’Noles fade, fall to Cavs
FSU pushes elite Virginia but can’t finish
The Florida State men’s basketball team stood tall against one of the best defensive teams in the nation on Wednesday night.
Unfortunately for the Seminoles, their offense came up notably short in their biggest test of the season.
FSU’s offense ran dry from the field, relying on late free throws but failing to score a field goal in the final nine minutes of the game, and No. 2 Virginia (23-1, 12-0 ACC) continued its winning streak to 15 straight games with a 59-55 win at the Donald L. Tucker Center on Wednesday night.
“You’ve got to give them a little credit. It’s not always what we don’t do. Sometimes you have to give teams credit for what they do,” FSU head coach Leonard Hamilton said. “They’re a very good defensive team, and they did a very good job crowding the lane and we didn’t get the normal drives that we do.
“… I can’t fault our kids’ effort. I just think we just came up a little short against a team that’s very, very good.”
FSU freshman guard M.J. Walker had a chance to dribble down the court and make a potential game-tying 3-pointer before he was fouled with 10 seconds left, forcing FSU to settle for a free throw.
The Seminoles (17-7, 6-6) fouled UVA’s De’Andre Hunter, who put the game away with two made free throws of his own, on the following possession to end any chance of scoring the upset victory.
FSU led 32-22 at halftime, marking the second time this season UVA trailed after the first half, but the Seminoles were unable to do what West Virginia did on Dec. 5 and beat the Cavaliers.
UVA started the second half on a 14-2 run, Ty Jerome made a 3-pointer to give his team a 5-point lead with less than 5 minutes left, and the Cavaliers never looked back.
FSU top scoring threats Terance Mann (15.5 points per game) and Braian Angola (14.1) had only 3 points with 3 minutes left before Angola made four free throws to help FSU get within two with less than two minutes left.
But a jumper from Isaiah Wilkins and FSU’s lack of offensive firepower down the stretch resulted in the Seminoles’ second home loss in the past five games.
The reeling Florida Gators shook off a slow start and averted another second-half collapse to snap a three-game SEC losing streak with a 73-64 win against LSU.
UF outscored LSU 14-3 during the final minutes behind junior shooting guards Jalen Hudson and KeVaughn Allen to get back on track with the regular season winding down.
UF (16-8, 7-4 SEC) seemed in command against LSU (13-10, 4-7), but once again squandered a comfortable lead five days after scoring just 17 second-half points in a home loss to Alabama.
UF trailed 33-31 at halftime, but opened with an 17-3 run behind three 3-pointers by Egor Koulechov and another by Hudson.
Trailing 52-42, LSU went on 6-0 run as it beat UF down the court for quick baskets, a continuing trend this season for the Gators.
The Tigers, who led by nine points in the first half, regained the lead 59-58 on a Brandon Sampson dunk. But after a layup by freshman point guard sensation Tremont Waters gave LSU a 61-60 lead, Florida seized control of the game with an 8-0 run that included a three-point play by Allen and a 3-pointer from Hudson.
“They hit some really big shots,” Hudson said. “We didn’t want to lose our heads.”
Hudson led the way with 18 points, including 13 in the second half, and nine rebounds.
“We want to build on this,” Hudson said. “We don’t want to celebrate. We want to keep our edge.”