TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – When No. 11 Louisville took a 44-32 lead on No. 6 Florida State in the opening minutes of the second half Monday evening, it was like a call for all of the Seminole warriors to gather.
FSU had been outplayed throughout the first half, trailing by eight at the break, and needed some type of boost that was going to allow them to make a run at Louisville in the Tucker Center.
Maybe Cardinals coach Chris Mack also sensed it after Florida State posted an 8-2 run which ended on a triple by Devin Vassell.
The crowd started to surge. The Seminoles’ spears went up as they showed some pop in their collective steps.
Louisville guard Fresh Kimble hit a three on the next Cardinals possession to give them a 49-40 lead with 17:02 to play and Mack immediately called time out.
The idea was to try to kill the surge as it stalled for a while after Dwayne Sutton scored on a reverse layup to give Louisville a 51-40 margin win 16:25 to play.
Vassell, FSU’s leading scorer who is a picture of the rock solid mentality of Coach Leonard Hamilton’s team, then ignited a 22-4 run which saw FSU outscore Louisville 15-0 over a 5-minute stretch.
FSU started to make shots and the Seminoles started to get to the line and make free throws. This allowed them to set up their full court pressure and they were able to get inside Louisville’s press break and started to force turnovers.
“In the second half, we turned it up with a bit more energy, had a little better focus and we were able to get some stops, and we were able to get out and get some easy baskets and creep back in it,” said Hamilton. “Once we got some energy, I thought our guys executed our offense very well and they maintained their energy on the defensive end.”
The physicality of the FSU guards literally took over the paint. When the attack off the dribble was so fervent in scoring, Pat Williams, Rayquan Evans and M.J. Walker were going to the line.
The Seminoles asserted that physicality with a vengeance as they went 6-of-7 from the line in a stretch of 1:01. This sprint was in the middle of the 15-0 run as a 55-47 Cardinals lead evaporated into a 60-55 Seminoles lead on a pair of free throws with 9:04 remaining.
The Seminoles’ defense cranked up as well and Williams, a 5-star freshman from Charlotte, pushed the electricity in the Tucker Center to an even higher level with a slam dunk off the steal to give the ‘Noles a 62-55 margin.
While the offensive outpouring happened, the defensive pressure and heat that the Seminoles put on Louisville wore the Cardinals down. It seemed like Louisville was slower in their press break as they had trouble getting the ball up the floor. When they got into their spots on offense, the shot clock was low and the Cardinals were uncomfortable and couldn’t execute freely.
“I thought their pressure, although it might not have turned us over a ton, it kept us on our heels like it does with most teams,” Mack said. “I thought we came out of halftime and I thought we set the tone on the wrong way on the offensive end.”
The pressure was so relentless that Louisville went for a period of 9:05 without a field goal. The Cardinals were 0-8 from the floor with four turnovers during that span as David Johnson ended that drought with a jumper to cut FSU’s lead to 67-60.
The knockout punch came with 1:58 to play as Florida State broke the Louisville pressure and Trent Forrest slammed a dunk over the top of Jordan Nwora. To Nwora’s credit, he went all in on trying to thwart Forrest, but he couldn’t. The Cardinals trailed 75-67 and he was trying to give them one last gasp.
Forrest turned out the lights and solidified the Seminoles current lead in the ACC. He’s a quiet sort and a true leader as a senior. There was cause for celebration.
“He seems to have a quiet demeanor and is one of the fellas,” said Hamilton. “He demonstrated how much that moment meant to him. He shows what garnet and gold means to him and he is a Seminole through and through. He showed what that unconquered spirit means to all of us. I am glad to see him have that moment in his senior year.”
