No. 14 Florida State pulls off another improbable comeback to beat No. 18 Purdue
TALLAHASSEE - The Cardiac 'Noles struck again.
Trailing No. 18 Purdue 72-64 with 3:43 left, No. 14 FSU scored the final nine points of the game to come away with a 73-72 win Wednesday inside the Tucker Center.
Another late shot from junior point guard Trent Forrest -- this time a floater in the paint with 5.2 seconds left -- capped off the improbable run that didn't seem to be coming.
It was Forrest's first made basket of the second half and was set up by his forced jump ball on the defensive end on the previous possession.
"It was just a play for me to get a handoff. We've run it a couple times this year," Forrest said of the game-winning play, which was designed for him.
"I knew the guy was probably going to cut me off early so that's when I just stepped over and took the little floater right there."
It was Forrest's second final-possession winning or tying shot in the last week after his late layup against No. 21 LSU forced an overtime period which FSU went on to win.
"There isn’t a player in the country that can stop him going to the rim when he turns it on," FSU sophomore M.J. Walker said.
It also marks the second time in the last week that FSU (6-1) has rallied from eight or more points down with less than four minutes left to win.
"We just played a lot of games like that," Terance Mann said of the late rallies.
"It's good to have experienced players out there who have been in games like that because you know what to do in times like that."
Hamilton had a different take, saying, "Philosophically, that sounds good. In reality, coaches don't want to wait until the game is on the line before you start making plays to win.
"I just hope we can continue to keep winning while we're developing."
In many ways, it was a comeback that FSU shouldn't have needed.
With a fairly full crowd of 9,978 watching despite the 9:20 tipoff time, a stout defensive performance against one of the nation's top offenses helped FSU open up a 44-32 lead at halftime as the Seminoles shot 46.9 percent from the floor.
"I think we got the best of them in the first half. We got some shots to fall, we moved the ball and our defense was a lot sharper," FSU head coach Leonard Hamilton said.
6:23 into the second half, that lead was gone and the Seminoles didn't retake it until Forrest's final shot.
Purdue (5-2) couldn't miss in the second half, hitting seven of its first eight second-half threes and shooting 56.5 percent from the floor after halftime.
While Purdue was on fire for much of the second half, the Boilermakers missed six of their final seven shots, each of the final five threes they attempted and failed to score over the final 3:43 of the game.
"We just stuck with being tough and tried to get stop after stop," Mann said.
"That's what we did."
For a half, the Seminoles shut down the Boilermakers' high-powered offense. Purdue shot 23.5 percent from three and 32.1 from the floor, turning the ball over 10 times in the first half.
Forrest finished with nine points, three assists and three steals. Walker was the only Seminole to finish in double digits with 13 points on four of 11 shooting.
Purdue's Naismith Award contender Carsen Edwards lived up to the hype as he finished with 24 points and four assists along with six turnovers.
Boilermaker forward Ryan Cline added 21 points on a ridiculous seven of 11 from outside the arc as those two combined to score 45 of Purdue's 72 points.
Player of the Game
He didn't have an especially good game in any one facet, but a typical stat-stuffing performance from Mann earns him the player of the game honor.
Mann finished with nine points, a team-high eight rebounds, two blocks and an assist in 35 minutes over which he only picked up two fouls.
What We Learned
Toughing it out
Wednesday's game wrapped the end of the toughest part of FSU's non-conference schedule.
FSU played quite possibly its toughest three out-of-conference games in succession, beating ranked opponents in LSU and Purdue and suffering a close loss to the defending national champions in six days' time.
To finish that stretch with a 2-1 record is undeniably impressive. With a win over Florida also in the rear-view mirror, FSU's four toughest non-conference games are likely behind it and the Seminoles finished those games with a 3-1 record.
Hamilton has been quick to point out that stretches like these are much like many FSU will face come conference play. Given the result in the face of the early adversity, there has to be a sense of satisfaction.
Free throws make the difference
Both FSU and Purdue finished with 17 made free throws. The difference in the result comes back to how many each team attempted.
The Boilermakers were 17 of 25 (68 percent) from the charity stripe and hit seven of 14 in the second half.
FSU was 17 of 20 (85 percent) and missed no more than two in either half. It marks the third time in the last four games that FSU has shot better than 80 percent on its free throws.
The Seminoles are now hitting 76.8 percent of their free throws this season through seven games.
ACC-Big 10 Challenge Tie
Entering Wednesday, the ACC-Big 10 Challenge was tied at four wins with six games left to play.
After the ACC won two of the first three games, it needed just one more win across the three 9 p.m. games to ensure at least a tie in this year's challenge.
It turns out that it was good for the conference that FSU rallied for the win as the other two late-game ACC teams, Georgia Tech and No. 13 North Carolina, both lost.
With Wednesday's results, this year's challenge ends in a 7-7 tie, the first tie in the series since the ACC and Big 10 tied at six wins in 2013.
The ACC now leads the all-time series 12-5-3 over the Big 10.
No. 14 Florida State vs. Troy
When: Monday, 8 p.m.
Where: Tucker Civic Center
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