National Basketball Association
Florida St. 69, Virginia 62
When: 6:30 PM ET, Sunday, January 17, 2016
Where: Donald L. Tucker Center, Tallahassee, Florida
Officials:
# James Breeding, # Sean Hull, # Michael Stephens
Attendance:
9158
By The Sports Xchange
Florida State came into its game Sunday against No. 13 Virginia badly needing a signature win on its resume and hoping to avoid losing more ground in the Atlantic Coast Conference standings.
The Seminoles got both.
Florida State pulled off a stunner, beating No. 13 Virginia 69-62 in Tallahassee, Fla., and recording its first victory against a ranked opponent this year after going 0-for-3 in previous chances.
Florida State (12-5, 2-3 ACC) also snapped a five-game losing streak against the Cavaliers while improving its home record to 6-1 this season.
"I thought our guys matched their energy, matched their toughness," Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton said. "We played with a lot more confidence tonight. In the ACC, every game you play is a dogfight."
Seminoles freshman guard Dwayne Bacon led the way with 18 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Fellow freshman guard Malik Beasley was right behind him with 17 points, but he was forced to leave the game in the final five minutes with severe cramping before returning to hit two clutch free throws late.
"I've got to do whatever I can to help my team win," said Beasley. the ACC's freshman scoring leader.
Guard Devin Bookert hit what turned out to be a 3-point dagger with 2:21 to go to put the Seminoles ahead 60-53, tying their largest lead of the game. Bookert finished with nine points, shooting 2-for-3 from long range.
Virginia (13-4, 2-3) fell for the third time in its past four games. Star guard London Perrantes paced the Cavaliers with 19 points, and forward Anthony Gill followed with 13 points.
However, Gill missed a layup with just over a minute to go that would have cut the Florida State lead to three points.
Beasley, who returned in the final two minutes, was then fouled, and he hit both free throws. The Seminoles never looked back.
"You can see Bacon and Beasley are special," said Cavs coach Tony Bennett, who curiously refused to take any questions from Florida State beat reporters following the game and answered only four or five questions from Cavaliers beat writers.
Bennett was likely upset that his team is now 0-3 on the road in the ACC this season with losses at Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech and Florida State.
Bennett then added about the Seminoles' freshman duo: "You can see why they were so excited to get those guys."
Virginia has three ACC losses in a single season for the first time since 2012-13.
Florida State point guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes, who put the game out of reach with two free throws in the final 15 seconds after Virginia cut the lead to four points, scored 11 points.
The game turned in Florida State's favor midway through the second half when Beasley drilled a 3-pointer that tied the game at 39-39 and marked the beginning of a 10-0 run by the Seminoles.
Virginia's defense, which leads the ACC in points allowed per game at 60.7, once again stymied another team's scoring attack as the Seminoles were held to their lowest scoring output of the season. However, the Cavs' offense didn't do its part, shooting just 36 percent in the second half and 39.3 percent for the game.
Florida State shot 48.8 percent from the floor.
Cavs guard Malcolm Brogdon added 10 points and a team-high five rebounds in the loss. Florida State outrebounded Virginia, 31-25.
"There were a lot of misses on our end to go get," Bennett said.
Virginia held Florida State to just 25 points at the half -- also the Seminoles' lowest first-half output of the season -- as the Cavs took a three-point edge to the break after leading by as many as eight points early.
NOTES: On hand Sunday for G Malik Beasley's game was his even-more-famous mother, Deena Beasley, a model and actress who appeared most recently in the worldwide blockbuster "The Hunger Games." ... The game was the teams' only meeting this season ... Florida State tied the all-time series 23-23... Florida State's lone loss at home this season was against No. 5 North Carolina. ... Virginia's next game will be Tuesday at home against Clemson. ... The Seminoles play at No. 21 Louisville on Wednesday.
Top Game Performances
Virginia |
|
Florida St. |
London Perrantes 19 |
Scoring |
Dwayne Bacon 18 |
Malcolm Brogdon 5 |
Assists |
Devon Bookert 3 |
Malcolm Brogdon 5 |
Rebounds |
Dwayne Bacon 9 |
London Perrantes 7 |
Free Throws Made |
Xavier Rathan-Mayes 7 |
Malcolm Brogdon 1 |
Steals |
Dwayne Bacon 1 |
Mike Tobey 1 |
Blocks |
Devon Bookert 1 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Virginia
|
62 |
39.3 |
5-12 |
13-15 |
14 |
23 |
1 |
4 |
9 |
Florida St.
|
69 |
48.8 |
6-13 |
21-26 |
8 |
28 |
3 |
5 |
15 |