Late lapses extend FSU slump
TALLAHASSEE — Florida State, for one half, appeared to take the strides it needed to consistently compete against the top teams in the ACC.
The Seminoles were aggressive and decisive in the first period against Pittsburgh Saturday night, appearing more physical and athletic than a Pitt team known for its grit. But mistakes — the same ones that have plagued FSU this season — mounted, leading to a heartbreaking 74-72 loss in front of an announced crowd of 9,160 at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center.
Pitt (16-3, 5-2 ACC) erased a10-point deficit to begin the second half and took its first lead of the period with 33 seconds remaining in the game off a 3-pointer from forward Jamel Artis. FSU (12-7, 2-5 ACC) squandered several opportunities to retake the lead after falling behind 70-67 to continue its spiral down the conference standings.
“They took advantage of us being a little smaller and not quite as big, not as physical inside,” FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. “That’s what good teams in the ACC will do. They play to their strengths and execute.”
Therein lies the harsh truth of the bitter defeat. Pitt is a good ACC team. FSU, despite its vast potential and collection of promising freshmen, is not. At least not at this point.
The Seminoles simply wilted down the stretch.
After vowing to box out better following a loss to Louisville earlier in the week, FSU surrendered four offensive rebounds in the final four minutes of the con- test.
“We allowed the ball to go inside, they got the second shots,” Hamilton said . “On the offensive boards, we just didn’t hold our own.”
Artis finished with 16 points and scored his goahead 3 in the final minute after an offensive rebound. Pitt had 15 offensive boards total and shot 24 free throws in the second half as a result of successfully crashing the glass.
Pitt made 31 percent of its shots from the field to start the game, but settled down to make 46.4 of its field goals in the final period. FSU, which had eight fast-break points in the first half, saw its offense bog down when it couldn’t score in transition despite shooting 53.7 percent from the field.
“Transition is what hurt us and I thought we slowed that down in the end,” Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said.
Despite the steady and slow implosion, FSU had its chances late in the game but had too many mental lapses.
Freshman guard Malik Beasley, who made 7-of-7 shots to finish with 16 points, was in constant foul trouble. He played just 25 minutes and fouled out of the game with 2:48 left to prevent Pitt from scoring what would’ve been an easy layup. The Panthers made both free throws to tie the game at 67-67.
FSU, following Artis’ 3, had one timeout remaining while trailing 70-67 with 26 seconds left, but committed a five-second violation infraction when freshman Dwayne Bacon couldn’t find a teammate to inbound the ball to. The miscue came after FSU had just called a 30-second timeout.
“Kids make those decisions; they’re still learning and growing,” Hamilton said.