Florida State basketball will come into Tuesday night’s contest against Clemson desperate for a win. That was also the case at the Donald L. Tucker Center on this day 15 years ago as the Seminoles pulled off a comeback for the ages against a top-10 North Carolina team, 90-81.
As they currently are, FSU entered its home arena on Jan. 22, 2004 on a 3-game losing streak and at 1-3 in ACC play. For Florida State to be a realistic NCAA Tournament contender, a win was much needed as No. 7 North Carolina came to town.
From the early moments on, it appeared that the Tar Heels were just too talented with a lineup that included Rashad McCants, Raymond Felton, Sean May and Jawad Williams. Less than 15 minutes into the contest, FSU found itself on the short end of a 42-18 score.
FSU finished the half on a 17-7 run to close to within 14 at the break and were able to cut that to 10 by the early parts of the second half, but with under 13 minutes to play, the Tar Heels had pushed the lead back to 18 at 67-49. That’s when FSU star guard Tim Pickett went to work, scoring 13 points over the final 11 minutes and change of regulation.
With under a minute to play, FSU had cut the lead to three when May caught a pass under the basket for what seemed to be an easy lay-in for UNC. Out of nowhere came FSU forward Alexander Johnson for the block from behind to keep the Seminoles’ hopes alive.
With the score 78-75, a slip by a North Carolina defender freed up FSU guard Todd Galloway for a wide open 3-point look in the corner. Galloway calmly knocked down the trey with seven seconds left to tie the game. Williams would get an open look on the other end at the buzzer, but the shot went long and the game headed for overtime.
In the extra period, North Carolina would stand no chance. Pickett scored six of his game-high 30 points in overtime as the Seminoles scored the first 12 points to take a commanding 90-78 lead. Williams’ 3-pointer with 20 seconds remaining would serve as the only points for North Carolina in the extra period.
Pickett was responsible for three of the eight 3-point makes on the night for the Seminoles while adding nine rebounds and two steals. Johnson was the only other FSU player in double-figures, finishing with 15 points, five rebounds and three blocks. All in all, 11 different Seminoles scored in the contest.
McCants would finish with 26 points to lead North Carolina in the loss. The Tar Heels shot just 1-for-9 from downtown in overtime after going 10-for-15 in the first half.
FSU would beat four AP-ranked teams during the 2003-04 season, but ultimately fell short of making the NCAA Tournament. Still, the 24-point comeback remains the largest under head coach Leonard Hamilton, who was in his second season in Tallahassee at the time. It happened on this day 15 years ago.
Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson
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