Allen leads Virginia Tech to 83-73 win over Florida

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) BLACKSBURG - Virginia Tech and Florida State met on Saturday in a game with potential postseason implications. One team appears to be playing its way into the conversation after a long hiatus, while the other appears to be playing itself out of an NCAA Tournament berth.

Seth Allen scored 23 points to lead Virginia Tech to an 83-73 victory over Florida State on Saturday.

Allen scored 17 of his points in the second half, helping the Hokies (14-13, 6-8 ACC) rally from a 45-37 halftime deficit. Virginia Tech had lost seven of its past eight games, including four to ranked teams.

But the Hokies - who have finished in last place in the ACC standings each of the past four seasons - are at least on the radar for a potential postseason berth. They haven't made a postseason tournament since the 2010-11 season, which is the last time they've recorded a winning season.

''I think we're a long way away from playing in any postseason tournament, but I do think winning today at least gives us hope and I think hope is the most valuable thing in life, if not in sport,'' Virginia Tech coach Buzz Williams said. ''When you're rewarded for your work, it gives you breath. How it all plays out . I don't know. What are we, 1-6 on the road? I would say that Boston College will be favored on Tuesday just like Florida State was favored today.''

Florida State (16-11, 6-9), which lost its fourth straight game, got 22 points from Dwayne Bacon and 14 from Xavier Rathan-Mayes.

The Hokies trailed 64-58 after Bacon scored with 8:52 remaining. But Virginia Tech outscored the Seminoles 25-9 the remainder of the game.

''You've got to play for 40 minutes. You can't play 34,'' Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton said when asked what he told his struggling squad. ''I think we led for 34 minutes. You've got to keep executing and keep doing things the right way.

''We're making progress. We're just not getting over the hump. There have been a lot of teams get hot at the end of the season. We can't take a defeatist attitude. We've got to go back now and go on the road and play Duke. You can't get down when things don't go well and you can't get too excited when things are going well. Things go bad - you've got to get back up. When things go well, you've got to keep it in perspective.''

The Hokies hit four of their 11 3-pointers in their game-ending stretch, including back-to-back 3's from Justin Robinson, who scored 10 of his 13 points in that span. Virginia Tech scored on 10 of its final 12 possessions. On its last possession, the Hokies simply ran out the clock.

''I think we just need to take it game-by-game and day-by-day because you never want to give away 24 hours,'' Robinson said of the Hokies' postseason chances. ''At the same time, I have enough confidence in my team that, if we keep battling and keep fighting and can hang around, we can beat every team in the ACC.''

Allen hit 7 of 11 from the floor, including four 3-pointers for Virginia Tech. The Hokies shot a season-best 52.8 percent (28 of 53). Jalen Hudson added 13 points, while both Justin Bibbs and Zach LeDay finished with 12.

TIP-INS

Florida State: Bacon has now scored at least 20 points in 10 games this season. . The Seminoles fell to 14-3 when leading at halftime this season. . Boris Bojanovsky tied a season high with 11 points, hitting 5 of 6 from the floor. . Florida State's bench came into the game averaging 24.6 points per game, but contributed just 14 against the Hokies.

Virginia Tech: The Hokies snapped a three-game losing streak to the Seminoles. They had lost five of the past six in the series. . Robinson's three 3-pointers were a career high. ... Chris Clarke injured his left ankle while getting fouled with 9:38 left in the first half. Clarke, who was averaging 10.3 points and 7.1 rebounds, did not return. . Allen had started 13 straight games entering the Florida State game, but came off the bench for the 11th time this season. . Allen has scored at least 20 points in 21 games this season. ... The game marked Virginia Tech's fourth sellout of the season. The last time the Hokies recorded at least four sellouts came during the 2011-12 season.

UP NEXT

Florida State plays at Duke on Thursday.

Virginia Tech plays at Boston College on Tuesday.