The Daily Nole

Noles Hold Off Hokies in ACC Quarterfinal, 74-68

Al Bello/Getty Images

For the first time since 2012, Florida State is headed to the semifinals of the ACC Tournament. The second-seeded Seminoles used a big second half run and held off a late Virginia Tech spurt to beat the Hokies in Brooklyn on Thursday, 74-68.

Virginia Tech senior Zach LeDay led all scorers with 22 points and paced the Hokies with nine rebounds, but having to go to the bench after picking up his fourth foul seemed to turn the tide in the contest. Virginia Tech (22-10, 10-8 ACC) led 52-50 when LeDay picked up his fourth foul with more than nine minutes to play and FSU (25-7, 12-6 ACC) responded with an 18-1 run to seize control of the contest.

Dwayne Bacon and Terance Mann each scored seven points during the run as the FSU lead was built to 15. Virginia Tech answered with 10 straight points to cut the lead to five. The Hokies had a chance with under a minute to go to make it a 1-possession game, but the Seminoles were able to hit enough free throws and get enough stops to advance to play Friday.

Bacon finished with 17 points to lead FSU, but on just 4-for-17 shooting. Bacon was 9-for-10 at the line and as a team, the Seminoles shot a stellar 83 percent, going 19-for-23 on the night from the free throw line. Mann and Jonathan Isaac each added 11 points in the victory. Isaac also grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds.

On the glass was a place where the Seminoles enjoyed a healthy advantage, outrebounding Virginia Tech, 45-31. The second chance points helped alleviate a poor shooting night from deep as FSU went just 3-for-16 from beyond the 3-point arc. The Hokies shot just 39 percent from the field. After shooting 7-for-15 from deep in the first half, Virginia Tech went just 1-for-10 in the second.

Complimenting LeDay’s 22, Seth Allen scored 17 points for Virginia Tech. Justin Robinson shot 3-for-5 from downtown en route to finishing the night with 14 points. Robinson and FSU’s Xavier Rathan-Mayes each recorded a game-high six assists.

The Seminoles will be in action again on Friday night against either third seed Notre Dame or sixth-seeded Virginia. The Hokies will wait to hear their name called for the NCAA Tournament during Sunday’s NCAA Selection Show.

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

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply