Bad fouls and clutch missed free throws were too much for Florida State to overcome in Winston-Salem on Wednesday night as the Seminoles suffered their most embarrassing loss of the season, falling to Wake Forest, 76-72.
FSU (16-6, 5-5 ACC) led by 10 points on two occasions in the first half. A 3-pointer by Wake’s Keyshawn Woods just before the first half horn sounded cut the Florida State lead to 39-33 at the break and seemed to shift the momentum as the Deacon Deacons used it to spur a 22-8 run.
The Demon Deacons (9-13, 2-8 ACC) led for most of the final frame, but the lead changed hands four times over the final 1:49. Senior Phil Cofer led FSU with 23 points and gave the Seminoles their last lead at 72-71 with a layup with 1:06 to play.
After a pair of free throws from Brandon Childress put Wake Forest back in front with 44 seconds to play, Cofer drew a fifth foul on Wake’s Olivier Sarr with 29 seconds remaining. Both of Cofer’s free throws however, rimmed out and the Demon Deacons were able to extend their lead to three on a dunk by Doral Moore after breaking an FSU trap.
Florida State’s M.J. Walker had a chance to tie the game with a triple, but it missed short with 2.3 seconds to play. Moore iced the game by splitting a pair of free throws on the other end.
Nine of Wake Forest’s final 13 points came from the foul line with many of the whistles coming with the Demon Deacons away from the basket and the shot clock running down. Bryant Crawford led Wake with 19 points on an efficient 6-for-12 shooting to go with a game-high seven assists. Woods and Chaundee Brown each added 15 points while Childress ascored 14. Moore grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds for the Demon Deacons.
That was an area where FSU held a slight 37-33 advantage, but the Seminoles shot just 44 percent from the field compared to Wake’s 47. The Demon Deacons also shot better from deep, going 8-for-19 compared to FSU’s 6-for-21. Neither team shot the bell well from the foul line as FSU went just 12-for-20 compared to Wake’s 18 of 28.
In addition to Cofer’s big night, Christ Koumadje and Terance Mann each scored 10 points for FSU in the loss. Koumadje grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Seminoles. Trent Forrest added five points and six rebounds to go with team-highs of five assists and three steals.
FSU will look to avoid falling back below .500 in ACC play on Saturday when it travels to face a Louisville team that overcame a 17-point deficit to snap the Seminoles’ 29-game home winning streak earlier in the season. After snapping a 7-game losing streak on Wednesday, the Demon Deacons will remain home to take on Clemson.
Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson
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