Tallahassee, FL – Michael Snaer knocked down a clutch three- 47, at Tucker Center.
Ian Miller paced Florida State (18-7, 9-2 ACC) with 11 points and was the only Seminole to score in double figures. Deividas Dulkys, Bernard James and Okaro White each pulled down six rebounds for Florida State, which has won nine of its last 10 games.
"I was proud of our guys," Florida State head coach Leonard Hamilton said. "They didn't back down, they didn't quit."
Erick Green scored 18 points and had four steals and Eddie Jarell added 11 points and seven rebounds for Virginia Tech (14-12, 3-8), which hasn't won in Tallahassee since 1990.
"Those kids played their hearts out," Virginia Tech head coach Seth Greenberg said. "They showed great courage, great belief, great trust, they just didn't make a free throw, unfortunately."
Snaer's three-pointer capped off an 11-1 Florida State rally to end the contest. Jeff Peterson had started the run with a trey that cut Virginia Tech's lead to 46-40 with 1:13 to go. Miller launched his own three-pointer attempt on the next trip down the floor and missed, but White was there for the putback after Peterson's offensive rebound. After Jarell made 1-of-2 free throws, Miller drained a shot from beyond the arc to cut the Seminoles' deficit to just two, 47-45.
Virginia Tech, the ACC's leading free-throw percentage team averaging a 74.6 percent clip entering the contest, could not convert their freebies down the stretch. Green missed the front end of a one-and-one with 2:12 to play and missed another at the 1:55 mark. The Hokies made just three of their final 10 opportunities at the charity stripe.
After a tight first half, Virginia Tech came out on fire early in the second. A combination of good defense and poor execution prevented Florida State from putting a single point on the board until James' layup at the 13:59 mark of the second half, and the Hokies capitalized on the offensive end, opening the half on a 17-0 outburst.
James' layup sparked the Seminoles to a 12-2 run, however, and suddenly the Virginia Tech lead was just five, 42-37.
Both teams battled in a tightly-contested first half. FSU jumped out to an early 11-4 lead, but the Hokies made the most of nine first-half Seminole turnovers, scoring 10 of the next 13 for a 14-13 edge with 6:19 to play. Virginia Tech never built a lead larger than four, however, and a 9-3 Florida State spurt to end the half put the Seminoles up 25-23 as they entered the locker room.
Game Notes
Only seven Hokies played in the game...Virginia Tech starting forward Cadarian Raines left the game in the second half with an unspecified injury...White fouled out with 51.4 seconds to play...Florida State leads the all-time series, 27-19...Green scored in double figures for the 27th consecutive game, extending the longest active streak in the ACC.
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