A Competitive Game with Missed Opportunities

Considering the opponent, it might have been the best offensive game the Florida State men’s basketball team has played all season. But because of the opponent, it didn’t end up resulting in a win. The Seminoles were tied at the half Saturday with No. 6 Duke and were down just points two in the final minute, but in the end, the Blue Devils made just enough plays — and free throws — down the stretch to hold off FSU for a 91-87 win in the Tucker Center.

“Not happy with the loss,” Florida State head coach Luke Loucks said. “But encouraged with the direction of this program that I think will continue to improve and move in the right direction.”

With 53 seconds remaining, Florida State guard Robert McCray buried a 3-pointer to cut the Duke lead to 85-82. But the Blue Devils’ star freshman, Cam Boozer, was fouled on the other end late in the shot clock and made both free throws to extend the lead to five.

Florida State wasn’t done, though. Kobe MaGee drilled a 3 with 23 seconds left to cut the Duke lead to two. The Seminoles elected to try to get a steal on the ensuing defensive possession, but they eventually were forced to foul Duke’s Isaiah Evans with 12 seconds remaining. The sophomore guard calmly made both free throws and the game was all but over.

Duke made two more free throws — the Blue Devils were 23-of-25 from the line overall — before McCray hit a layup at the buzzer for the final margin of 91-87.

It was fitting that Boozer and Evans helped put the game away for the Blue Devils. Boozer, considered to be a high lottery pick in this year’s NBA Draft, finished with 17 points, nine assists and five rebounds. Evans, who got many open looks because of the attention being paid to Boozer in the paint, finished with 28 points (on 6-of-14 shooting from 3-point range).

But even as well as Duke’s stars played on Saturday, the Seminoles were never out of reach, thanks to their own hot shooting. Florida State hit 14 of 30 shots from 3-point range and 53.4 percent overall.

“Credit to Florida State and the way they played,” Duke head coach Jon Scheyer said. “I thought they were incredible. I’ve known Luke for some time. Obviously, I played against him. I’m a big fan of what he’s done because I’ve been in his shoes. First year, taking over the program that you played for and love. And I think he’s continued to build on the things they do really well and but then also have a strong identity of what he believes in for his group. Clearly, I think tonight is an example. They shoot a lot of 3’s, they play with great pace and it makes for a very dangerous team. Especially if they’re hitting. And tonight they were hitting.”

Chauncey Wiggins scored 22 points (on 8-of-11 from the floor and 4-of-5 from 3-point range), and McCray added 22 points and five assists as well. MaGee hit four 3-pointers himself and finished with 17 points. Martin Somerville also added two 3-pointers for FSU, which is now 7-8 overall and 0-2 in the ACC.

A Glimpse of Potential

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But as head coach Luke Loucks said after Florida State’s 13-point loss at North Carolina earlier in the week, if the Seminoles continue to play hard and show improvement, they’re going to start winning games in the ACC. Because there aren’t 18 more Duke’s and UNCs out there.

“If we play the way we’ve played these past two games we’re going to win a lot of games in the ACC,” Loucks said. “The improvement is there from where we were during that five-game stretch to where we are now is two completely different teams. We have some fight to us. Some competitive spirit.”

Against any other opponent on Saturday, the Seminoles’ hot shooting and offense efficiency might have been enough to get a win. Florida State came into the game making just 31.3 percent of its shots from beyond the arc. On Saturday, however, the Seminoles stayed hot throughout and wound up shooting 47 percent from 3-point range. And of the 16 misses, most were wide-open looks that just didn’t go down.

Duke took advantage of one of the rare cold spells on the day for the Seminoles midway through the second half. The Blue Devils went on a 19-6 run from the 15:05 mark of the second half to the 8:37 mark. The Seminoles made just three field goals during that span and committed a couple of costly turnovers that turned into easy buckets on the other end.

And in the end, that run was enough for the No. 6 Blue Devils to escape with the four-point win over the upset-minded Seminoles.

Florida State plays again next Saturday at home vs. N.C. State.

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