FSU, Bacon Fry Gators Again

Sunday, December 11

Tallahassee, FL

4 PM

Florida Gators

Florida State

FSU guard Dwayne Bacon lays in two of his game-high 24 points Sunday.

FSU, Bacon Fry Gators Again

Sunday, December 11, 2016 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry

Box Score Photo Gallery by Tim Casey & MacKenzie Meyer

FSU guard Dwayne Bacon, who beat UF with a last-second shot last December, scored a game-high 24 points in the Seminoles 83-78 victory Sunday in the latest "Fresh From Florida Showdown" in Tallahassee.

By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — There's a pattern developing within the Florida basketball team that has caught the attention of Coach Mike White.

And not in a good way.

Florida State may not be a Top 10-ranked team like Gonzaga and Duke were, but the Seminoles are very good and figure to have some highlight moments in the Atlantic Coast Conference on the way to playing in the fun part of March. On Sunday, White watched his 21st-ranked Gators play some terrific first-half defense against an excellent offensive crew, only to watch FSU discover its scoring rhythm — much like Duke and Gonzaga did — in the second half on the way to a 83-78 victory in front of 10,028 at Tucker Center.

Seminoles guard Dwayne Bacon did a number on the Gators (7-3) for the second year in a row, scoring 16 of his game-high 24 points in the second half. Forward Terrance Mann had 16 points to go with eight rebounds for the Seminoles (10-1), who shot 55.2 percent after intermission, making nine of their first 12 shots to open up a double-digit cushion that withstood a late Gators rush.

UF sophomore guard KeVaughn Allen let fly a 3-point shot with 45 seconds left that could have tied the game, but the ball caromed off the rim and into the hands of Mann, who hit two free throws at the other end. The closest Florida, led by Kasey Hill's career-high 21 points and 16 from Allen, got after that was within four.

FSU was just too big, too good and leading by too much to finish the job.

"It's been a common theme for us defensively in all three of our losses. We're just not the same, for whatever reason," White said of UF's second-half generosity on the defensive end. "We've got to maintain that energy level, intensity level and communication level when we're [defending] away from our bench."

Florida State's 55 percent and 47 second-half points fell right in line with Duke's 60.9 percent and 43 points last Tuesday, as well as Gonzaga's 60.7 and 45 over Thanksgiving weekend, respectively.

Bacon, who scored 24 last year in Gainesville when he gutted the Gators with the game-winning jumper with just over four seasons left, hit seven of his 11 shots after halftime. UF shot the ball well enough to be in the game (46.8 percent), but some much needed possessions went scoreless and the Seminoles — whether it was Mann or 7-foot-1, 305-pound Michael Ojo (8 points, 7 rebounds) or 6-10 freshman and NBA lottery-pick-in-waiting Jonathan Issac (9 points, 6 rebounds) — made it tough to get second-chance opportunities off the offensive glass.

"It's very hard to go over those guys," Hill said.

UF guard Kasey Hill scored a career-high 21 points, including this hard drive and finish at the rim.

The Gators stayed in the game mostly by going around those guys. The Seminoles love to press, which makes them beatable off the dribble and in the open floor with quick guards like Hill and Allen. Florida was able to get to the rim and finish some tough, challenged shots, with Hill making 10 of his 15 field-goal tries and Allen going 6-for-13.

But even 6-11, 250-pound center John Egbunu (8 points, 5 rebounds) was dwarfed by FSU's live athletic bodies, getting just four shots off in the post. Forward Devin Robinson (8 points, 5 rebounds) and Justin Leon (7 points, 1 rebound) were pretty much neutralized, too. Reserve swingman Canyon Barry went 2-for-10 from the floor before leaving the game with a nasty gash in his head that needed 13 stitches to close. Backup bigs Kevarrius Hayes and Keith Stone had a field goal each.

"You have to credit their length and discipline on the interior, their physicality," White said. "They have the ability to throw different [big] guys at you."

It would have been nice to draw the FSU bigs away from the basket with some 3-point shots, but UF went just four of 16 from deep.

"I thought in the second half we played with a little bit more poise and executed better," FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said after his program registered its first victory over a ranked non-conference opponent since beat UF on Dec. 7, 2008. "We had some moments where we were indecisive but had quick recoveries. This is type of game that helped grow up a little bit."

Developments in first half had a lot to do with the circumstances of the second. Allen appeared in a groove in the first half, but picked up two fouls barely three minutes into the game. White let Allen, his best offensive player, sit for about three and a half minutes before putting him back in the game. UF led at the time 12-11.

"I didn't want to go into the half struggling offensively," White said. "KeVaughn is a not a big foul-trouble guy. I didn't foresee him picking up that third."

Florida led 20-17 when Allen, indeed, got his third foul at the 8:40 mark — and it came when he fouled Braian Angola-Rodas on a made 3-point shot. Allen headed to the bench and Angola-Rodas to the free-throw line, where he converted the four-point play and gave the Seminoles the lead and a huge jolt of momentum.

FSU led 36-34 at the break and used a 16-6 run early in the second half, with Bacon scoring seven of those points, to ride out to a 12-point lead with 14 minutes to go, a sequence that included the first technical foul called against White in his two UF seasons.

Thirteen minutes later, though, Allen had a shot at his game-tying 3.

"It looked good," he said.

Instead, the Gators have their first two-game losing streak of the season and likely are headed out of the Top 25. The Seminoles, meanwhile, very well could be taking UF's place.

So what?

"It's not what we earned this week or last week. None of that matters," White said. "It's about learning from this game, the Duke game, the North Florida game [before that]. I'm sure Coach Hamilton is talking about the same thing. It's such a long season. Obviously, we really, really wanted this one, but it's a process. A journey. We have to get better tomorrow."

Second-half defense figures to come up.