Mfiondu Kabengele buried a tie-breaking 3-pointer with two seconds remaining in overtime Friday, delivering 14th-ranked Florida State a 79-76 victory over 19th-ranked LSU in the semifinals of the Advocare Invitational in Orlando, Fla.
The win sends the Seminoles (5-0) into the tournament finals on Sunday against Villanova, which beat Oklahoma State 77-58 in Friday's earlier semifinal.
The Tigers (5-1) will face the Cowboys for third place, also on Sunday.
After Florida State's Trent Forrest sent the game into overtime with a game-tying layup with two seconds remaining in regulation, the Seminoles quickly built a five-point lead in the extra session on a hoop by Kabengele and a 3-pointer by M.J. Walker.
LSU rallied into a 73-all tie before Florida State's Terance Mann made one of two free throws with 59 seconds left, then two of two with 19 seconds left, creating a three-point lead.
Tremont Waters, fouled on a 3-point attempt, got the Tigers even one last time by making three straight foul shots with 11 seconds left before Forrest assisted Kabengele on his game-winner.
Walker led all scorers with 21 points for Florida State, which beat Alabama-Birmingham 81-63 to earn a spot in the semifinals.
Kabengele had 15 points off the bench, Forrest added 10, and Mann chipped in with nine to complement a game-high 12 rebounds for the Seminoles, who outrebounded the Tigers 43-30.
Skylar Mays had 19 points to lead the Tigers, who disposed of Charleston 67-55 in the first round.
Ja'vonte Smart had 16 points to go with a game-high eight assists for LSU, while Naz Reid totaled 12 points and Waters 11.
After a tight first 39 minutes, Florida State needed a late flurry to get the game to overtime.
With his team down 67-63, Walker nailed a 3-pointer with 18 seconds left to make it a one-point game. Then after Waters made one of two free throws for a 68-66 LSU lead, Forrest dropped in his buzzer-beating layup to forge the tie.
--Field Level Media
Louisiana State | Florida State | |
Skylar Mays 19 | Scoring | M.J. Walker 21 |
Ja'vonte Smart 8 | Assists | Trent Forrest 5 |
Darius Days 6 | Rebounds | Terance Mann 12 |
Tremont Waters 4 | Free Throws Made | Mfiondu Kabengele 3 |
Tremont Waters 4 | Steals | Trent Forrest 4 |
Kavell Bigby-Williams 2 | Blocks | Terance Mann 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Louisiana State | 76 | 51.9 | 11-26 | 11-13 | 16 | 28 | 7 | 6 | 18 |
Florida State | 79 | 38.2 | 9-26 | 12-17 | 15 | 38 | 1 | 11 | 12 |