Nwora (11 points) and Ryan McMahon (nine) combined to score five in the second half.
Nwora, the ACC's second-leading scorer, didn't score after the break at all.
"When we had our backs against the ropes, we just found a way to make plays," Williams said. "Like we've been doing all season. It's nothing new."
By the two-minute mark, the Seminoles led by double-digits and didn't really need any more of those big plays.
Forrest gave them one anyway.
With Louisville pressing on defense in hopes of creating a turnover, FSU's M.J. Walker sent a cross-body, cross-court pass to Forrest, who then angled toward the basket - and right into a collision course with the defending Nwora.
Forrest, perhaps one of the more mild-mannered Seminoles, might have on another night gone for a layup or simply attempted to draw contact and a pair of free throws.
But not on this night.
"I feel like in that situation, to finish off the game, you have to go to dunk the ball," Forrest said. "You have to have that mentality to finish off the game."
Consider it finished:
Forrest finished the dunk, drawing a foul in the process, and the Seminoles finished the game on an 11-3 run.
"He demonstrated how much that moment meant to him," Hamilton said. "He bleeds garnet and gold. That's him. He's a Seminole, though. He represents what the 'Unconquered' spirit means to all of us.
"And I'm glad to see him having his moment in his senior year."
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 RaiQuan Gray f 18 3 5 0 0 5 7 11 1 5 6 4 1 3 1 0
3 Trent Forrest g 30 6 9 1 1 3 3 16 1 4 5 1 3 3 0 3
10 Malik Osborne f 15 2 4 0 2 0 0 4 2 5 7 0 1 1 0 0
23 MJ Walker g 28 4 8 1 3 3 4 12 0 0 0 2 2 1 0 2
24 Devin Vassell g 25 5 8 1 2 1 1 12 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 1
0 RayQuan Evans 14 1 4 0 1 2 3 4 0 3 3 2 1 0 0 0
2 Anthony Polite 20 3 6 2 4 0 0 8 1 3 4 2 0 0 0 0
4 Patrick Williams 27 2 5 0 1 7 8 11 2 2 4 0 1 2 1 1
5 Balsa Koprivica 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
11 Nathanael Jack 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
12 Justin Lindner 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
15 Dominik Olejniczak 12 2 3 0 0 0 1 4 0 2 2 2 0 0 1 0
20 Travis Light 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
30 Harrison Prieto 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
31 Wyatt Wilkes 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 0
33 Will Miles 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Team 1 1
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 28 55 5 16 21 27 82 9 27 36 16 9 11 4 7
Opp 200 25 59 5 21 12 14 67 8 21 29 23 8 13 2 1
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Louisville | |||
| Florida State |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Noles Fall to Clemson 70-69 On Last Second Shot.
CLEMSON, S.C. - Clemson coach Brad Brownell had one thought when he watched young Al-Amir Dawes take the inbounds pass with only a few seconds left.
"Go," Brownell said. "Get to the basket."
Dawes followed instructions perfectly on a three-quarter court-length drive that finished with a left-handed flip with a second to go as Clemson toppled another highly ranked team, rallying past No. 6 Florida State 70-69 on Saturday.
Dawes, a freshman, put the ball behind his back to start the run, then stutter-stepped to get free in the lane before driving around Florida State's Trent Forrest for the game-winning bucket.
"I knew how much time I had left and I was just ready to make a play," said Dawes, who finished with 18 points.
Clemson seemingly made almost all the plays it had to down the stretch after falling behind 42-32 on Forrest's 3-pointer to start the second half.
The Tigers (15-13, 9-9 Atlantic Coast Conference) used a 17-5 run over the next eight minutes to get back in it.
When Florida State (24-5, 14-4) built back a 56-51 lead, Khavon Moore had two baskets and Clyde Trapp a foul shot to tie things once more.
After M.J. Walker's basket with 2:29 left put the Seminoles up 63-60, John Newman III hit a jumper and Tevin Mack nailed a 3-pointer to send Clemson in front.
And when Forrest hit a short jumper with 8.4 seconds left for Florida State's last lead, Dawes' dash gave the Tigers another highlight moment in a puzzling season that includes victories over then-No. 3 Duke and No. 5 Louisville.
