 never led until grabbing the lead at 47-45 on Trent Forrest's basket with 7:28 left. Phil Cofer followed with an easy basket, then M. J. Walker supplied the knockout with a 3-pointer.The Deacons (11-19, 4-14 ACC) frequently switched defenses, making it hard for the Seminoles to get the ball inside to 7-foot-4 Christ Koumadje and 6-10 Mfiondu Kabengele.Forrest led a balanced FSU attack - 11 players scored - with 11 points. Koumadje had 8 points and 10 rebounds. After a cold-shooting first half by both teams, FSU shot 54 percent in the second half.Brandon Childress, who scored three baskets to spark the Deacons to their early 12-point lead, finished with 13 points and Chaundee Brown added 11 - all in the first half.The Deacons, who shot just 26 percent, went scoreless for nearly six minutes as the Seminoles erased a 45-40 deficit with their 18-0 run.Wake Forest was 16 of 16 from the foul line en route to a 31-24 halftime lead as both teams struggled from the field. But the Deacons made only 6 of 13 from the line in the second half.''We came out low energy, but we didn't take them lightly,'' Koumadje said. ''Their defense was kind of tricky. But at the end of the day, we did what we had to do.'' PJ Savoy's 3-pointer with 9:28 left pulled FSU into a tie at 45 - the first time the Seminoles hadn't trailed since Wake Forest scored the opening basket.''I thought we executed a lot better (in the second half),'' Hamilton said. ''We got some tremendous help from our non-starters in the first half.'' BIG PICTUREFlorida State: The Seminoles capped their first 25-game regular season and maintained their momentum heading into the ACC Tournament.Wake Forest: The Deacons gave a strong performance for 30 minutes against a ranked team - they blew a big lead earlier in the week in a one-point loss to Duke - for the second straight home game. They'll need to continue their improved play in the tournament in Charlotte to extend their season.STAT PACKFlorida State rallied to finish 12-5 in the ACC after a 1-4 start that included losses at Pitt and Boston College, which finished back in the standings. But the Seminoles played only single games (all losses) against Virginia, North Carolina and Duke.SENIOR NIGHTWake Forest senior Anthony Bilas, a seldom-used reserve was in the starting lineup for the first time in his last home game. Bilas' father, Jay, a college basketball analyst for ESPN, was in attendance before going to Chapel Hill for the broadcast of the Duke-North Carolina game. Bilas re-entered the game in the final seconds and made an open 3-pointer for the game's final points.UP NEXTFlorida State: Plays Virginia Tech or the Wake Forest/Miami winner in the third round of the ACC tournament in Charlotte on March 14.Wake Forest: Plays Miami in the first round of the ACC tournament on March 12.)
Mar 08, 2019Florida State, with the No. 4 seed in next week's Atlantic Coast Conference tournament locked up, wants to avoid one thing in their regular-season finale at Wake Forest on Saturday: looking ahead."We've just got a lot of grit. We're not going to go down without a fight," Florida State senior guard Terance Mann told Seminoles.com. "And we've fought all year." They could be rewarded for it in the form of a record-breaking win Saturday.The No. 14 Seminoles (24-6, 12-5 ACC) head to Winston-Salem, N. C., looking to win a school-record 13th ACC game during the regular season and complete a season sweep of the Demon Deacons (11-18, 4-13 ACC).Florida State has won 11 of its past 12 games, clinching a double-bye for the ACC tournament. The Seminoles did that Tuesday with a 73-64 overtime win against Virginia Tech after being down by as many as 14 points.Florida State defeated Wake Forest 88-66 on Feb. 13. FSU's Christ Koumadje has 20 points and 12 rebounds in the win.The Demon Deacons beat FSU at home last year, and Wake Forest would love to send its home fans out with something positive to build on for next season."We have to continue to work and get better," said Wake Forest head coach Danny Manning.Manning has gone 65-91 overall and 24-65 in the ACC in five seasons, and the Demon Deacons have only made the NCAA Tournament one time. Manning was given a contract extension before last year, but with longtime Wake Forest athletic director Ron Wellman leaving May 1, a changing of the guard could bring major changes within the program.Wellman's replacement will be former Tennessee athletic director John Currie.While Florida State comes in as one of the hottest teams in the country, Wake Forest will enter the game heartbroken after falling 71-70 to No. 4 Duke on Tuesday. The Demon Deacons squandered a late 10-point lead, then had two shots to win it at the end ... and missed them both.The loss was Wake Forest's third in their last four games."We gave ourselves a chance," Manning told reporters after the game. "We just came up short in terms of not making shots. ... We just didn't do enough to win." Chaundee Brown scored 21 points and pulled down 10 rebounds against Duke. Brandon Childress, averaging a team-high 14.8 points, scored 19."(Wake Forest) played great, not good," said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski. "Brown and Childress were sensational. But the whole team played as good as I've seen them play." Florida State is looking for its first regular-season series sweep of Wake Forest since 2011.The ACC tournament kicks off Tuesday in Charlotte, N. C., but the Seminoles won't play until the quarterfinals. Florida State enters the weekend widely projected to be a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament.--Field Level Media
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