It ended in dramatic fashion, but Florida State is undefeated no more.
The 19th-ranked Seminoles (9-1) fell one win shy of tying the best start in school-history on Saturday as they fell to Oklahoma State on a last-second tip-in to fall in the Orange Bowl Classic in Sunrise, 71-70. Mitchell Solomon was the hero as he tipped in a Kendall Smith miss with less than six seconds remaining.
The game-winner for Solomon followed the basket from Terance Mann that put FSU up one with 12 seconds to play. FSU had one last chance to try to steal the victory, but C.J. Walker was called for an offensive foul with less than a second remaining.
FSU led 38-34 at the break and by as many as seven in the second half, but were unable to hold on. Twice down the stretch, FSU had a chance to tie or take the lead at the free throw line, but both Phil Cofer and Braian Angola split a pair of big ones from the charity stripe.
Cofer finished with a career-high 22 points and three steals to pace FSU while Mann added 20 points and a career-high 14 rebounds. Mfiondu Kabengele added 12 points off the Florida State bench to go with a game-high three blocks.
FSU dominated statistically, shooting 41 percent to Oklahoma State’s 39 percent and won the rebounding battle, 41-37. The problem for Florida State was 22 turnovers — a season-high. The Cowboys (8-2) weren’t exactly protective of the ball, turning it over 17 times.
Oklahoma State was led by Jeffrey Carroll, who scored 23 points while shooting 4-for-7 from beyond the 3-point arc. The rest of the team was just a combined 4-for-21 from deep.
Solomon finished with 12 points, including the final four for the Cowboys, and a team-high 11 rebounds. Tavarius Shine added 12 on an efficient 5 of 6 from the field. Lindy Waters III added 10 points in the victory.
Fresh off its first win over a ranked opponent, Oklahoma State will return home to host Tulsa on Tuesday. FSU will have a short turnaround as it hosts Charleston Southern on Monday.
Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson
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