FSU's slide continues in 86-80 loss to Georgia Tech

They've been blown out. They've lost close games. And on Wednesday, Florida State avoided a potential blowout only to fall short in another close game.

FSU faced the possibility of having its worst home loss of the season. Once down by 17 points, the Seminoles rallied to bring the margin within two before they ultimately lost 86-80 to Georgia Tech at the Civic Center.

Consecutive losses to Syracuse and Miami made FSU's final five games paramount in the attempt of reaching the NCAA Tournament. Losing to the Yellow Jackets puts the Seminoles on a three-game slide with four games remaining.

It's the second three-game losing streak FSU has suffered as it began conference play losing three in a row.

"It's quite obvious what we have to do. It's not any secret -- we've just got to play a little bit better," said Seminoles coach Leonard Hamilton. "And you've gotta try and be more consistent. We're still a team that's learning and tonight was the first time I felt we missed not having Phil [Cofer] and [Michael] Ojo."

Losing Cofer and Ojo to injuries early in the season made Hamilton and the Seminoles (16-10, 6-8 ACC) adjust their scheme to playing four guards and a forward.

The changes have seen FSU struggle at times to keep pace with bigger teams that can establish a post presence. FSU outscored Tech 40-24 in the paint yet lost the rebounding battle 32-25.

Georgia Tech (14-12, 4-9) recorded 12 offensive rebounds and turned those opportunities into 10 second-chance points. That helped the Yellow Jackets push out to a 17-point lead with 8:05 remaining.

"We did a great job on the glass, we did a great job in the second half with only six turnovers," said Yellow Jackets coach Brian Gregory. "We rolled our two seniors on the perimeter and they were great."

Senior guards Marcus Georges-Hunt and Adam Smith tormented the Seminoles. Georges-Hunt scored a game-high 27 while Smith scored 25. They combined to go 13 of 25 from the field and committed only five turnovers.

FSU went on a 6-0 run to bring the lead to 66-55 with 6:26 remaining. The prospect of a comeback became real with around 44 seconds left.

After Tech's Travis Jorgenson missed one of two free throws, Seminoles sophomore point guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes drove and dropped a pass to freshman Terance Mann. Mann, who led FSU with 18, scored on a lay-up to cut the lead to 80-76 with 44 seconds left.

Tech's lead was clipped to three when Dwayne Bacon connected on one of two free throws with 36.1 seconds left. Bacon, who was 3 of 14 for 10 points, slashed through the defense and scored on a layup to diminish Tech's lead to 82-80 with 24.1 seconds left. But the Jackets would score the final points at the free-throw line.

"With three or four minutes, they're putting their heads down and driving it and with the new rules, it's really hard to guard on that," Gregory said. "They've got guys that can really finish the ball."

The Seminoles' latest defeat comes on the heels of a 67-65 loss to No. 10/11 Miami on Sunday at the Civic Center. FSU's first defeat in this stretch was an 85-72 thrashing at Syracuse on Feb. 11 at the Carrier Dome.

Any chance of FSU reviving its NCAA Tournament hopes began Wednesday. A win over Georgia Tech was practically expected, given the fact the Seminoles had won their last 10 against the Yellow Jackets.

FSU must now recover for its Saturday game at Virginia Tech (13-13, 5-8) before it faces arguably the toughest three-game stretch of its season. The Seminoles travel to Durham, N.C., to face defending national champion No. 19/20 Duke (20-6, 9-4) on Feb. 25.

The regular season ends with two home games. FSU hosts No. 18/19 Notre Dame (18-7, 9-4) on Feb. 27 and closes with Syracuse (18-9, 8-6) on March 5.

"I just think that there's a little more urgency and knowing we have to do these things," said senior guard Devon Bookert, who had 15 points. "I just think that we need to come together and be urgent about everything because everything at this point matters in our season."

-------------------------------------

Talk about the game with FSU fans on the Seminole Hoops Board.