FSU Basketball: Seminoles Lose to Northeastern 76-73

FSU Basketball suffered its first loss of the season on Tuesday night, dropping to 1-1 after a 76-73 loss to the Northeastern Huskies.

A year after beating Northeastern on a last-minute Devon Bookert shot in the consolation game of the Puerto Rico Classic– the Huskies had a little bit of revenge in store for the Seminoles.

FSU lost to Northeastern 76-73 on Tuesday night as Xavier Rathan-Mayes’ last-second attempt at a game-tying three-pointer rimmed out with his teammates watching helplessly beneath the hoop. Northeastern — who returned all five starters from last year’s game — shot 60% from behind the arc on a night where three points made all the difference.

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“Luckily we had enough composure down the stretch to earn the victory,” said Northeastern head coach Bill Coen, who also said his team was really amped for this rematch.

Florida State was not without its chances on Tuesday night. The Seminoles had a chance to cut the Northeastern lead to two following a foul on a Montay Brandon put-back, but Brandon missed the free throw. After forcing a Huskies miss down at the other end, Brandon grabbed the rebound and raced toward the hoop but turned the ball over before getting a shot up.

Then, following an Aaron Thomas three-pointer that cut the Northeastern lead to one in the final minute, FSU couldn’t connect from outside the perimeter on multiple attempts as the final seconds expired.

On the night the Seminoles shot just 20% from deep.

The Seminoles also only shot 50% from the charity stripe — connecting on just five of ten free throws — while Northeastern hit on 11 of 14 attempts.

Those two stats made all the difference.

“I think we lost to a team that did a great job of executing when they had the opportunity,” said FSU head coach Leonard Hamilton. “Each time they had an opportunity with an open shot– they made us pay.

“You have some of those nights.”

Beyond the issues at the arc and the free throw line, there were some promising developments for this young Florida State team.

FSU’s rebounding improved from the opener, neither team had the edge on Tuesday night — both finished with 30 — but the Seminoles cut the offensive boards given up from 15 in their opener to just six against the Huskies.

The Seminoles also cut-down on turnovers, committing just 12– led by Aaron Thomas’ seven.

But Thomas also scored 24 points for FSU, contributing six rebounds, three assists and six steals too. Montay Brandon chipped in with 16 points and seven boards while Phil Cofer added 14 and five.

Xavier Rathan-Mayes — the highly-touted freshman recruit who missed last season with academic issues — made his collegiate debut playing 16 minutes and contributing three assists too.

But, all in all, it was a disappointing evening for Florida State. While Tuesday night’s loss isn’t anything to panic about it, there is a possibility it will haunt FSU come tournament time– especially if the Seminoles are on the bubble.

“We still have room for improvement — it’s early in the season — [but] you have to give Northeastern credit,” said Hamilton. “[But] I think we have a chance to be a very good basketball team.”

Notebook: Hamilton said after game he hopes this loss will be more meaningful than if FSU had beat a team by 25 points… This was FSU’s first loss to a CAA school… Kiel Turpin — who played 23 minutes in FSU’s opener — played just nine minutes tonight… FSU’s three big-men — Turpin, Boris Bojanovsky and Michael Ojo — combined for just nine of FSU’s 30 rebounds… Hamilton said FSU’s defensive issues around the perimeter were an issue of execution and not a matter of capability… Xavier Rathan-Mayes was forced to miss the opener because he played in one of FSU’s exhibitions… Next up for Florida State is a trip to Connecticut to take on Providence and UMass in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Classic.

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