It's the first time Clemson has beaten three Top Seven AP-ranked opponents in the same season since 1979-80. Oh, and don't forget the Tigers' first-ever win at North Carolina last month, ending their 0-for-59 lifetime in Chapel Hill.
And just like after beating Duke and Louisville, fans flooded the court in celebration.
"I think we've had several wins through the season, wins where we fought back," Newman said. "I'm thankful for the experiences like that because in life, if you're resilient, anything's possible."
Florida State's desperation heave after Dawes' basket last-chance heave was way off the mark.
Trapp had a chance to extend Clemson's 68-67 lead, but missed a pair of foul shots. Teammate Aamir Simms got the rebound and threw the ball into the open court as he approached the sideline, leading to what looked like a Florida State breakaway for Forrest.
But a referee's whistle stopped play. After a lengthy review and discussion, Florida State was awarded possession to set up Forrest's go-ahead basket.
Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton chuckled when asked about the whistle. He made it clear the delay and confusion didn't cost the Seminoles.
"What hurt us again was having the courage to let them go the length of the floor for the winning basket," he said.
Clemson also sent the ACC title race back into a three-way chase.
Florida State had hoped to take another step toward its first ACC regular-season crown. Instead, the Seminoles joined No. 7 Duke and No. 11 Louisville with four league losses with just over a week left.
Devin Vessell had 14 points to lead the Seminoles, who saw their four-game win streak snapped.
THE BIG PICTURE
Florida State: The Seminoles, like Duke and Louisville, lost a chance to take control of the ACC against the scrappy Tigers. Shots that fell early for Florida State did not down the stretch in losing for just the second time in nine games this month.
Clemson: What to make of the Tigers? They've beaten the three ACC leaders, yet have losses to Virginia Tech, Miami and Wake Forest. Clemson has been a developmental program and is clearly playing better in January and February than it did in November and December.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 RaiQuan Gray f 22 0 5 0 4 3 5 3 1 4 5 2 2 2 1 0
3 Trent Forrest g 22 4 6 1 2 2 2 11 0 4 4 3 3 3 0 1
10 Malik Osborne f 13 4 6 3 3 0 3 11 2 6 8 4 0 3 0 0
23 MJ Walker g 25 2 6 0 2 1 2 5 1 0 1 2 1 2 0 2
24 Devin Vassell g 38 6 11 2 5 0 0 14 1 6 7 3 3 2 0 0
0 RayQuan Evans 16 2 2 0 0 0 0 4 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
2 Anthony Polite 19 2 4 1 2 0 0 5 0 2 2 2 2 0 0 0
4 Patrick Williams 26 2 4 1 2 4 4 9 0 4 4 2 0 3 1 3
5 Balsa Koprivica 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
15 Dominik Olejniczak 13 3 3 0 0 1 2 7 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 1
31 Wyatt Wilkes 2 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0
Team 1 1
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 25 50 8 21 11 18 69 7 27 34 20 11 16 3 7
Opp 200 27 56 6 20 10 19 70 9 23 32 15 9 12 2 6
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Clemson |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Forrest caps No. 7 FSU's rally for 73-71 win over Irish.
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Trent Forrest's putback with 3.8 seconds left capped a ferocious late charge as No. 7 Florida State beat Notre Dame 73-71 Wednesday night to move closer to an Atlantic Coast Conference title.
Forrest's basket gave the Seminoles (25-5, 15-4) just their second lead all night, the other coming at 5-4 in the opening minutes.
M.J. Walker scored 16 of his 21 points over the final 8:40 as FSU charged back from a 61-48 deficit.
Forrest added 15 points and Devin Vassell scored 13 for the Seminoles.
Prentiss Hubb's half-court heave for the Fighting Irish as time expired kissed off the back iron. Hubb led Notre Dame (18-12, 9-10) with 24 points, 19 in the first half.
John Mooney had his NCAA-leading 25th double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds, but did not score in the second half.
Dane Goodwin also scored 16 points for the Irish, 14 of those coming after the break.
BIG PICTURE
Florida State: The Seminoles stayed in control of their own destiny in pursuit of the No. 1 seed for next week's ACC Tournament. A win over Boston College on Saturday assures at least a tie with Louisville (15-4) for the conference title, and FSU would hold the seeding tiebreaker from beating the Cardinals twice.
