National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Florida State 79, Louisiana State 76
When: 4:30 PM ET, Friday, November 23, 2018
Where: HP Field House, Kissimmee, Florida
Officials: # Brent Hampton, # Ray Natili, # Bo Boroski
Attendance: N/A

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

Top Game Performances
 
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 Stats Summary
 
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
?>