Syracuse Holds Off FSU, 82-72

A valiant effort from Florida State was all for naught on Saturday as the Seminoles dropped their second straight game, falling at Syracuse, 82-72 in the Carrier Dome.

FSU trailed 44-26 at the break, but whittled the Syracuse lead down to two on four different occasions in the second half, but never could get over the hump. John Gillon scored the last 10 points for the Orange (13-9, 5-4 ACC), beginning with a short runner with 1:21 to play that extended the lead to 74-70.

Gillon finished the day with 21 points and a game-high 11 assists while backcourt mate Andrew White III led all scorers with 24 points. Tyler Lydon finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds to lead Syracuse while Tyler Roberson added 10 points off the bench.

Though FSU whittled the lead down to two on four different occasions in the second half, only twice did the Seminoles (18-4, 6-3 ACC) have the ball with the chance to tie or take the lead. On both occasions, FSU turned it over. FSU finished the day shooting just 38 percent from the field and missed its final five shots.

Dwayne Bacon and Jonathan Isaac each scored 19 points to lead FSU. Isaac added a game-high 12 boards for his fourth double-double in five games. Xavier Rathan-Mayes finished with 16 points and a team-high five assists in the loss.

Florida State will wrap up a stretch of three straight road games on Wednesday against rival Miami. Syracuse will also be in action as it looks for its first ACC road win against North Carolina State.

Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson