Virginia Tech bombs short-handed Seminoles with 18 3s, 85-72

The only good news for the Florida State men's basketball team is this week is finally over.

After losing Wednesday night to one team with the worst record in the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Seminoles did it again on Saturday -- and this time in lopsided fashion.

Virginia Tech guards Sean Padulla and Hunter Cattoor both finished with career highs -- taking turns blistering the Seminoles' defense from 3-point range -- and the Hokies pulled away for an 85-72 victory.

Cattoor scored 27 points on 9-of-12 shooting (9 of 11 from 3), and Padulla added 20 on 7-of-11 shooting; he hit 6 of 7 shots from long range. As a team, the Hokies hit 18 of 25 shots from beyond the arc.

The win was Virginia Tech's third in conference play. The Hokies are now 11-10 overall and 3-7 in ACC play, while FSU falls to 13-7 and 6-4.

*** Don't miss our exclusive FSU sports coverage. 30-day Free Trial ***

Box Score: Virginia Tech 85, FSU 72

The Seminoles, who started the week atop the ACC standings, were playing without seniors Malik Osborne and RayQuan Evans.

FSU learned on Friday that Osborne is going to miss the rest of the season due to an ankle injury, and Evans was sidelined due to personal reasons. Leading scorer Caleb Mills also played just three minutes due to illness.

"We knew that Malik was not going to play, but we didn't know exactly what the status of the other two guys were," FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. "We found out at game time with Ray. And to be very honest with you, Caleb was not feeling very well, so we did not think he was going to play at all."

Hamilton said Mills tried to give it a go because the team was short-handed, but he was ineffective in his three minutes, turning the ball over twice and missing his only shot.

FSU, which lost earlier this week to Georgia Tech, trailed 39-31 at halftime but rallied to tie the game at 42-42 early in the second half. But after the teams traded baskets for much of that period, Virginia Tech pulled away with its 3-point assault.

After Florida State center Naheem McLeod dunked to cut the Hokies' lead to 62-60 with 7:25 to go, Virginia Tech went on a 14-0 run over the next 2 1/2 minutes; Catoor hit four of his nine 3-pointers during that outburst.

"That's when I thought that fatigue set in," Hamilton said. "And we just didn't have the energy there to play the way that we've been accustomed to playing. ... I think that kind of broke our back."

The Hokies' previous season high this season was 13 made 3-pointers.

Florida State was led by Anthony Polite with 17 points and Naheem McLeod with 15.

FSU returns to action Wednesday at Clemson.

Stay connected with Warchant.com for more coverage.

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

Discuss this with fans on Warchant's Seminole Hoops message board