No. 18 FSU men use second-half surge to dispatch of Jackets
It was the prototypical Florida State basketball win.
Only two players scored in double-figures.
The leading scorer, Devin Vassell, had just 14. But 10 different Seminoles scored, 11 played, and that depth seemed to take over during the final stretch of the second half as FSU defeated Georgia Tech 70-58 on Tuesday afternoon at the Civic Center.
"I thought the quality of our depth helped and I thought our guys responded well to our game plan," FSU head coach Leonard Hamilton said. "And I thought we executed our zone offense a lot better in the second half."
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Box Score: No. 18 FSU 70, Georgia Tech 58
Florida State led by just two with 10:55 left, but a four-point possession (which featured two Anthony Polite free throws after a flagrant foul) sparked a run that saw the Seminoles take control of the game.
Vassell and Malik Osborne both had alley-oop dunks off passes from Trent Forrest, Osborne added a 3 and freshman Patrick Williams scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half. The Seminoles held Georgia Tech to just 13 points over the final 10 minutes. They also forced 20 turnovers in the game.
"We trust the process," Osborne said. "We keep sticking with what we do and eventually we'll be able to pull away and get the win."
Osborne said that Forrest, M.J. Walker (who did not play) and RaiQuan Gray talked at halftime - when the Seminoles led by just two - that the visitors were getting tired, and to keep playing hard and eventually the Yellow Jackets (6-7, 1-2) would wear down.
And they did.
The result was a hard-fought, not-easy, 12-point win over Georgia Tech.
Florida State is now 12-2 overall and 2-1 in the ACC. Forrest finished with a team-high six assists in 35 minutes. He also had two steals.
Vassell finished with a team-high nine rebounds for the Seminoles, who had nine blocks in the game and 11 steals.
Michael Devoe scored a game-high 19 points (on 6 of 8 3-point shooting) to lead the Yellow Jackets.
Florida State plays again on Saturday at Louisville.
NOTES: Walker didn't play on Tuesday due to a hip injury he suffered at the end of the win over North Alabama on Saturday. His status moving forward remains to be seen. Same for freshman center Balsa Koprivica, who was injured on a put-back basket where he fell hard on his back. He hobbled off the floor, into the locker room, and never returned.
Hamilton said he wasn't sure the status of either moving forward, but didn't expect the injuries to be too serious. Said both were bruises and their availability for the Louisville game would be determined in the next couple of days.
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