Nobody will question the buy-in from Florida State (2-1, 0-0) after their close loss to Florida (2-1, 0-0). The Seminoles took a 40-37 lead into the break, and hung with the defending national champs for most of the contest, but a 15-2 run from the Gators in the second half was too much for FSU to overcome as the Noles fell, 78-76.
It seemed like the game might get away from Florida State in the second half, as FSU trailed by nine, but the Noles continued to fight. A 6-0 run, with all six points coming from Robert McCray V, pulled the Seminoles within one with less than 90 seconds to play. McCray had a chance to tie the game at 74 with 17.5 seconds remaining, but missed the second of two free throws before the Gators iced the game from the stripe. It was a cruel ending for McCray, who carried the Seminoles offensively and finished with 29 points and four assists. Ultimately, tonight displayed the difference between an up-and-coming team and a national champion.
Still, even with a talent disadvantage and physical shortcomings (FSU was outrebounded 58-36), Luke Loucks’ team left everything on the floor and played a much more competitive game than most expected. Every time the Gators appeared to be pulling away, Florida State came off the mat and punched back. While Loucks will not claim any moral victories, especially when losing to a rival, it is difficult not to feel confident in the progress made by Florida State in the early portion of the season and see the potential for where they can go.
Neither team started sharply as the combined total of the two sides was 12 points at the under-16 TV timeout. It took the Noles almost two minutes to get their first points on the board, but FSU’s defensive tenacity kept UF from getting in a rhythm. As expected, however, Florida took an early advantage on the glass, collecting four offensive rebounds in the opening four minutes, a theme that would persist for the rest of the game.
UF pushed out in front, 12-5, with a quick 5-0 spurt, but an impressive three from Martin Somerville stemmed the tide and helped FSU answer. The Noles went on a 7-0 run while keeping the Gators from scoring for over two minutes and forcing three UF turnovers. Luke Loucks pulled out every stop to try to figure out the Gator size, including calling for a full-court press and a 1-3-1 zone.
However, Florida State could not push out further as its offense struggled against the Florida length. The Seminoles had a 2:30 scoring drought until Robert McCray rolled in a reverse layup to make it a 17-14 game at the midway point of the 1st half. The athletic disadvantage translated to foul trouble as the Gators entered the bonus with 10:16 in the 1st half after Lajae Jones picked up his second of the stanza.
After hanging around with the deficit between 3-5 points, Jones tied the game at 23 with a bucket plus the foul before the Noles took their first lead of the night on two free throws from Alex Steen at the 7:45 mark of the 1st half, capping off a 7-0 run. Two Chauncey Wiggins gave FSU a four-point advantage, 31-27, at the 5:30 mark. The Seminoles held Florida to 2-11 from three while shooting 5-11 up to that point, as the three ball cancelled out the talent advantage.
With the game tied 31-31 at the under-four media timeout, the helter-skelter pace continued as three-straight fouls sent both teams into the double bonus and to the free-throw line. Florida State finished the first half by frustrating Florida as the Gators turned the ball over 11 times in the opening 20 minutes. The Seminoles took a three-point lead into the break, 40-37, led by Chauncey Wiggins’ 11 points, as Loucks took his team to Gainesville and had them ready to play.
The second half started rocky for the Seminoles as Jones picked up two fouls in 46 seconds and was forced to sit with four fouls while FSU committed three fouls in the opening 90 seconds. The offense began to pick up as Florida State and Florida traded buckets, including a three from Kobe MaGee, which Florida instantly answered to make it a 47-45 game with 16:35 remaining in the second half. The Gators tied the game at 47, but again, FSU stayed in the fight and Thomas Bassong nailed a three to put the Noles back in front before McCray drew a shooting foul heading into the under-16.
Alex Steen picked up his fourth foul six minutes into the half, as he and Jones each had four, and the Gators entered the bonus with 13:27 left in the second half, trailing 53-49. Florida missed the front end of a 1-on-1, but corralled an offensive rebound, their 13th of the game, and Boogie Fland swished a three to cut the Seminole lead to one. However, MaGee drew a foul and knocked down two free throws as FSU did not allow UF to capitalize on the momentum. But, Florida kept coming. The Gators missed a free throw, grabbed an offensive rebound, missed another shot, grabbed an offensive rebound, and tied the game at 55 on a dunk.
After the under-12 timeout, Florida opened the game up. A Thomas Haugh layup and five-straight points from Fland pushed the Gators out to a seven-point lead, 64-57, with 8:57 of the second half. The Seminoles began to run out of gas as UF was on a 12-2 run over the last 3:41, and FSU was 1 of their last 9 from the field.
Loucks called a timeout in an attempt to keep touch and give his team a blow, but it did not matter. Florida turned a missed three into a transition layup, going up nine. During this game-altering stretch, FSU went scoreless for over three minutes and missed nine straight shots from the field as fatigue set in. MaGee stopped the bleeding with a three to make it a 66-60 game, but Steen picked up his fifth foul on the next trip down the floor, putting the Gators into the double bonus and back up by eight.
With 6:11 left, McCray knocked down two free throws to make it a seven-point deficit, and two minutes later, scooped home a layup to run his total to 17 on the night and keep FSU in touch.
Trailing 71-64 at the under-4 timeout, McCray forced his way inside and picked up two points before a nifty jump-stop and floater made it a one-possession game with 90 seconds to go. The JU transfer continued to drive the offense for Florida State as he drew a foul and calmly drained two free throws, pulling the Noles within one with 1:24 to go as FSU went on a 6-0 run over the last 1:37.
Out of a timeout, Florida splashed a late three to go up by four, but McCray quickly got back into the paint and scored a bucket to bring Florida State back within two. After a defensive stop, McCray was fouled and went to the line, but missed the back end of a one-and-one as the Seminoles trailed by one, 74-73, with 17.5 seconds to go.
After two free throws from Fland, McCray found a decent look in the corner from three and missed off the front iron before the rebound fell into Florida’s hands. Alex Condon put the game out of reach with two free throws and an impressive FSU comeback fell short, 78-76.
- Robert McCray single-handedly kept Florida State in the game with his deft moves to get inside the paint and an ability to either draw fouls or finish at the rim. McCray led the team in minutes with 34 and points with 29, and went 9-12 from the free-throw line. The Seminole offense dried up in the second half, as FSU shot 30% from the field and 20% from three, and McCray provided the only shot in the arm.
- It was clear that rebounding was going to be a problem this season, especially against a team like Florida with its size, and those worries were confirmed on Tuesday. Florida State was out-rebounded 58-36, allowing 17 offensive rebounds, and two Florida players picked up double-doubles. Loucks pulled every trick in the book to try and cancel out the advantage, and it was not for a lack of effort as the guards consistently crashed the glass, but their is no substitute for size and athleticism.
- Even with the offensive rebounds allowed, the Seminoles played an impressive defensive game. Florida finished the contest going 6-31 from deep and 4-17 from three in the second half. The Gators only scored 36 points in the paint, and while the low number can be attributed to shooting free throws, FSU battled inside all game and gave up no easy buckets. Florida State also turned the Gators over 11 times in the first half and seven times in the second half as the Noles won the turnover battle 18-13.
The Seminoles have a week off before returning home and taking on UT Martin on Tuesday, November 18th. Leonard Hamilton will have a pregame ceremony before the game.
