Seminoles hold on to defeat Tigers
Florida State erased an 18-point deficit in the second half to force overtime, became indecisive on offense at the most inopportune time and nearly gave away an upset victory in the final seconds.
But backup guard Trent Forrest, who has struggled mightily offensively this season, was able to provide the game-saving plays to help FSU (18-8, 7-7 ACC) upset No. 11 Clemson (20-5, 9-4) at the Donald L. Tucker Center Wednesday night.
Forrest scored on two consecutive attacks to the basket, had an authoritative bloc and hit two clutch free throws in the final seconds to help the Seminoles secure an 81-79 upset victory in overtime over the Tigers.
“They gave me the call to go, and I took advantage,” said Forrest, who scored a season-high 16 points to help FSU break a two-game skid and earn a victory to boast its NCAA Tournament résumé.
Forrest also helped FSU force overtime with his driving shot in the final seconds of regulation.
And when Florida State’s offense sputtered in overtime, like it has at times due to indecisiveness and lack of a clear-cut star player, it was Forrest and senior forward Phil Cofer who helped answer the call with a few contributions from their teammates along the way.
Cofer scored all 17 of his points in the second half, senior guard Braian Angola added a layup of in the final seconds despite struggling most of the night finishing with 10 points, and starting guard CJ Walker nailed a 3-pointer before fouling out with 7 points to help the Seminoles surge late for the victory. FSU nearly gave the game away though, after deep inbound pass from Terance Mann intended for Walker was picked off by Clemson’s David Skara. The Seminoles worked tirelessly to take the lead in the final minutes, but were lucky to see Skara miss the first of his two free throws that could have tied the game.
The Seminoles were considered a team that could play as a No. 7-9 seed in the NCAA Tournament before the game and scored a victory over the No. 2 team in the ACC to help its case.
“What I want to do is just stay in the moment,” coach Leonard Hamilton said after winning his 300th game at Florida State and 500th game in his career.
“Obviously it was an important game. Whether it gives us confidence, I don’t know. But I know we have to continue winning. No one is going to the NCAA Tournament winning seven conference games.”
FSU trailed by as many as 15 in the first half after committing 11 early turnovers, and 18 points to start the second half before a spirited 17-2 run helped the Seminoles pull within 3 points with 13:25 left in regulation. The game began to resemble a battle between ACC rivals after FSU’s run as the Seminoles continued to respond after Clemson increased its lead back to as many as eight points in the second half. FSU was down by 6 in the final three minutes before a layup from Mann, a jumper by Cofer and Forrest’s game-tying shot forced the third overtime game of the season at home for the Seminoles.
“It gives us a tremendous opportunity to make the tournament — we’re still in the hunt,” said Mann, who finished with 13 points, eight rebounds and three assists. “It gives us confidence for the next four games.”
FSU will face the Tigers again in 14 days at Clemson, but will first host lastplace Pitt on Sunday.
“We know what we need to do — we have to move forward,” Cofer said. “We can’t celebrate. We got to keep moving forward.”
UF’s game was not completed in time for this edition. Read the late game story in our e-edition at Orlando Sentinel.com/late or on our website.