FSU Basketball stays unbeaten with overtime win over ranked LSU

FSU basketball needed a second half comeback and five extra game minutes to set up a showdown with the defending national champs on Sunday.

With three minutes left to go Friday afternoon on the property of Walt Disney World, it looked as if the magical early season start for the FSU basketball team, ranked No. 14 in the country, was going to come to an end at the hands of the No. 19 ranked LSU Tigers as the men in purple held a nine point lead in the semifinals of the Advocare Invitational.

Thankfully for head coach Leonard Hamilton and his Seminoles, the game didn’t end their as the Noles outscore the Tigers 12-3 to end the second half and took advantage of overtime to stay unbeaten and enjoy a day off following the 79-76 victory.

After FSU basketball took a one point lead into the locker room at the half, the Tigers used a quick burst to open the second half and the teams traded the lead for the opening minutes before LSU went on an 8-0 run to take control of the game and make it look like the Noles would lose their first game of the season.

But, the Seminoles would bounce back and go on a run of their own that included MJ Walker nailing a three pointer to pull the Noles within one. After LSU missed one of their two free throws, Trent Forrest was the hero of the moment with a layup that sent the game into overtime.

In the extra frame, FSU basketball scored the first five points before LSU came back and tied it up. Then, with the game tied at 76 and just seconds to play, Mfiondu Kabengele shot a three pointer from the corner that hit every corner of the rim before going in.

Walker would lead the Seminoles with 21 points while Kabengele added 15 more as the Noles shot just 38 percent from the field in the game (including less than 35 percent from the three point line) while missing five free throws that could have kept them from playing extra time.

Nonetheless, FSU basketball now sits at 5-0 on the season and will take on the defending champion Villanova Wildcats on Sunday for the tournament title. The Cats, who won the first two games of their season before getting destroyed by Michigan and upset by Furman in overtime, have dominated since getting to Central Florida – beating Canisius and Oklahoma State by a combined 46 points.

All time, the Seminoles and Wildcats have met just once before with Villanova getting a one point victory during the 1988-89 season when the teams played in a tournament…in Orlando.