Tallahassee, FL - Florida State outscored Virginia Tech 16-6 down the stretch, turning a 64-61 Hokie advantage into a 77-70 win for the Seminoles, tagging VT with a loss in their first-ever ACC road game. The Seminoles turned the ball over 28 times and were outrebounded by the Hokies, but they shot lights out from three-point range, including 10-14 three-pointers in the first half to secure the win.

With 6:04 to go, Tech freshman Deron Washington tipped in a missed three-pointer to give the Hokies a 62-61 lead. Fellow freshman Wyton Witherspoon stole the inbounds pass and laid it in to give VT a 64-61 lead with 5:58 remaining, capping a 26-16 VT run to open the second half.

The Hokies (6-6, 0-2 ACC) were in good shape, but from that point on things fell apart. FSU (9-6, 1-1) scored 15 of the next 17 points to go up 76-66 with 1:12 remaining, and the Seminoles coasted to the win from there. During FSU's 15-2 run, the Hokies came unglued, turning it over 3 times, hitting just 1 of 4 shots, missing 3 free throws, and committing 4 fouls.

For their part, Florida State played well in the last six minutes but otherwise were ripe to be beaten. The only thing the Seminoles did well, outside of their finishing run, was pour in three-pointers during a first half that saw them turn a two-point deficit into a 45-38 FSU lead going into the break. The Seminoles made an amazing 10-14 first-half three pointers, after going 9-of-15 in their previous game against Florida.

Despite the sharpshooting, the Seminoles played sloppily and trailed VT 26-24 with 7:09 remaining in the half after Witherspoon hit a three-pointer for the Hokies. But in the next five minutes, FSU's Von Wafer scored 15 points, including 4 three-pointers, to put FSU back in the lead. When Andrew Wilson bombed in a three-pointer with 1 second left, the Seminoles were up 45-38.

VT battled back quickly in the second half, going on a 10-2 run to take a 48-47 lead with 15:30 left. From that point on, it was nip and tuck, until FSU's late burst sealed the deal.

For the game, the Seminoles shot 24-41 (58.5%) to overcome their turnovers and VT's 29-26 rebounding edge. FSU ended up 11-19 (58%) from three-point range. The Hokies hit just 43% of their shots (24-56) but had 10 fewer turnovers, with 18.

VT was led in scoring by Zabian Dowdell with 18 points. Dowdell didn't start, because he missed last Friday's practice when he arrived back from New Orleans late. Dowdell was inserted into the game with 13:38 remaining in the first half and played 27 minutes, shooting 5-11 from the field and 6-7 from the free throw line.

Coleman Collins made his first start since his foot surgery and played well, scoring 16 points and leading the Hokies with 7 rebounds. (Deron Washington had 7 rebounds as well, but just 3 points in 22 minutes). Jamon Gordon had another all-around game, with 9 points, 5 rebounds, a team-high 5 assists, and 1 steal in 31 minutes. Wafer led FSU with 21 points.

The Hokies come away disappointed, because they missed a golden opportunity to steal one from a young, inconsistent FSU team that is trying to find its identity and wasn't sharp. VT returns to action Wednesday, January 12, against Bethune-Cookman, at 7 p.m. in Cassell Coliseum. The game will not be televised.

VIRGINIA TECH (70)

                          fg    ft    rb             
                   min   m-a   m-a   o-t   a  pf   tp
C Dixon             34  5-12   2-4   2-4   1   4   15
C Collins           38   5-8   6-7   2-7   0   4   16
S Harris            10   2-2   0-0   0-1   0   1    4
D Washington        22   1-4   1-5   4-7   1   5    3
J Gordon            31  4-11   1-2   3-5   5   4    9
Z Dowdell           27  5-11   6-7   1-2   2   2   18
W Witherspoon       20   2-6   0-0   0-0   0   1    5
R Krabbendam         5   0-1   0-0   0-0   0   0    0
A Calloway          13   0-1   0-0   1-2   0   2    0
  
_____________________________________________________
TOTALS             200 24-56 16-25 13-28   9  23   70
_____________________________________________________

Percentages: FG-.429, FT-.640
3-Point Goals: 6-20, .300 (C Dixon 3-5, C Collins 0-1, J 
Gordon 0-4, Z Dowdell 2-6, W Witherspoon 1-4).
Team Rebounds: 1.
Blocked Shots: 1 (D Washington).
Turnovers: 18 (C Dixon 7, J Gordon 4, A Calloway 2, S Harris,
D Washington, W Witherspoon, C Collins, Z Dowdell).
Steals: 11 (S Harris 3, C Collins 2, Z Dowdell 2, C Dixon, J
Gordon, W Witherspoon, D Washington).

FLORIDA ST (77)

                          fg    ft    rb             
                   min   m-a   m-a   o-t   a  pf   tp
A Johnson           23   3-4   0-1   0-4   1   1    6
A Waleskowski       27   3-4   5-6   1-6   0   3   13
T Galloway          22   2-3   2-2   0-1   4   1    8
A Wilson            21   3-5   2-2   1-4   0   2   10
V Wafer             32  7-12   3-3   0-1   3   2   21
I Swann             19   3-4   1-1   0-1   1   4    7
R Mims               2   0-0   0-0   0-0   0   1    0
A Thornton          21   2-5   3-4   1-2   0   2    7
J Rich               9   0-0   0-0   0-0   2   0    0
D Romero             7   0-2   1-2   0-1   0   2    1
A Richardson        17   1-2   1-2   0-4   1   2    4
  
_____________________________________________________
TOTALS             200 24-41 18-23  3-24  12  20   77
_____________________________________________________

Percentages: FG-.585, FT-.783.
3-Point Goals: 11-19, .579 (A Waleskowski 2-3, T Galloway 
2-3, A Wilson 2-3, V Wafer 4-8, A Richardson 1-2).
Team Rebounds: 2.
Blocked Shots: 2 (V Wafer, A Thornton).
Turnovers: 28 (A Waleskowski 5, I Swann 5, V Wafer 4, A 
Thornton 4, A Johnson 3, T Galloway 2, J Rich 2, D Romero,
A Richardson, A Wilson).
Steals: 6 (I Swann 2, A Waleskowski, T Galloway, V 
Wafer, A Thornton).


-----------------------------------
VIRGINIA TECH        38  32   -  70
FLORIDA ST           45  32   -  77
----------------------------------- 

Technical fouls: None. A: 8,818. Officials: Carl 
Hess, Emanuel Upton, Jamie Luckie

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