Florida State Seminoles Come Up Short Against Duke Blue Devils

Led by 21 points from sophomore Jon Scheyer, the Duke Blue Devils overcame a vicious second-half charge from an undermanned Florida State squad, to win for the first time in their last three meetings with the Seminoles.

Duke started the game on fire, breaking open a 14-13 game with a 16-0 run to take a 17-point lead in the first half. Jon Scheyer scored 16 of his game-high 21 points in that first half, which ended with the Blue Devils up 34-22.

Senior G/F Jason Rich was held scoreless in the first half for the Seminoles, who struggled to get anything going against the pressure defense of the Blue Devils. Rich was forced to sit for much of the half after picking up his second foul on a charge just minutes into the game.

But what looked like a one-sided affair for much of the first turned into a great game after recess. 

Sparked by some terrific individual play from Rich (who scored all 18 of his points in the second half) Uche Echefu, and Toney Douglas, the 'Noles clawed their way back into the game. A Rich jumper pulled the game even at 48, and a left-handed lay-in by Rich gave Florida State a 55-54 lead—their first since taking a 5-4 advantage early in the contest.

But Duke responded, as freshman Kyle Singler hit an open trey on the very next Blue Devil possession to quiet the packed arena.

The Noles, who were playing just a seven-man rotation due to injuries and transfers, ran out of gas in the closing minutes. Echefu, who had been playing great basketball over his past four games—establishing career highs in each of his past two contests—fouled out with six points and seven rebounds with over four minutes to go in the game. 

Duke made the big stops when it needed to, and made nine of ten free throws in the closing minutes to secure the victory, 70-57. 

The Blue Devils improved to 14-1 overall and 2-0 in ACC play after handling Virginia earlier in the week.

The Seminoles, meanwhile, drop to 12-6 overall and 1-2 in the conference, losing their second-straight heartbreaker. Florida State entered this game coming off a double-overtime loss at Clemson, a game in which the 'Noles saw a four-point lead evaporate with 21 seconds to play in regulation, and a player (Trevor Booker) with one career three-pointer made coming into the game knock down all three of his long distance attempts.

Florida State had won their first conference game at Georgia Tech, 66-64. Leonard Hamilton's team next travels to play Wake Forest on Sunday, while the Blue Devils play host to Clemson Saturday evening.