National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Florida St. 78, Syracuse 73
When: 2:00 PM ET, Saturday, March 5, 2016
Where: Donald L. Tucker Center, Tallahassee, Florida
Officials: # Tim Comer, # Jerry Heater, # Jamie Luckie
Attendance: 7769

Florida State and Syracuse are both hoping for a bid to the NCAA Tournament, but it was the Seminoles who boosted their chances Saturday with a 78-73 win against the Orange at the Donald L. Tucker Center in Tallahassee, Fla.

The win avenged 85-72 rout Feb. 11 by the Orange in New York.

Florida State's star freshman duo -- guards Malik Beasley and Dwayne Bacon -- led the Seminoles (18-12, 8-10) with a combined 36 points. The top scoring freshmen duo in the nation showed out on Senior Day as Beasley led with 20 and Bacon finished 16 points.

Guard Xavier Rathan-Rayes added 16 points, including a crucial free throw down and the game-ending layup down the stretch to seal the win.

The Orange (19-12, 9-9) fell, despite having four players score in double figures: Forward Michael Gbinije with 21 points, forward Tyler Lydon with 16 points, guard Malachi Richardson with 15 points and guard Trevor Cooney with 12 points. Richardson led Syracuse with five rebounds and Gbinije added five assists.

Florida State outrebounded Syracuse 43-26.

Syracuse went to halftime leading 35-31, but Florida State shot out of intermission with a 13-6 run to regain the lead quickly and never gave it back.

Four Florida State seniors played their final home game Saturday: guard Devon Bookert, forward Montay Brandon, guard Michael Saxton and center Boris Bojanovsky, who had a team-high eight rebounds in Saturday's win. Center Michael Ojo, who didn't play this year with a leg injury, still hopes to have a final year next year provided the NCAA grants his medical redshirt.

Florida State's postseason -- beyond a first-round game Tuesday in the ACC tournament -- is unclear. This group of seniors has never been to an NCAA Tournament, and a bid looks still looks slim according to current projections. The ACC tournament this year is being held in Washington D.C. for only the second time in the conference's history.

Florida State ended the season 10-4 at home.
Top Game Performances
 
Syracuse   Florida St.
Michael Gbinije 21 Scoring Malik Beasley 20
Michael Gbinije 5 Assists Devon Bookert 4
Tyler Lydon 5 Rebounds Dwayne Bacon 8
Michael Gbinije 3 Free Throws Made Dwayne Bacon 6
Tyler Roberson 4 Steals Xavier Rathan-Mayes 3
Tyler Roberson 2 Blocks Boris Bojanovsky 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Syracuse 73 46.4 8-26 13-19 17 24 2 10 16
Florida St. 78 47.5 7-24 15-21 19 40 4 10 19