Seminoles grab second straight loss at Boston College

Florida State loses their second straight game 71-55 to Boston College on the road. While their injury woes have developed their freshman faster than they envisioned, they can’t seem to solve the puzzle on the offensive end. FSU shot 21% from three while handing BC 23 points off turnovers.

GAME RECAP

BOX SCORE

Player of the Game: Mathews Cleveland put the Noles on his back, earning his sixth consecutive game with double figures at 18 points with eight rebounds.

First Half:

Florida State took on the Boston College Eagles on the road after a blowout loss at Cameron Indoor just two days ago. The Seminoles beat the Eagles in their two previous matchups but the exhausted Noles didn’t have enough juice to overcome BC’s defense this time.

The Noles started the game with RayQuan Evans, Wyatt Wilkes, Mathew Cleveland, John Butler and Tanor Ngom. While Malik Osborne and Naheem McLeod have been ruled out for the remainder of the season, FSU still hopes to have guards Caleb Mills and Anthony Polite for the ACC tournament.

After missing the previous matchup against the Blue Devils, Evans started the game with a careless turnover and foul in the first 30 seconds. Eagles guard Makai Ashton-Langford hit a deep three to start the game and Brevin Galloway followed that with a three of his own to put BC up 10-0 two minutes into the ball game. FSU head coach Leonard Hamilton had seen enough, pulling the plug to call his first timeout at the 17:37 mark where the Seminoles had only attempted one field goal while giving up four early turnovers.

Wilkes was the first to put the Noles on the board with a three ball right off the timeout. BC’s defense had the Seminoles number, not allowing them to get within an inch of the painted area. The Eagles were up 13-3 after the first media timeout, scoring 10 points off the Seminoles six turnovers. Jalen Warley checked into the game soon after, pressing against BC’s guard with a full court 1-2-2.

Prieto, along with Fletcher were also plugged in, helping end a three minute scoring drought by getting Cleveland open for a jumper. Although, the Noles found themselves in a 19-7 hole with 11:50 remaining in the first half. They were having their usual struggles on the offensive end, but on the defensive side the miscommunications and lack of help defense really hurt the scoreboard.

Fletcher was the bright spot for the Noles, leading the team with six points and two steals as they entered the midway point of the first half. Justin Linder went into the ball game with eight minutes remaining and FSU went into a 1-2-2 defense at the half court. After a beautiful play call from Hamilton Cleveland slammed a lob from Linder to cut the lead to 15-22 but 20 seconds later Jaeden Zachary scored eight straight points extending the lead.

Careless turnovers was the story of the first half as the Noles picked up their 11th with five minutes remaining. Warley drilled a three to cut the deficit to 30-22 with 3:40 left. He and Eagles center Quinten Post exchanged some words in the very next play and both were given technical fouls. But, Florida State inactive player Michael Brown was ejected due to the fact that he when onto the court and broke up the fight.

Boston College was held in a four minute scoring drought and finally penetrated the lane to get back on the board. Both teams kept their physical attitude to end the half and the Eagles led 32-24 at the break. FSU kept a single digit deficit entering the locker room, despite having 13 first half turnovers and shooting 34% from the field.

Cleveland led the Seminoles with 10 points and seven boards while Warley led the team with three assists. Zachery had 11 points shooting 3-3 from deep, and Galloway paired that with eight points for the Eagles.

Second Half:

FSU had a physical brawl in the first half that gave their freshman big three troubles right off the tip. They were going to focus on taking care of the basketball on the offensive end, while blocking any paint entrance in the second half.

After sitting down most of the first half Evans came out in the first seven seconds to put three points on the board the old fashion way. Although, Galloway kept his hot hand early in the second to push the lead to 35-27. Warley entered the game with 17:48 remaining while the Noles dealt with a four minute scoring drought.

Zachary scored four straight points to give the Eagles their largest lead, 41-27. He had 15 points, seven boards and four assists with 15:16 remaining. Wilkes found Cleveland for a wide open dunk soon after the timeout but BC was able to do the exact same to extend their lead to 47-35. Eagles center James Karnik was a perfect 4-4 from the field, scoring nine of his 11 points in the first seven minutes of the second.

Boston College got extremely comfortable on their home court and nothing was going the Seminoles way. The Eagles held a 52-35 lead with 10:30 left in the ball game. The Noles moved into a matchup zone with Quincy Ballard in the middle but it wasn’t enough to stop Post from scoring yet again. BC buried a three to extend the lead to 57-37 with 8:35 on the clock.

The Seminoles went on a 5:45 scoring drought before Fletcher had finally found net to cut the lead down 60-41. With just under six minutes left in the second half the Noles had scored just five field goals while shooting 0-8 from three point land. Butler connected on a three ball with four minutes remaining after shooting 0-8 to start the game.

The Eagles found the bottom of the net play after play to put the Seminoles away in the second half. The benches were cleared for BC with two minutes remaining after they had a season high 11 three’s made and 14 turnovers. Boston College took down the Noles 71-55.

Karnik ushered the Eagles to a much needed win with a double-double, 16 points and 11 rebounds. Zachery had 18 of his own with eight rebounds and six assists. Cleveland finished with 18 points while Fletcher put up 16 and five.

The Noles now move to 14-13 on the season with a 7-10 record in the conference. They’ll play three more games, all of which will be ACC matchups in the next two weeks.

Next game: FSU travels to Charlottesville to face the Virginia Cavaliers this Saturday at 4:00 ET. The Cavs are currently 17-10 on the season and 11-6 in conference play. The game will be featured on the ACCN.