Florida State basketball gave the defending national champions Villanova Wildcats a tough contest, but were unable to pull off the victory on the AdvoCare Invitational championship game. The Seminoles fell to the Wildcats 66-60 on Sunday afternoon.
For the second straight game of the tournament, the Seminoles struggled from the outside. P.J. Savoy could not find his footing and M.J. Walker was hounded all game. Terance Mann hit the first outside shot two minutes into the second half, which should give an indication of how FSU was performing from the 3-point line. They made just 25 percent of their attempts.
The scoring effort was evenly distributed amongst the team. 10 different players recorded a bucket, and six scored at least five points on Sunday.
Villanova’s offense was carried by guard Collin Gillespie, who had one of the best games of his career. In the first half alone he went 4-for-4 from the field and notched nine total points. He finished the game with 17 points.
The Wildcats held a 26-25 lead at half thanks to marginally better offense. Neither team played exceptionally well, and the turnovers for each team were starting to wear down the offensive potency. They combined for 17 total in the first half. It was anyone’s game heading into the locker rooms.
The contest became even closer after the break. Both FSU and Villanova began to push the offensive pace, leading to more opportunities down low. Villanova benefitted more from the state of affairs. Forward Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree started to do work on the inside and scored nine points on 4-for-4 shooting.
Florida State responded with stellar post play of their own. Mfiondu Kabengele and RaiQuan Gray combined for 13 points and five rebounds. Overall, the balanced scoring effort continued, as five different players scored at least five points.
It came down to the final minutes of the game. Villanova took a five point lead late when they were able to convert a couple of opportunities near the rim, but Florida State remained aggressive and continued to close the gap. After two missed free throws by the Wildcats, Trent Forrest stormed down the court and finished inside to make it 62-60. Thanks to two made Villanova free throws and a questionable offensive foul call on Florida State, the game was out or reach as time winded down.
Florida State moves to 5-1 on the season and will prepare for another tough non-conference opponent in the 24th ranked Purdue Boilermakers. The game is in the Tucker Civic Center on Wednesday, November 11th at 9:00 p.m. EST.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login