Syracuse Blows Double Digit First Half Lead, Falls to Florida State
Florida State shot lights out from three and rallied from a 10 point first half deficit to get revenge from a home loss earlier in the season with a 76-71 win over Syracuse in the Carrier Dome. With the loss, the Orange drops to 8-9 (2-4) on the season. Next up for Syracuse a home matchup with Clemson on Tuesday. That game tips at 9:00 p.m. Eastern and will be broadcast on the ACC Network.
Trailing by one with 34 seconds remaining, Syracuse called timeout to set up a potential game winning basket. The ball was throw inside to Jimmy Boeheim in the post. He went up for a shot, left it short, and then Florida State chased down the rebound. Rather than foul, Jimmy allowed the Seminoles to pass the ball up court for an open dunk.
It was still a three point game with four seconds left at that point, and Joe Girard elected to throw a full court pass that was intercepted. While Florida State controlled most of the second half, Syracuse had an opportunity to win it in the final 30 seconds and completed melted down in all aspects.
Florida State is not a very good three point shooting team this season, but was 12-20 from beyond the arc against Syracuse. Syracuse led by as many as 10 in the first half, but the Seminoles closed the lead to just one at halftime. Behind hot outside shooting, Florida State took the lead at the 18:34 mark.
Syracuse would take the lead back at midway through the half, but an 8-2 run put the Seminoles up for good.
Caleb Mills led Florida State with 19 points and five assists on 6-9 shooting including 5-6 from beyond the arc. RayQuan Evans added 15 points and five more assists. FSU shot 55% from the floor for the game.
Buddy Boeheim was one of four Syracuse players in double figures with 18 points. Cole Swider added 17 points and seven rebounds. Jesse Edwards had 15 points, 7 rebounds and three blocks. Joe Girard had 11 points but was just 1-4 from beyond the arc and turned it over five times.
Benny Williams did not play in this game, but Symir Torrence gaves Syracuse 16 strong minutes off the bench with four points and four assists.
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