The Daily Nole

Forrest’s Late Runner Sinks No. 19 Purdue, 73-72

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A late runner by Florida State guard Trent Forrest with 5.2 seconds to go capped a 9-0 run to end the game and lifted the No. 15 Seminoles past 19th-ranked Purdue in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge at the Donald L. Tucker Center on Wednesday night, 73-72.

The Seminoles (6-1) led by as many as 16 in the first half and 44-32 at the break before a 30-7 run by Purdue helped the Boilermakers seize control of the contest. Purdue led 72-64 with 3:41 to play but was unable to score for the remainder of the contest.

Up 72-71, Purdue had multiple chances to pad its lead, but Carsen Edwards missed a pair of clutch free throws with over a minute to play before turning it over the next possession. With 14 seconds remaining and FSU seemingly having to foul, Purdue’s Ryan Cline was tied up for a jump ball, which ultimately set up Forrest’s runner in the lane. Cline’s errant pass was stolen by Forrest on the final possession of the game and sealed the victory for Florida State.

Despite struggling early on and then again late, Edwards led all scorers with 24 points in the loss while Cline scored 21 points — all on 3-pointers. Evan Boudreaux added 12 points and a team-high eight rebounds in the defeat.

M.J. Walker was the only FSU player in double-figures with 13 points — all in the second half. Forrest, Terance Mann, David Nichols and P.J. Savoy each finished with nine points. Mann led Florida State with eight rebounds and two blocks.

FSU shot 44 percent for the contest to 43 percent for the Boilermakers. Purdue held a 35-29 edge on the glass, but turned the ball over 20 times to just 17 for the Seminoles.

With the win, FSU extends its home non-conference winning streak to 28 games. The Seminoles will get the weekend off before hosting Troy on Monday. Purdue will face another ranked opponent on the road on Saturday when it travels to take on Michigan.

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

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