National Basketball Association
Florida St. 73, Florida 71
When: 7:00 PM ET, Tuesday, December 29, 2015
Where: Stephen C. O'Connell Center, Gainesville, Florida
Officials:
# Patrick Adams, # Tony Greene, # Joe Lindsay
Attendance:
10121
By The Sports Xchange
Reigning ACC Rookie of the Week Dwayne Bacon hit the game-winner, propelling Florida State to a 73-71 victory against Florida on Tuesday night in wild game at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center in Gainesville, Fla.
Bacon scored a team-high 24 points -- including a jump shot from just inside the 3-point line with 4.6 seconds left -- to lead the Seminoles (10-2) to their sixth straight win, marking the Seminoles' best start since the 2010-11 season.
The Gators (8-4) lost despite an incredible performance by freshman KeVaughn Allen, who dropped a career-high 32 points, including going 9-for-9 from the free-throw line. The defeat was Florida's third straight.
The Seminoles coughed up a 13-point lead in the second half as Allen shot the Gators back into the game. Florida forward Dorian Finney-Smith tied the game at 71-71 with 17 seconds left, though it set up the Seminoles with a final shot to win the game.
And Bacon delivered.
Florida State guard Devon Bookert finished with 11 points, including a huge 3-pointer down the stretch that put the Seminoles up comfortably by eight points. However, the Gators closed with a 7-1 run down the stretch and had two chances from beyond the arc to take the lead.
The Gators shot a dismal 16 percent from 3-point range, going 4-for-25.
Finney-Smith finished with 10 points and seven boards, and guard Kasey Hill was Florida's only other double-figure scorer with 10 points. Hill, however, committed a team-high five turnovers.
The Seminoles also got solid games from point guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes, with 11 points and a team-best six rebounds, and freshman guard Malik Beasley, who contributed 10 points.
Top Game Performances
Florida St. |
|
Florida |
Dwayne Bacon 24 |
Scoring |
KeVaughn Allen 32 |
Benji Bell 4 |
Assists |
Chris Chiozza 5 |
Xavier Rathan-Mayes 6 |
Rebounds |
Dorian Finney-Smith 7 |
Malik Beasley 4 |
Free Throws Made |
KeVaughn Allen 9 |
Dwayne Bacon 2 |
Steals |
Chris Chiozza 2 |
Boris Bojanovsky 1 |
Blocks |
Kevarrius Hayes 3 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Florida St.
|
73 |
41.3 |
10-24 |
11-15 |
13 |
30 |
2 |
5 |
13 |
Florida
|
71 |
40.0 |
4-25 |
19-29 |
11 |
39 |
5 |
7 |
12 |