No. 16 Seminoles put away pesky Panthers, earn rare win at Pitt
Pitt's Petersen Events Center has been a house of horrors for the Florida State men's basketball team in recent years. So even though this wasn't the prettiest of victories, no one in the Seminoles' camp will even think about complaining.
The 16th-ranked 'Noles overcame an uncharacteristically poor shooting performance from 3-point range Saturday afternoon to muscle their way to a 79-72 victory. It snapped FSU's four-game losing streak at Pitt.
With the win, the 'Noles improve to 13-3 overall and 9-2 in the ACC. Pitt falls to 9-9 and 5-8.
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Box Score: No. 16 FSU 79, Pitt 72
The Seminoles led for nearly the entire game, but they had a difficult time getting any separation for the pesky Panthers, who were led once again by star forward Justin Champagnie. The ACC's leading scorer and rebounder led all players with 21 points and 10 rebounds in a losing effort.
"It was a hard-fought game for us," FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. "That's why I feel so good about [winning] this game. ... We could never get any separation. That just shows how determined we were."
Florida State was led by RaiQuan Gray with 16 points and eight rebounds, Malik Osborne and RayQuan Evans with 12 points apiece, and Scottie Barnes with 11. Osborne also pulled down a team-high nine rebounds.
The Seminoles, who have been the ACC's top 3-point shooting team, connected on just 4 of 14 shots from long range against the Panthers. FSU also got zero points from star senior guard M.J. Walker, who missed all five of his shots from the field.
Hamilton said Walker missed most of the team's practice time this week with a minor injury, which likely affected his offensive rhythm. But he still helped in other areas.
"I thought his defense was excellent, and we are able to win games again by committee," Hamilton said. "[Scoring] 33 points off our bench really represents who we are as a basketball team, continuing to win games by committee."
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With the outside game not working, the Seminoles pounded away in the paint, scoring 44 of their points near the basket. They also made a living at the free-throw line, hitting on 23 of 29 shots from the charity stripe.
"We'll take this victory because we know we'll shoot better than this," Hamilton said.
Florida State returns to action Wednesday at Miami.
Stay connected with Warchant.com for complete postgame coverage.
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