The play was oddly familiar. This time it was Jeff Peterson at point rather than Luke Loucks, and this time the opposition was the Hokies rather than Blue Devils. But Michael Snaer did the exact same thing. He calmly hurried up the floor, found his spot on the wing, and called for the ball... Game over.
For 38 and a half minutes Florida State played bad basketball. Virginia Tech ran the clock from the first possession. They zoned to slow down the game. FSU's slowest game all season had been 61 possessions (vs Harvard), yet the Hokies worked this into a ridiculous 55 possession game. FSU was out of sorts. They turned the ball over. They missed shots. And Virginia Tech kept grinding away at the clock, doing just enough to stay out in front of FSU. And it worked. Well, almost.
Trailing by 9 with 1:19 left Ian Miller forced a tough three and missed, but Mike Snaer grabbed the offensive board, fed Jeff Peterson, and Peterson knocked it down. 46-40. FSU fouled and Va Tech missed both free throws. Ian Miller missed another three, Jeff Peterson got the rebound, and Okaro White scored inside. 46-42. This time the Hokies made 1 of 2, and then fouled on the other end. Ian Miller ran a curl on an inbounds, set his feet, and buried the three. 47-45. FSU fouled. The player who was fouled (an 85% free throw shooter) had to leave the game due to cramps, and FSU picked freshman Robert Brown to shoot in his place. He missed both, allowing Michael Snaer to be Michael Snaer. Again.
Was it pretty? No. Did FSU execute the gameplan? Rarely. But it was a win, and a win means FSU is still in first place in the ACC. And March is just around the corner.