Notre Dame: The Irish's only hope of making the NCAA Tournament is probably to win the ACC tournament for an automatic bid. They dropped to 0-6 against ranked teams in their last opportunity of the regular season and have lost 21 straight times to ranked opponents over the last 29 months.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 RaiQuan Gray f 13 1 5 1 1 4 6 7 2 0 2 2 0 1 0 3
3 Trent Forrest g 32 7 16 0 3 1 1 15 2 5 7 1 3 1 0 1
10 Malik Osborne f 20 1 5 0 2 2 2 4 3 2 5 3 1 2 0 0
23 MJ Walker g 26 6 10 4 8 5 5 21 0 0 0 4 0 1 0 0
24 Devin Vassell g 35 6 11 0 2 1 1 13 0 4 4 2 1 0 0 2
0 RayQuan Evans 13 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 0
2 Anthony Polite 8 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 0 2 0 0
4 Patrick Williams 32 2 7 0 2 1 2 5 2 5 7 0 2 2 2 2
5 Balsa Koprivica 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0
15 Dominik Olejniczak 12 3 4 0 0 0 0 6 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0
31 Wyatt Wilkes 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
Team 2 1 3
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 27 62 5 18 14 17 73 12 22 34 16 8 10 2 8
Opp 200 25 55 11 32 10 11 71 9 24 33 14 14 15 5 4
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Notre Dame |
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
Noles Climb To Top Of ACC, Climb Ladders To Cut Down Nets.
by Tim Linafelt, Senior Writer
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Back in September, a few weeks before the start of college basketball season and several months before the Florida State Seminoles would embark on one of the most memorable runs in school history, Leonard Hamilton had a conversation with his team about ladders.
Meaning the ladders standing under the basket, where championship teams rise and cut down the nets to commemorate their prize.
"I told them nobody is standing on the ladder and saying, 'I'm No. 4. Or No. 5,'" Hamilton said. "Only one team has a chance to stand up and say, 'I'm No. 1.'
"That takes a special effort and a special focus."
And a special team.
Hamilton's Seminoles fit the bill in every fashion and, by virtue of their 80-62 win over Boston College on Saturday, climbed a ladder and stood tall over the rest of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
FSU, 26-5 overall and 16-4 in the ACC, is the league's regular-season champion for the first time ever and will enter next week's conference tournament as the No. 1 seed.
"Needless to say, I can't tell you how proud I am of our team," Hamilton said. "These guys have bought into the unselfish spirit that has allowed them to be successful. And I'm so proud of them. ...
"These teenagers are growing into young adults, and for us to win our first ACC (regular-season) championship with this style and with this system, but, more than anything else, with the attitudes these guys display, makes me very proud."
A celebration befitting the moment began as soon as the clock hit zero.
Within moments, the players and staff all had on garnet t-shirts celebrating their championship.
Gold confetti fell into a sea on the floor - and onto Hamilton's head.
A video package featuring congratulations from players and support staff throughout Hamilton's tenure played on the arena's videoboard.
And a brand-new banner in the rafters, tantalizingly rolled up throughout the game, was unfurled as the Seminole Sound pep band played, "We are the Champions" across the arena.
"I was somewhat emotional," Hamilton said. "Because we want so much, as a staff, for our players to enjoy this moment."
The centerpiece of it all, though, was the ladders. One on each end of the floor, and with enough scissors and twine for everyone.
First up, of course, was Trent Forrest, the senior playing in his final home game. Already the "winningest" player in program history, Forrest was honored in a pre-game Senior Day ceremony along with dozens of friends and family from his nearby hometown of Chipley, Fla.
The game's lopsided nature didn't allow Forrest to add much to his stat totals - he had six points and three rebounds in just 20 minutes - but there's little doubt about how he'll remember his final game in Tallahassee.
"It was an amazing feeling," Forrest said. "Just to know that I'm kind of a leader on the team and be able to get up there and cut down the nets and do what hasn't been done in school history - with it being my last year and just being able to accomplish this - going up there, you get chills. Because you see how far we've come over these last few years."
One by one, everyone in garnet and gold took a turn on the ladder. Players, assistant coaches, support staff and trainers all had a piece.
But when there remained only one more bit to cut, there was no doubt whose time it was.
