Bench sparks No. 8 FSU basketball to 82-67 win over Pitt
Leonard Hamilton said he was mostly happy with his team on Tuesday night.
The Florida State men's basketball head coach said he liked about 75 percent of what he saw from the Seminoles against Pitt at the Civic Center.
But he's not going to quibble too much with yet another ACC home win.
Patrick Williams scored 16 points, Trent Forrest and Anthony Polite added 10 each and the No. 8 Seminoles cruised to an 82-67 win over the Panthers. Florida State, which got 53 points from the bench, is now 22-4 overall and 12-3 in the ACC.
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The Seminoles have won 21 straight games in the Tucker Center.
"We appreciate (the bench) so much," said starting guard M.J. Walker. "We preach to those guys all the time to stay ready. We need everyone."
Walker, who suffered a severe cut in his lip during Saturday's win over Syracuse -- the gash required 12 stitches -- started Tuesday's game wearing a mask. But he said he had trouble breathing in it, so he took it off for good after missing two free throws early on.
He scored seven points and dished out four assists. He also was called for a technical fould late in the game after blocking a dunk attempt by Pitt's Xavier Johnson, and then flexing his right arm near midcourt as he jogged back toward his bench.
No matter the result, that effort -- which came with the Seminoles up by 22 points -- said an awful lot about Walker to Hamilton.
"It showed his toughness," the FSU head coach said.
"I wasn't trying to hurt the kid or nothing like that," Walker said. "But I'm a competitive person, and I have pride for this program. And I'm going to make a play when it needs to happen. That's just who I am. ...
"I think that's the toughness I need to bring."
Despite the Seminoles surging ahead by 22 in the second half, the game wasn't a laugher from start to finish. Florida State trailed early, took a seven-point lead, then gave up a quick 8-0 run. All in the first half.
The Seminoles led 38-33 at the break.
But in the second half, their depth wore down the Panthers and they continued to extend the lead.
Pitt's offense struggled for much of the final 20 minutes and shot just 37.5 percent for the game. Florida State also out-rebounded the Panthers 40-27. The Seminoles had 17 offensive rebounds on 32 missed shots.
"I was very pleased with our bench," Hamilton said. "Our rotation guys came in and gave us, I thought, a lot of effort. ... I think this team has potential."
So does Jeff Capel.
The Pitt head coach, who had beaten FSU in each of his first two games with the Panthers, said the Seminoles were obviously an enormous challenge to prepare for.
"They take away everything," Capel said. "They're one of the best defensive teams in the country."