Spokesman-Review
National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Florida State 73, Virginia Tech 65
When: 3:00 PM ET, Saturday, February 7, 2015
Where: Cassell Coliseum, Blacksburg, Virginia
Officials: # William Covington Jr., # Tim Kelly, # William Humes
Attendance: 7819

Florida State 73, Virginia Tech 65: Montay Brandon scored 16 points and the visiting Seminoles hung on in the final minutes to cap a season sweep of the Hokies.

Brandon shot 6-of-9 from the field as Florida State (13-11, 5-6 ACC) hit 54.3 percent of its field-goal attempts in winning for the third time in four games. Freshman Xavier Rathan-Mayes scored 12 points with a career-best 11 assists while Devon Bookert made all three of his 3-pointers in scoring 10 points.

Freshman Ahmed Hill hit four 3-pointers en route to a career-high 19 points for the struggling Hokies (9-14, 1-9), who have lost three in a row and are tied with Boston College for last in the conference. Adam Smith went 3-of-6 from 3-point range and scored 19 points for Virginia Tech, which cut a 15-point deficit to six in the final minute.

The Seminoles scored the game’s first five points and Rathan-Mayes closed the half with the final four points as Florida State led 31-26 at intermission. The Seminoles were up seven early in the second half before Hill made a basket and added a 3-pointer to pull Virginia Tech within 35-34.

Rathan-Mayes’ bucket with just over 16 minutes left started a 11-2 spurt, which included a 3-pointer from Brandon and two free throws from Brandon Allen with 11 ½ minutes left, opening a 46-36 Florida State advantage. Bookert’s 3-pointer sparked an 8-0 burst that gave the Seminoles a 15-point lead with eight minutes to play and Virginia Tech would get no closer than 71-65 on Shane Henry’s dunk with 27 seconds remaining.

GAME NOTEBOOK:
The Hokies went 1-of-8 from the field during Florida State’s 11-2 second-half run. … Hill scored 18 points against Presbyterian on Dec. 27 and his four 3-pointers on Saturday set a career high. … Rathan-Mayes recorded his first career double-double despite finishing 0-of-5 from 3-point range.
Top Game Performances
 
Florida State   Virginia Tech
Montay Brandon 16 Scoring Ahmed Hill 19
Xavier Rathan-Mayes 11 Assists Christian Beyer 3
Montay Brandon 6 Rebounds Malik Muller 5
Xavier Rathan-Mayes 6 Free Throws Made Adam Smith 4
Robbie Berwick 1 Steals Shane Henry 3
Boris Bojanovsky 2 Blocks Malik Muller 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Florida State 73 54.3 8-18 15-21 18 32 9 1 20
Virginia Tech 65 40.4 8-21 15-23 15 19 1 6 12