Seminoles can't hold on in 2nd half, fall to No. 2 UVA 59-55
The Florida State Seminoles had a 10-point lead at halftime on Wednesday night against the No. 2 team in the country.
Then the No. 2 team in the country showed why it was 22-1 coming into the game.
Led by blistering hot shooting from the 3-point line in the second half, and it's typical suffocating defense, the Virginia Cavaliers were able to pull off the double-digit comeback at the Tucker Center.
Florida State, which had an 11-point lead in the first half, managed just 22 points after halftime and didn't hit a basket for the final nine minutes.
"You've got to give them a little credit," FSU head coach Leonard Hamilton said. "It's not always what we don't do, sometimes you've got to give the (other) team credit for what they do do. ... But I can't fault our kids' effort. We came up a little short against a team that's very, very good.
"I thought we put ourselves in a pretty good position against a very good basketball team and came up short."
Virginia meanwhile made enough shots down the stretch - and all of its free throws - to improve to 23-1 on the season. Florida State is now 17-7 with a road trip to Notre Dame awaiting on Saturday.
The Seminoles were just 1 of 10 from 3 in the second half and had just one player in double figures - M.J. Walker, who had 10.
"They made a little bit of adjustments," said FSU forward Phil Cofer, who scored eight of his nine points in the first half. "They made some key plays that we knew they were going to come out and do. They had some tough shots, too, because we were definitely there.
"But Virginia, they're a great team. They're a tough shot-making team. I think we did our job, but you know, we just didn't come up with the win."
Senior guard Braian Angola hit his first shot of the game on Wednesday night. Then missed his final 10, finishing 1 of 11 from the floor. FSU's leading scorer, Terance Mann, also made just one basket on the night and finished with just three points.
Virginia had three players in double figures, led by senior Devon Hall's 17 points.
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