Hamilton, the 71-year-old coach who more than 17 years ago took over a program that had won a total of 33 games in the three seasons prior to his arrival, stepped out of the crowd and onto the first rung.
He's long said that moments like these aren't about him, and that he's far more interested in seeing the players reflect on all they've accomplished, rather than reflect on his own achievements.
But on this occasion, there were plenty of people in the building who were happy to do the celebrating for him.
That includes the thousands of fans who stayed to share in the revelry, as well as all of the players who helped put him there.
"He doesn't even really talk about it to us," Forrest said. "But I know that inside, and once we get to the team, by ourselves, I know he's going to be a happy coach.
"This was definitely something I wanted to help him get before I left."
But not the only thing.
Because once the fans had finally filed out and the nets had been cut down, a reality also started to slowly settle in: The Seminoles aren't yet finished.
They want to go to Greensboro, N.C., next week and win the ACC tournament. They want to enter the NCAA tournament as a high seed - likely a No. 2, but maybe a No. 1 - and enjoy a lengthy run in March Madness.
And yes, they want to spend the first weekend in April a few hours north. The 2020 Final Four is set to be played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
As much as they enjoyed their celebration here on Saturday, the Seminoles couldn't help but think of more celebrations to come.
"I just feel that there's more enjoyment out there that I don't want to miss," Hamilton said with a grin. "I want to milk this thing for all I can. You know you get an orange and you want to (squeeze) all the juice out of it? I want to keep (squeezing) the juice out of this orange."
The game itself served as something of a coronation.
Freshman Balsa Koprivica matched a career-high with 15 points and senior Dominik Olejniczak added 14 for the Seminoles, who never trailed and led by as many as 23 in the second.
Otherwise, the Seminoles dominated in virtually every fashion. They held advantages in shooting, rebounding, bench points, points in the paint and steals.
Each of the 12 Seminoles to check in before the final media timeout scored at least two points, and popular reserves Justin Lindner, Travis Light, Harrison Prieto and Will Miles closed things out over the last two-plus minutes.
By then, the celebration was well underway - made official when the final score of Virginia's win over Louisville flashed on the arena scoreboard. Had the Cardinals won, they'd have technically shared the regular-season crown with FSU earning the No. 1 seed in ACC tournament by virtue of its two wins over Louisville.
But forget all that.
The standings are crystal clear and FSU is alone at the top of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
"It's been a long time coming," Forrest said "From where we started when I first got here, to now being one of the top teams in the ACC, you think about the journey. You think about the process that you've been there to get here."
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 RaiQuan Gray f 17 2 3 0 1 0 0 4 1 6 7 3 4 0 1 1
3 Trent Forrest g 20 2 7 0 2 2 4 6 0 3 3 1 1 3 0 0
15 Dominik Olejniczak c 13 7 10 0 0 0 0 14 3 2 5 3 0 0 0 0
23 MJ Walker g 22 2 7 1 3 0 0 5 0 2 2 4 2 0 0 2
24 Devin Vassell g 20 2 6 1 3 0 0 5 2 0 2 2 2 0 1 1
0 RayQuan Evans 16 1 6 0 1 1 1 3 0 4 4 0 6 2 0 0
2 Anthony Polite 15 1 2 1 2 0 0 3 0 1 1 2 1 2 0 2
4 Patrick Williams 17 4 8 0 1 2 4 10 2 4 6 1 0 1 0 1
5 Balsa Koprivica 11 6 6 0 0 3 5 15 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0
10 Malik Osborne 12 0 1 0 0 2 4 2 1 3 4 1 0 0 1 0
11 Nathanael Jack 9 2 8 1 6 0 0 5 1 0 1 2 0 0 0 0
12 Justin Lindner 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
20 Travis Light 3 0 2 0 2 2 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
30 Harrison Prieto 4 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 1 1 2 1 0 1 0 0
31 Wyatt Wilkes 12 1 4 1 3 0 0 3 1 2 3 0 0 0 0 2
33 Will Miles 3 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
44 Ty Hands 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
Team 1 1
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 31 73 5 26 13 22 80 14 31 45 20 16 9 3 9
Opp 200 19 57 9 33 15 24 62 10 26 36 17 11 19 2 3
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boston College | |||
| Florida State |