No. 6 Tar Heels’ big guns overwhelm young Seminoles
TALLAHASSEE — FSU is not ready for the big stage, at least not yet.
The Seminoles climbed back from an early doubledigit deficit against No. 6 North Carolina thanks to a heroic 30-point performance from sophomore guard Xavier RathanMayes, but they failed to capitalize on numerous opportunities in the second half of a 106-90 loss.
The game drew an announced crowd of 11,095 at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center. It was the first time FSU allowed more than 100 points in a game since 2007-08.
The nationally televised, prime-time contest appeared to be too much for some of FSU’s younger players to handle. Freshman guards Dwayne Bacon and Malik Beasley were tentative early and rushed too many shots. Conversely, UNC senior power forward Brice Johnson had 39 points and 23 rebounds, while senior guard Marcus Paige scored 30 points.
“We lost to a team that had too much firepower,” FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. “They had two guys who we had a hard time with. We just dug a hole for ourselves.”
FSU (10-4, 0-2 ACC) made just three of its first 18 shot attempts. UNC (14-2, 3-0 ACC) had enough experience to take advantage of the poor shooting and jumped ahead 23-9 as Paige made three 3-pointers.
Rathan-Mayes, who scored 35 points last season at UNC as a freshman, has sacrificed his shot attempts for the betterment of the team this season.
He asserted himself when necessary, however, on Monday.
With FSU down 34-24, Rathan-Mayes hit back-toback 3s. He went on to score FSU’s final 13 points of the half and cut UNC’s lead to 41-37 at halftime.
“He gave us a lift, but not enough,” Hamilton said. “… He’s been in these games, so for him, he sees the moment and he recognized that’s what we needed.”
Rathan-Mayes’ scoring surge gave the Seminoles life, but the inexperienced team couldn’t find a way to seize control of the game.
FSU took its first and only lead of the evening, going ahead 56-55 off a layup from Beasley with 15:49 remaining in the contest. The Seminoles finally had momentum but immediately lost it when freshman center Chris Koumadje committed a shooting foul and then drew a technical foul for punching the ball into the stands out of frustration.
“I like to see that fire, but [want him to be] under control,” Hamilton said.
North Carolina made two of four free throws, sparking a 10-2 run.
“From then on we made some big plays,” UNC coach Roy Williams said. “We missed some shots around the basket, but Brice was there to chase it down for us.”
The teams then engaged in a shootout. FSU made several key stops, but continually surrendered offensive rebounds. Johnson had seven of the Tar Heels’ 18 offensive rebounds while UNC finished with 17 second-chance points and 50 points in the paint, stifling any run FSU made.
“They took us to task on the boards,” Hamilton said.
UNC sophomore guard Joel Berry, a former standout at Lake Highland Prep, chipped in with 12 points and four assists.
Bacon and Beasley had a combined 33 points for FSU, but did so on 38 percent shooting.
“I think we’re a team that’s young, immature and still growing,” Hamilton said.