Florida State University Athletics
Saturday, January 6
Tallahassee, Fla.
4:00 p.m.
Florida State
8-6,2-1ACC
77
vs
74
Virginia Tech
9-5,1-2ACC
1
2
F
Virginia Tech
30
44
74
Florida St.
27
50
77
Seminoles Defeat Virginia Tech For Second Straight ACC Win, 77-74
1/6/2024 8:28:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Tallahassee, Fla. – Florida State's Primo Spears made two free throws and Taylor Bol Bowen added a third as the Seminoles scored the final three points of the game from the line and held off Virginia Tech, 77-74, to gain their second consecutive ACC home win on Saturday at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
Spears hit two free throws with 1.2 seconds remaining in regulation to give the Seminoles a 76-74 lead. On the ensuing in-bounds pass, Virginia Tech attempted a full court pass that went untouched by the Hokies, giving the Seminoles possession under their own basket. A foul was called on Virginia Tech's Sean Pedulla which sent Bol Bowen to the line for two more shots. He made the first shot to give the Seminoles a 77-74 lead but missed the second giving the Hokies life. Hunter Cattoor grabbed the rebound of the missed free throw and was on-target but short on a game-tying shot.
The Seminoles improved to 2-1 in league play.
Florida State's Jaylan Gainey, Spears, and Cam Corhen led four Seminoles in double-figures with 11 points each. Darin Green Jr. scored 10 points for the home team.
"It was hard fought," said Florida State Head Coach Leonard Hamilton. "It all came down to the wire. I thought we had our moments, but we showed how great we can make moments when it counts."
Spears earned his sixth double-digit scoring game and has scored 10 or more points in each of his six games as a Seminole. His most important points came in the final 1.2 seconds as he scored two free throws to give the Seminoles a 76-74 lead.
"Trying to make the right play, it looks easy watching it on film," said Virginia Tech Head Coach Mike Young. "It looks easy to the team, but it's hard because Florida State is an aggressive team."
The second half was all Florida State as it went on a 14-0 run during a span of 3:40 which transferred the momentum to Florida State.
Gainey had a standout game creating his career high for points at Florida State with 11 to lead the team in the game. He was instrumental in creating opportunities for Florida State to score while only playing for 12 minutes.
Jamir Watkins scored 10 points for the Seminoles and pulled down eight rebounds.
"Our team has a lot of moving parts - us learning to play together," said Hamilton. Gainey is giving us help, Cam Corhen coming back, and Primo coming in and giving us a big lift with his speed and quickness."
Florida State's Baba Miler had a stellar all-around game with eight points, 10 rebounds, five assists and three steals. He finished with double figure rebounds for the third time this season.
Pedulla led the Hokies with 26 points along with Hunter Cattoor scoring 19 points.
"This game is a step in the right direction," said Hamilton. "We're going to enjoy this for about 45 minutes before we start looking ahead and preparing for Wake Forest on Tuesday."
The final game of the Seminoles' seven-home game stretch is Tuesday, January 9 at 7:00 p.m. against the Demon Deacons in the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center. It is a Heritage Game with the Seminoles wearing their special N7 turquoise uniforms.
Spears hit two free throws with 1.2 seconds remaining in regulation to give the Seminoles a 76-74 lead. On the ensuing in-bounds pass, Virginia Tech attempted a full court pass that went untouched by the Hokies, giving the Seminoles possession under their own basket. A foul was called on Virginia Tech's Sean Pedulla which sent Bol Bowen to the line for two more shots. He made the first shot to give the Seminoles a 77-74 lead but missed the second giving the Hokies life. Hunter Cattoor grabbed the rebound of the missed free throw and was on-target but short on a game-tying shot.
The Seminoles improved to 2-1 in league play.
Florida State's Jaylan Gainey, Spears, and Cam Corhen led four Seminoles in double-figures with 11 points each. Darin Green Jr. scored 10 points for the home team.
"It was hard fought," said Florida State Head Coach Leonard Hamilton. "It all came down to the wire. I thought we had our moments, but we showed how great we can make moments when it counts."
Spears earned his sixth double-digit scoring game and has scored 10 or more points in each of his six games as a Seminole. His most important points came in the final 1.2 seconds as he scored two free throws to give the Seminoles a 76-74 lead.
"Trying to make the right play, it looks easy watching it on film," said Virginia Tech Head Coach Mike Young. "It looks easy to the team, but it's hard because Florida State is an aggressive team."
The second half was all Florida State as it went on a 14-0 run during a span of 3:40 which transferred the momentum to Florida State.
Gainey had a standout game creating his career high for points at Florida State with 11 to lead the team in the game. He was instrumental in creating opportunities for Florida State to score while only playing for 12 minutes.
Jamir Watkins scored 10 points for the Seminoles and pulled down eight rebounds.
"Our team has a lot of moving parts - us learning to play together," said Hamilton. Gainey is giving us help, Cam Corhen coming back, and Primo coming in and giving us a big lift with his speed and quickness."
Florida State's Baba Miler had a stellar all-around game with eight points, 10 rebounds, five assists and three steals. He finished with double figure rebounds for the third time this season.
Pedulla led the Hokies with 26 points along with Hunter Cattoor scoring 19 points.
"This game is a step in the right direction," said Hamilton. "We're going to enjoy this for about 45 minutes before we start looking ahead and preparing for Wake Forest on Tuesday."
The final game of the Seminoles' seven-home game stretch is Tuesday, January 9 at 7:00 p.m. against the Demon Deacons in the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center. It is a Heritage Game with the Seminoles wearing their special N7 turquoise uniforms.
Team Stats
VT
FSU
FG%
.490
.459
3FG%
.478
.200
FT%
.650
.621
RB
35
32
TO
16
10
STL
2
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
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