South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Late run gets FSU by Bulls
19th-ranked Seminoles end on 19-3 spurt to avoid being upset
SUNRISE – A pair of fast break dunks capped off a monster Florida State comeback.
The Seminoles trailed by
10 with just over six minutes remaining in the game after allowing an 11-0 South Florida run. In response, FSU scored nine unanswered and ended the game on a 19-3 run to avoid a loss to the Bulls.
No. 19 Florida State caused havoc on defense in the final minutes of the game and hung on for a
66-60 win in the Orange Bowl Basketball Classic at the BB&T Center.
South Florida (6-6) led for the majority of the game — Florida State took its first lead with eight minutes left — but 24 turnovers, including five in the final three minutes, ultimately sunk its upset bid.
“I thought they outplayed us for the majority of the game,” FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. “We feel very, very fortunate to come away with a victory.”
FSU (10-2) had a balanced scoring effort with four players (Anthony Polite, RaiQuan Gray, M.J. Walker and Trent Forrest) all scoring 11. But it was Devin Vassell who sealed the game for the Seminoles.
The sophomore guard hit a go-ahead jumper from the foul line to give his team a 60-58 lead with two minutes to go. A few plays later, Vassell stole an inbounds pass and hit a streaking Forrest for a fast break dunk to give FSU a four-point cushion. From there on out it was a game of clock management and free throws for the Seminoles until the buzzer sounded.
The Bulls were led by Michael Durr’s 15 points, and 14 each from Laquincy Rideau and David Collins, who scored all but two of his points in the second half.
USF led by as many as 13 points and largely dominated the first half, but went into the break with just a three-point lead after a late surge by FSU.
Rideau said the Seminoles switched up their defense near the end of the game and that proved to be the difference when the Bulls went cold, resulting in the 16-point swing.
“It was a game of runs the whole game,” USF coach Brian Gregory said. “We had maybe a couple of costly turnovers in that stretch.”
Much of the scoring was done inside the three-point line as both teams struggled from distance. USF shot 3 of 15 from the arc and FSU went 7 of 27. The Bulls dominated the rebounding battle 42-28 despite a height disadvantage but failed to create for one another, totaling just five assists to Florida State’s 16.
Polite, who played high school basketball at nearby St. Andrew’s in Boca Raton, earned MVP honors. The junior guard grabbed five rebounds, dished out four assists and hit two key three-pointers in the second half.
USF lost its second consecutive game while FSU improved to 9-2 all-time in the Orange Bowl Basketball Classic, and won its third consecutive game overall.