Vermont turned back in opener
Catamounts defeated despite 16-for-32 day from 3 vs. Florida St.
Florida State got a firstround scare from sharpshooting Vermont.
In the end, the Seminoles were just too long and too strong for the upset-minded Catamounts.
Mfiondu Kabengele had 21 points and 10 rebounds, and Florida State withstood a barrage of 3-pointers from 13th-seeded Vermont in a 76-69 victory Thursday in the opening round of the NCA A West Regional.
Terance Mann added 19 points for the fourth-seeded Seminoles (28-7), who were tied with the Catamounts at halftime but pulled away late.
“I thought we exercised physicality, the quality of our depth, our athleticism and strength in the second half, getting the ball to Mfiondu,” said FSU coach Leonard Hamilton. “I thought he was a little bit bigger, stronger and taller.”
Anthony Lamb had 16 points to lead a balanced, long-range attack for Vermont (27-7), which lost for the first time in seven games. Three Catamounts — Stef Smith, Ernie Duncan and Ben Shungu — each finished with 15 points.
The America East champions went small — no starter stood over 6-foot-6 — and stayed close by hitting 16 of 32 3-point attempts. The Seminoles countered by wearing out Vermont down low, outscoring the Catamounts 30-14 in the paint. Vermont had just seven baskets from inside the arc.
A dunk by Kabengele gave Florida State a 50-45 lead with nine minutes left, part of a 6-0 run that put the Seminoles ahead for good. Another by the 6-10 sophomore made it 61-53, and the cheers of Vermont fans, who made the four-hour drive south from Burlington, gave way to the tomahawk chop from behind Florida State’s bench.
Florida State led by 12 with just over a minute left and withstood a late run by Vermont.
Former Ualbany standout David Nichols had seven points and three rebounds for Florida State.
Villanova 61, Saint Mary’s 57: Phil Booth scored 20 points and defending NCAA Tournament champion Villanova held off Saint Mary’s in a hard-fought South Region victory. Fellow senior Eric Paschell added 14 points for the sixth-seeded Wildcats, who led for almost 33 minutes, but never by more than eight points. Jordan Ford and Malik Fitts each had 13 points for Saint Mary’s, which finished the season 22-12. Former Ualbany star Joe Cremo did not score for Villanova.
Purdue 61, Old Dominion 48: Carsen Edwards scored 26 points to lead the No. 3 Boilermakers past No. 14 Old Dominion in an South Region first-round contest.