TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- For the second time in three games, Virginia got out to a sizeable lead in the second half but was unable to close in the final minutes, as the team fell to Florida State 69-67.
"When you lose a game by a possession or two, similar to the 1-point game we lost last week, I go immediately back to the 20, 30, 40 hours that doesn't prepare you well enough to either hold down the fort or maintain a lead or execute when you need to," Virginia coach Dave Leitao said.
With Florida State (13-7, 2-3 ACC) leading 63-62 and 43 seconds on the clock, the Cavaliers (11-6, 1-3 ACC) put the ball in the usually secure hands of senior Sean Singletary. Junior Toney Douglas, however, picked Singletary's pocket, and sophomore Jerome Meyinsse was called for an intentional foul as Douglas went in for the lay-in, giving the Seminoles two free throws and possession. Douglas converted both free throws, and senior Isaiah Swann was fouled and hit another free throw to give the Seminoles a 4-point lead.
Virginia's attempts to play catch-up in the closing seconds were fruitless, as Florida State made its free throws down the stretch, preserving the victory.
"I thought fatigue played a part at the end," Leitao said. "The shots that we were making earlier hit the front rim and being half a step slow on defense cost us."
Douglas was the second Seminole to take the ball from Singletary in the final minutes; sophomore Ryan Reid came up with the first steal at the 2:40 mark, which led to the Seminoles knotting the score at 60 apiece, taking away the Cavaliers' lead for the first time since the 16:29 mark of the second half.
"We had the game won," Singletary said. "[We were] just being careless with the ball at the end, and they got the game."
After three superb offensive outings from Singletary during the past week, the senior guard shot just 4-11 from the floor for 11 points in the loss, though he did add seven assists.
"Sean didn't have his A-game today," Leitao said. "Sean probably defended himself better than any player that they had."
The three-guard combo of Douglas, Swann and senior Jason Rich led the Seminoles' offense, scoring a combined 52 of the team's 69 points.
Senior Adrian Joseph and junior Mamadi Diane continued their hot shooting, combining for 38 points on 13-24 shooting in the loss.?
A meaningless 3-point field goal by Singletary as the buzzer sounded kept his streak of 39 straight double-figures scoring games alive.
Virginia got off to a fast start in the first half, going on a 12-0 run after Florida State scored the opening basket. After battling to a 15-8 score, the teams went through a 3:40 dry spell until Swann converted on a 4-point play and drained another three on the subsequent possession to knot the score at 15 apiece.
After Florida State went into halftime with a 31-28 lead, Virginia outscored the Seminoles 28-15 in the first 11:02 of the second half to take a 10-point advantage. The Seminoles, however, slowly chipped into the deficit and went on a 9-0 spurt to take a 62-60 lead with just under two minutes remaining. On the ensuing possession, sophomore Calvin Baker threw a no-look pass to Meyinsse on a screen-and-roll to knot the score at 62, but Virginia would never regain the lead.
The Cavaliers now return home for a match-up with Georgia Tech at John Paul Jones Arena Sunday.
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