Hokies-Seminoles: Sluggish Virginia Tech Falls to No. 25 Florida State

After arguably their best game of the year on Wednesday, the Hokies traveled to Tallahassee for their third straight tilt against a top-25 team. Unfortunately, the wear-and-tear of playing three ACC games in one week caught up to the Hokies as they fell to FSU 63-58.

For the first time since the late-November loss to Temple, the Hokies (13-3, 1-2 ACC) didn't get off to a good start. Florida State (14-4, 2-2 ACC) jumped out to a 15-5 lead eight minutes into the game, due in part to their overall size advantage against Tech.

The Hokies' poor shooting continued for most of the half, as they fell behind by as many as 14 points. After falling behind 27-13 with 4:44 remaining in the first half, the Hokies responded with an 8-0 run, thanks to two consecutive three-pointers from Malcolm Delaney and Manny Atkins.

After a three-pointer from Dorenzo Hudson, the Hokies cut the lead to 30-25 with less than a minute to go, before Florida State's Solomon Alabi drained two free throws to make the halftime score 32-25 in favor of the 'Noles.

After sitting for most of the first half with foul trouble, Jeff Allen came out of the gates in the second half and nailed a three-pointer to draw the Hokies back within four. Unfortunately for Tech, the Hokies didn't make another shot until Dorenzo Hudson made a jumper seven minutes later.

The jumper sparked a quick 12-4 for the Hokies that brought Tech to within two at 44-42. The Hokies forced a turnover (one of 23 on the day), but Hudson airballed a three-point attempt that seemed to take the wind out of the Hokies' sails.

Florida State responded with a 9-0 run of its own to bump their lead back to 53-42 with 5:30 remaining. Tech seemed out of it after Derwin Kitchen hit a jumper to put FSU back up 10 with 1:37 to go, but thanks to some missed free throws by the 'Noles, the Hokies had a chance.

Hudson started the run with a jumper with 37 seconds to go to trim the lead to eight, and after an FSU turnover, Terrell Bell hit a three-pointer to cut the lead to five with 25 seconds remaining.

FSU's Michael Snaer made one of two free throws, and Hudson came down to drain another three-pointer for the Hokies to cut the lead to three. Derwin Kitchen made one of two free throws for the 'Noles, and Malcolm Delaney immediately nailed a deep three-pointer to cut the lead to one with four seconds left on the clock.

After Snaer made his ensuing two free throws, Jeff Allen heaved a "Hail Mary" pass past half court that was intercepted by FSU to effectively end the game.

The Hokies were thoroughly outplayed on the boards by the taller Seminoles, as they were out-rebounded 40-34. The height of FSU also forced the Hokies into some terrible shots, as Tech only shot 34.5 percent from the field for the game.

Coming into the game, Florida State was the best field goal percentage defense in the ACC and it showed in this game. Despite all that, the Hokies shot 41 percent from beyond the arc and still had the chance to win the game.

However, the main reason the Hokies lost was that they shot just 52 percent from the free-throw line and left 10 points on the board from missed free throws.

The eye-popping stat was that Malcolm Delaney missed four of those free throws, despite coming into the game as the team leader in free throw percentage at 86 percent.

Despite the missed free throws, the Hokies battled hard to the end, which is an encouraging sign for Seth Greenberg's team. Delaney ended up with 23 points on the night, and once again showed his passing ability with seven assists.

Dorenzo Hudson also had another quality game with 19 points, including three three-pointers. The problem, yet again, was the lack of a third scorer, as no other Hokie player scored more than five points.

Jeff Allen had a terrible game, mainly due to foul trouble, and only finished with three points and three rebounds. That's obviously not going to cut it in ACC play.

The Hokies now take their final step out of conference when NC Central (4-15) comes calling to Cassell Coliseum. Tip-off is slated for 8 p.m. Monday.