Hokies Lose Momentum in Second Half, Drop Second FSU Matchup 73-65

The Hokies' 73-65 loss to the Seminoles was, in many ways, a microcosm of their whole season.

The team showed plenty of heart, but a sluggish stretch in the early second half doomed them once more.

"We didn't play as hard as we have in the last four games," said Tech head coach Buzz Williams. "We have to play with an incredible fervor just to have a chance, and we have to play like that every possession."

But the Hokies did still show plenty of heart, even if it wasn't quite enough. Yet the squad doesn't want to take any credit for just giving it their all part of the time.

"That's the way we've been conditioned even before the season," said guard Adam Smith. "It gets the crowd going, diving for loose balls, it intimidates the team a little bit, but that's just to get your foot in the door."

Tech also made FSU, a team ranked 333rd in the nation by shooting 28 percent from three each, look like a dominant squad from deep, allowing them to shoot 44.4 percent from beyond the arc to lose another close game.

"I think we would take it, if they're last in the conference, we would take 18 out of 46 shots from three," Williams said. "I think the numbers you would say you should keep the ball and out of the paint and force shots from outside."

By contrast, the Hokies just couldn't find any rhythm from the field, with three different players failing to record a single field goal in Justin Bibbs, Devin Wilson and Satchel Pierce.

"Some nights, the shots just don't fall," Smith said.

For Smith and fellow guard Ahmed Hill, the shots were certainly falling, but it wasn't enough. The pair each put up 19 points, as they desperately tried to spur on their teammates.

"I just try to lift everyone up," Hill said. "I just kept talking to Bibbs, telling him we need him out here, telling him to calm down, focus, take his time, play like his normal self."

Bibbs found some success in the game going to the rim, getting six foul shots in total, but he largely tried to feed his teammates in response.

"They were hitting, so I just wanted to keep feeding them," Bibbs said. "They're on a roll, just keep them on a roll."

But he still suffered through his worst game back since returning from his midseason concussion, but Williams won't blame his poor play on the injury.

"He was 0 of 6 and 50 percent from the line, but I don't want to blame anything on a concussion that happened a month ago," Williams said.

Instead, some of the Hokies' shooting woes was likely due to FSU's excellent defensive strategy, and the athleticism to execute it.

"They switched up their defense, 2-3, 1-3-1, man, that made it tough," Bibbs said.

Williams says that shouldn't be any surprise coming from a Leonard Hamilton-coached squad.

"I think Coach Hamilton is one of the better defensive coaches out there, he's made a career out of that," Williams said.

It showed early on.

After an uneven first few sequences, featuring a pair of turnovers by each side, FSU struck first a little over two minutes into the game, going up 5-0 on a dunk and three-pointer.

But the Hokies settled down, after bringing in Christian Beyer, Justin Bibbs and Jalen Hudson in for the first action of the game, the offense got going. A fast break by Ahmed Hill and a three-point play by Beyer drew Tech within 5-4.

The Hokies stayed aggressive in the early going, using back-to-back layups by Hill and Hudson to tie the game at 9 apiece.

The Noles grabbed 12-9 lead, but Adam Smith's first points of the game came courtesy of (what else?) a three-pointer to ties things once more.

A jumper by Smith then briefly gave Tech their first lead of the game at 17-15, but then FSU found a rhythm.

A quick 8-2 run by the Seminoles staked them to a 23-19 lead with about five minutes to go in the half.

But the Hokies wouldn't let the game get away from them. They eventually pulled within 27-26 on a Hill three ball, yet that wouldn't last long.

FSU's Xavier Rathan-Mayes keyed a 5-0 Seminole run all by himself, with two foul shots and a little floater in transition to give his squad a 31-26 lead going into halftime.

Tech came out with energy to start the second, using back-to-back layups by Hill and Malik Mueller to get to within three points at 33-30.

A Mueller free throw and Hill three-pointer helped get the Hokies within one point once more at 35-34, but FSU again responded with a 5-0 run to go back up 40-34.

The Noles extended their lead to the largest of the day at 44-36, with Bibbs remaining ice cold from the field with two more misses.

FSU's lead swelled to 10 points, but back-to-back corner 3's by Hill kept the Hokies competitive at 49-42.

Hill says that's been a recent point of emphasis for him personally.

"I get in the gym, come in here, get in here like two hours before, put up a ton of shots, a ton of threes and most of them were corner threes," Hill said. "I work on them every day, I shoot them in practice all the time."

Yet the rest of the team couldn't keep up the momentum, missing all manner of shots as FSU tightened its grip on the game.

The Seminoles went on an 8-0 run over the next two minutes, taking a 57-42 lead heading into a media timeout a little under eight minutes to go.

The break in the action didn't help the sputtering Tech offense. A pair of turnovers by Wilson and one by Beyer on the Hokies' next three possessions helped FSU take a 59-44 lead before Smith finally hit a jumper to end the scoring drought.

Smith started to find his stroke after hitting that shot. An FSU dunk prompted a timeout by Williams with the lead at 61-44, but then Smith keyed an 8-2 run with five points by himself to get the Hokies within 63-52 at the final media timeout of the half.

"He just told us to keep fighting and try to get back into it, just keep fighting, keep stringing together some stops," Hill said. "Just get a shot every time, not turn the ball over so much."

A nice feed from Smith got Shane Henry an easy dunk coming out of the stoppage, but just as the Cassell crowd got worked up into a lather, a Devon Bookert three-pointer silenced the building and pushed the lead back to double digits at 66-54.

A pair of 3's from Mueller and Smith kept the Hokies alive, if only barely, with Buzz taking his final timeout with the lead at 69-61 and a little over a minute left.

Rathan-Mayes missed the front end of a one-and-one, helping the Hokies hit a quick layup from Hudson. Rathan-Mayes made another pair of foul shots, and after another dunk from Henry, the Hokies were within six at 71-65, but they'd get no closer.

Two more FSU FT's and a wild miss by Smith produced the final score of 73-65.

Now the team has just two days to prepare for a home matchup with Georgia Tech, which should prove to be very tough on the team that's reeling from yet another hard fought conference loss.

"Honestly, I think they're cooked, they're fried, so we may just show up when you guys show up, so I'll think about it," Williams said.