Florida State, after coming close to securing its first road and conference win of the Luke Loucks era its last time out, took on the Wake Forest Demon Deacons on Saturday in hopes of acheiving the latter.
The Seminoles had a hot start but let Wake Forest find itself back into the matchup off turnovers, mantaining a 34-31 lead at halftime.
A back-and-forth second period saw the Seminoles lead by as much as nine late in the game, but an untimely turnover by Robert McCray V gave the Demon Deacons an opprotunity
for a go-ahead bucket with five on the clock, a moment taken advantage of as Wake Forest secured the comeback win as Florida State’s final shot fell short.
Florida State is now 7-11 (0-5 ACC) on the season.
First half
Florida State got off to a strong start, leading 8-2 early before Wake Forest managed to take advantage of a Seminoles scoring drought, getting within one at the 16-minute mark.
FSU proceeded to push its lead to four off a Robert McCray three-ball, becoming the third FSU player to hit from beyond the arc in the first. LaJae Jones became the fourth a few possessions later to put FSU ahead 16-9 at the 14:32 mark but once again, the Demon Deacons found themselves back in the game after a three-pointer and a subsequent dunk off a McCray turnover — his third of the half— made it 16-14.
Cam Miles hit a three of his own shortly after, putting FSU back up by five and AJ Swinton tacked an additional trey on the Seminoles’ next possession to make it 24-16 with 9:41 left in the half.
Wake Forest proceeded to go on an 8-0 run, knotting things up at 24 at 8:36 in the half — a stalemate that would hold over the next three minutes of play before a pair of Martin Sommerville free throws temporarily broke the tie, though Wake Forest immediately leveled things up again. The Demon Deacons broke through for their first lead of the game, going ahead 29-27 off a three, but FSU leveled it up with 3:33 in the first off a McCray layup.
The two teams went back and forth over the rest of the period, swapping leads before Florida State managed to seperate via the charity stripe once more, going ahead 34-31 — which would remain the score heading into half.
Florida State shot 38% from the three in the first half and 39% from the field, outrebounding Wake Forest 25-17 (19-13 defensive, 6-4 offensive). The Demon Deacons got nine points off Florida State turnovers, with the Seminoles scoring none.
Second half
The second half saw the same back-and-forth-action to start, Florida State going up by six but Wake Forest not allowing the Seminoles to pull away, going on a 7-0 run to steal the lead — 40-39.
FSU took the lead back off a Bassong and-one, but Wake Forest proceeded to build its largest lead of the game by the 14:50 mark, leading the Seminoles 48-44.
Florida State clawed its way back over the next three minutes, overcoming the margin and going back out ahead 50-48 off a Chauncey Wiggins jumper.
The game remained tight on the ensuing possesions, the Seminoles staying ahead but never leading more than three until the 7:11 mark, when a Swinton and-one put Florida State up ahead 59-53.
FSU eventually extended its lead to nine, its largest of the game, but failed to fully pull away as Wake Forest got back within one with 1:19 left in the game.
A wild final minute ensued, with Florida State going up by three off a pair of McCray free throws before a Wake Forest basket got the Demon Deacons back within one. McCray then turned the ball over — his 11th of the game — to give Wake Forest 18 seconds for a shot at a win.
The Demon Deacons took advantage of the opportunity, hitting a jumper to take a 69-68 lead with five seconds on the clock. Florida State advanced the ball past midcourt, called timeout and drew up a play but was unable to convert, solidifying the loss and keeping the Seminoles winless in ACC play.
Box Score
FG%
- Wake Forest: 41%
- FSU: 38%
FGs
- Wake Forest: 26-63
- FSU: 22-58
3FG%
- Wake Forest: 24%
- FSU: 23%
3FGs
- Wake Forest: 8-34
- FSU: 7-31
FT%
- Wake Forest: 75%
- FSU: 89%
FTs
- Wake Forest: 9-12
- FSU: 17-19
TOs
- Wake Forest: 5
- FSU: 16
PtsOffTO
- Wake Forest: 18
- FSU: 8
TotReb
- Wake Forest: 28
- FSU: 44
DefReb
- Wake Forest: 19
- FSU: 28
OffReb
- Wake Forest: 9
- FSU: 16
2ndChPts
- Wake Forest: 12
- FSU: 16
BenchPts
- Wake Forest: 13
- FSU: 16
PtsPaint
- Wake Forest: 32
- FSU: 28
FstBkPt
- Wake Forest: 16
- FSU: 5
Blocks
- Wake Forest: 2
- FSU: 2
Steals
- Wake Forest: 10
- FSU: 2
Assts
- Wake Forest: 8
- FSU: 10
Times Tied
- 5
Lead Changes
- 11
Lead Time
- Wake Forest: 6:33
- FSU: 27:57
Up next
FSU takes on Miami on Tuesday, January 20 in Coral Gables at 7 p.m., with the game set to be broadcast on ESPNU.
