A big early hole proved to be too much for Florida State to climb out of in the ACC Tournament semifinals at the Barclays Center late Friday night. The second-seeded Seminoles fought valiantly in the second half, but ultimately fell to third-seeded Notre Dame, 77-73.
In the two regular season games between the schools, Notre Dame shot a combined 22-for-43 from beyond the 3-point line. Unfortunately for FSU (25-8), that was a trend that continued on Friday night. For the night, the Fighting Irish (25-8) actually shot better from beyond the arc (13-for-27) than they did inside the arc (15-for-32).
Exceptional 3-point shooting allowed Notre Dame to lead by as many as 18 in the first half and take a 42-26 lead into the locker room. In the second half, the Seminoles were sparked by an unlikely source in Braian Angola-Rodas, who scored 16 of his career-high 17 points after halftime. FSU cut the lead to eight on three separate occasions near the 9-minute mark of the second half, but had trouble getting any closer.
A key momentum swing came with Notre Dame leading 63-55 and under eight minutes to play. Notre Dame senior Steve Vasturia, who tied for a game-high with 18 points, seemed to get away with an apparent offensive foul, leading to an uncontested lay-in. FSU center Christ Koumadje was then called for a touch foul away from the ball on the other end.
Shoddy free throw shooting down the stretch from Notre Dame left the door for the Seminoles, who cut the lead to five in the final minute. On two separate occasions, FSU had the ball with a chance to make it a 1-possession game, but was unable to convert.
Vasturia and Bonzie Colson each shot 7-for-13 and finished with 18 points for Notre Dame. Matt Farrell added 15 points to go with a game-high six assists. Matt Ryan went 3-for-4 from deep off the Notre Dame bench to finish with 11.
Dwayne Bacon also scored 18 points for FSU to finish with one more than Angola-Rodas. Xavier Rathan-Mayes added 13 points and five assists. Jonathan Isaac struggled offensively for FSU with just five points, but grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds and blocked a game-high two shots.
Despite the loss, FSU is a lock to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time in five years. It will find out its region and seed on Sunday. Notre Dame will go for its second conference title in three years as it plays Duke for the ACC Championship on Saturday night. The Blue Devils defeated North Carolina earlier in the evening, 93-83.
Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson
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