Florida State blows huge second-half lead, falls to Georgia on last-second shot
With 6:36 left on Wednesday night, the Florida State men’s basketball team appeared to be cruising to its fifth victory of the season.
Darin Green, Jr. had just hit his second 3-pointer in a row, and his fourth of the game, to give the host Seminoles a 61-44 lead over the Georgia Bulldogs. It looked and felt like the game was over.
It wasn’t.
Georgia, which came into the game with a 3-3 record, went on a 24-5 run to close out the game, winning it on a jumper from Justin Hill with 1.5 seconds left. Chandler Jackson’s desperation 70-foot attempt wasn’t close, and the Seminoles lost a stunner, 68-66, to fall to 4-2 on the season.
After taking the 17-point lead, Florida State hit just one shot the rest of the game from the floor, went 1-of-4 from the free-throw line and committed five turnovers. Meanwhile, Georgia scored 24 points. In a little more than six minutes. After scoring 44 points over the previous 34.
Green led the Seminoles with 21 points, but he missed his last shot from the field — a wide-open 3 from the corner that would have given FSU the lead in the final minutes. De’Ante Green had 14 points and nine rebounds in the first start of his career for the Seminoles and tied the game in the final minute by making 1 of 2 free throws after being fouled on an offensive put-back attempt.
The Seminoles’ leading scorer, Jamir Watkins , scored just seven points and committed two costly turnovers down the stretch that led to buckets for the Bulldogs on the other end. He also missed a wide-open jumper during the Bulldogs’ run and committed a foul on a rebound that wound up giving UGA the lead in the final minute when the ensuing free throws were made. He fouled out, as did sophomore Baba Miller , who finished with 9 points on the night.
As wild as the second half was, the first half was the exact opposite.
It was essentially a rebounding exhibition for both teams.
Florida State led 25-21 at the half as both teams struggled to get anything to fall in the first 20 minutes.
The Seminoles were just 9-of-34 from the floor in the first half and Georgia, despite hitting four of its final six shots, was just 7-of-24. So, combined, through 20 minutes, the two teams were just 16-of-58 from the field and 5-of-23 from 3.
Florida State was 3-of-14 from beyond the arc and hit just four baskets total from the floor in the final 10 minutes. The Seminoles did take care of the ball in the first half, turning it over just twice. And Jaylen Gainey made his long-awaited debut in the first half for Florida State, playing two minutes and grabbing a rebound in his first action in garnet and gold since tearing his ACL in the preseason a year ago.
The Seminoles (4-2) play again Saturday when they open up ACC play in Chapel Hill against North Carolina.
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