Florida State men's basketball season ends with 61-60 loss in ACC Tournament
The ending of the final game was just as disappointing as the entire 2022-23 season for the Florida State men’s basketball team.
The Seminoles held the lead for 34 of 40 minutes, and they had a five-point advantage with less than two minutes remaining. But Georgia Tech finished the game with a 6-0 run to pull out a 61-60 victory Tuesday in the opening round of the ACC Tournament in Greensboro, N.C.
Georgia Tech’s final point came on a Ja’von Franklin free throw after he grabbed an offensive rebound following a missed dunk and was subsequently fouled by Florida State guard Darin Green Jr. with 0.3 seconds remaining. Franklin made the first free throw to effectively seal the win and end the Seminoles’ season.
Florida State finishes the year at 9-23 overall, while Georgia Tech improves to 15-17 and advances to the second round of the conference tournament.
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In some ways, Tuesday’s loss was emblematic of the whole season as the Seminoles lost leading scorer and rebounder Matthew Cleveland for a large chunk of the game due to an ankle injury. Cleveland returned for part of the second half and finished with eight points in 21 minutes, but he was clearly hobbled by the injury.
Freshman forward Cam Corhen and Green led Florida State with 12 points apiece, and the Seminoles certainly had their chances to put the game away.
They connected on only 6 of 12 attempts from the free-throw line (Georgia Tech hit 13 of 18), and Green missed an open 3-pointer with the game tied in the final minute.
Florida State also out-rebounded the smaller Yellow Jackets lineup for the game, 43-29, but couldn’t get one more defensive rebound on Tech’s final shot attempt.
The Seminoles, who led 31-21 at halftime, didn’t score in the final 2:01 of the game.
Guard Miles Kelly led the Yellow Jackets with 21 points, while Franklin and Dallan Coleman added 10 apiece.
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