No. 14 Florida St. Rallies to pinnacle No. 15 Va. Tech in OT

TALLAHASSEE, FLA.

Staring down a 14-factor halftime deficit, No. 14 Florida State didn’t panic. M.J. Walker scored nine of his 11 factors after halftime, such as a essential 3-pointer in extra time, and Florida State rallied to top No. 15 Virginia Tech 73-sixty four on Tuesday night. Mfiondu Kabengele scored thirteen of his 17 factors within the 2nd half of and time beyond regulation. At the same time, Terance Mann brought 14 points as Florida State progressed to 15-1 at home this season and tied the program record with 12 Atlantic Coast Conference wins. “We’re all essentially vets,” Mann said. “We’ve been thru the whole lot. We’ve been through an Elite Eight run. We are even going to the NIT. In games like that, you do not certainly panic. It’s just halftime. You have got a whole other half off to throw a punch. And that is what we did.”

The Seminoles rallied after trailing 35-22 with 18:08 left in law. Six minutes later, Florida State tied the sport, and Mann’s 3-pointer with eleven:26 remaining put the Seminoles beforehand. Virginia Tech becomes quick-handed playing without protecting Justin Robinson (foot) and ahead Kerry Blackshear (fouled out), but the Hokies saved the game near. Ahmed Hill hit a three-pointer with 14 seconds left in regulation to tie the sport at sixty-one. After a timeout, Mann overlooked a 3-pointer at the buzzer, and the teams went to overtime. Florida State outscored Virginia Tech 12-three in the more period, making 7 of 8 free-throw attempts as the Seminoles progressed to 3-0 in overtime video games this season. They shot 86.4 percentage (19 of 22) from the free-throw line for the sport.

Florida State (24-6, 12-five ACC) clinched the No. 4 seed in subsequent week’s convention match and a double-bye with the win. Virginia Tech (22-7, eleven-6) is locked into the No. Five seed.”I suppose it’s pretty first-rate that in 12 months four we’d play for the fourth seed in the exceptional league in the united states of America,” Virginia Tech teach Buzz Williams said. “And considering all it truly is transpired this season, to play the manner that we have performed in the remaining nine video games, it is amazingly scarred my heart.” Nickell Alexander-Walker scored 19 factors, and Hill added 18 elements to tempo Virginia Tech, which did not make a basket from the ground for more than 5 minutes inside the 2d half as Florida State regained the lead.

Blackshear, the Hokies’ tallest player at 6-foot-10, fouled out with 2: forty-six left in regulation. He had nine points and five rebounds, but it turned into a tough loss for Virginia Tech, which handiest went seven deep and turned into additionally without the injured Robinson. Florida State has won 12 straight towards Virginia Tech in Tallahassee, going again to 1990 whilst the teams had been Metro Conference rivals. The Seminoles are nine-zero at home in ACC games in opposition to the Hokies. Hill and Alexander-Walker each had ten first-half points as Virginia Tech raced to a 33-19 halftime lead. The Hokies outrebounded FSU 21-thirteen and held the Seminoles to just 26.Nine percentage (7 of 26) from the ground.

“Virginia Tech did a fantastic activity inside the first half of-of bottling us up and doing away with the things that we were familiar with doing,” Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton stated. “I concept our guys grew to become it up defensively (within the 2d half of). I suppose we confirmed some character through being down this kind of massive margin in the first half of, now not gambling thoroughly. “We ought to have very easily have gotten discouraged. We did not panic. I notion the guys replied to every other and replied to the task we gave them as coaches.”

SPECIAL MOMENT FOR SENIORS

Florida State’s senior’s high-fived fanatics and performed conductor for the Seminole Sound after the difficult-fought win. The victory on senior night time gave Florida State ninety-three wins within the beyond four seasons. The Seminoles have the second-most wins over a 4-yr stretch in software records, just brief of the ninety-five victories through the 2008-12 teams. Nonetheless, Florida State has one ordinary-season recreation remaining (at Wake Forest on Saturday) plus the ACC Tournament and NCAA Tournament to achieve the file.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Florida State may want to climb towards the pinnacle 10 with a victory within the regular-season finale towards Wake Forest. It’s tough to fathom Virginia Tech might circulate down an awful lot, if at all, and will continue to be within the top 15 with a win over Miami.

BIG PICTURE

Virginia Tech: The Hokies were dominant within the first 1/2 but ran out of fuel in overtime. They have been again without Robinson, who was in avenue garments but training up teammates from the bench. Florida State: The Seminoles scored directly 19 first-1/2 points, their lowest total of the season. But a 12-0 2nd-half of run and achievement at the free-throw line helped them to the win.

UP NEXT

Virginia Tech performs in Miami on Friday. Florida State travels to stand Wake Forest on Saturday.