FSU Basketball Loses Thriller to Duke

The FSU basketball team nearly harnessed the power of a boisterous Tucker Center crowd to finish a dramatic comeback tonight, but time ran out on the Seminoles, who suffered a tough 73-70 loss to the No. 5 Duke Blue Devils in Tallahassee.

A Missed Opportunity

Florida State, which has struggled out of the gates all year, couldn’t have asked for a more generous Blue Devil team early. Duke didn’t register a point until there was 13:43 left in the first half. Sloppy play and a pesky Seminole defense saw the Devils miss their first eight field goal attempts.

The problem, however, is that FSU’s start was nearly as anemic. At the under-16 media timeout, the ‘Noles led just 2-0. At the under-12 break, the Seminole lead was 11-8. For while Duke made only two of its first 10 field goal attempts, Florida State sunk just three of its own first ten to start.

Duke captured the lead when the ‘Noles experienced what’s become an all-too-common occurrence this season: an extended first-half drought. The Seminoles have a penchant for sticking on a number for a lengthy stretch while their opponent pulls away.

Tonight that number was 11. After claiming that 11-8 edge at the 11:39 mark, FSU stayed right there for five full minutes, falling behind 20-11. Both teams warmed up, gradually, and the Blue Devils led 32-24 at the half.

Bookert Leads the Charge Back

Early in the second stanza, it appeared as if Duke wanted to silence the raucous FSU crowd and put this one away early. The Devils pushed their lead to 14 five minutes in to take a 45-31 advantage. But these ‘Noles are scrappy, and certainly no strangers to deficits. They’re also quite familiar with erasing those deficits, which they nearly did again tonight.

At the forefront of this comeback was junior Devon Bookert. After posting a pedestrian six points in the first half, Bookert scorched Duke for 17 in the second to finish with a career-high 23 on efficient 6-8 shooting. Bookert also distributed very nicely, producing a team-high six assists that got others involved as well. Bookert credited his teammates, stating that “it showed our character that we didn’t just give in when adversity came.”

The Freshmen X-Factors: Rathan-Mayes and Berwick

While Bookert was the unquestioned star for FSU in this one, a couple other Seminoles played big parts, too. Freshman point guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes struggled throughout the game, hitting on just 2-7 field goals and accounting for six turnovers, while producing just a lone assist. As a result, he was held to just 30 minutes, his lowest total since a 26-minute effort against North Florida on December 17.

Enter Robbie Berwick.

Berwick played 22 minutes (his most since a January 6 win over Virginia Tech) and only made two baskets, but they were huge shots. After the ‘Noles had trimmed the Duke lead to 50-42 about halfway through the second half, Berwick hit back-to-back triples to bring it to 51-48. A Tucker Center that had begun deflating was reinvigorated, powered by a sold-out student section of 4,000 strong.

Ojo Impresses

Another bright spot for the Seminoles was junior center Michael Ojo. Although he contributed just one point, the 7-1, 292 lb. Nigerian was everywhere in this one. He played a career-high 21 minutes and cleaned up on the boards, collecting a game and career-high nine caroms. He also matched his career high in blocks, with three, the last of which played a big part in what was nearly a comeback win for the ‘Noles.

Overall, the ‘Noles were simply a better team with Ojo on the floor. His +/- rating of +9 was the best on the Florida State roster.

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Not Quite Enough

The Blue Devils responded to Berwick’s threes, getting the ball inside to push their lead back to 12 with five minutes left. But FSU simply would not relent, as Bookert and a workman-like Montay Brandon, who finished with 12 points, got the advantage down to three yet again. The aforementioned Ojo block and an acrobatic Rathan-Mayes’ layup made it 70-69 with 11 seconds left, but Duke made its free throws and fouled, never giving the ‘Noles a shot at a game-tying three.

Looking Ahead

The loss makes FSU 13-12 on the season and 5-7 in the ACC. The ‘Noles next game is a very winnable one in Atlanta against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on Saturday. Tipoff is scheduled for 2:30 pm.