Third-seeded Florida State’s first trip to the NCAA Tournament in five years started as the Seminoles would have hoped — with a victory. No. 14 seed Florida Gulf Coast wouldn’t go away, but in the end, FSU was too much on Thursday night at the Amway Center, 86-80.
The Seminoles (26-8) led for most of the night, but a 12-0 run by the Eagles (26-8) in the latter part of the first half gave FGCU a 31-28 lead. FSU closed the half on a 12-5 run to take a 40-36 lead into the locker room and never trailed again.
Dwayne Bacon scored 25 points on an efficient 11-for-17 shooting to lead the Seminoles while Jonathan Isaac filled up the box score with 17 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and three blocks. Terance Mann scored 11 points. Xavier Rathan-Mayes added 10 points and five assists.
Though it was never able to pull away, FSU led by as many as 12 in the second half. Some sloppiness allowed Florida Gulf Coast to cut the lead to five with 34 seconds to play, but the Seminoles were able to make enough free throws to advance.
FGCU’s Brandon Goodwin finished with game-highs of 28 points and seven assists in the loss, but shot just 2-for-10 from deep. Zach Johnson added 17 points, but on just 5-for-16 shooting.
The Seminoles statistically dominated the game, shooting 56 percent from the field to the Eagles’ 41 percent. FSU also held the rebounding edge, 46-26. Sub-par efforts from downtown (2-for-13) and the foul line (24-for-39) from FSU however, allowed FGCU to stay in the game. 16 FSU turnovers didn’t help either.
With the win, Florida State sets a new record for wins in a season under head coach Leonard Hamilton with 26. FSU can tie a school-record for wins and advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2011 on Saturday with a victory over No. 11 seed Xavier. The Musketeers upset sixth-seeded Maryland earlier the evening, 76-65.
Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson
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