Feb. 14, 2015
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ATLANTA (AP) Xavier Rathan-Mayes scored 22 points, Jarquez Smith added 15 points and Florida State rallied in the game’s final minute to beat Georgia Tech 57-53 on Saturday.
The Seminoles (14-12, 6-7 Atlantic Coast Conference) have won five of eight overall and 10 in a row over Georgia Tech.
Marcus Georges-Hunt finished with 17 points to lead the Yellow Jackets (11-14, 2-11 ACC), but he missed the front end of a one-and-one with 8.1 seconds remaining and Devon Bookert rebounded to preserve Florida State’s two-point lead.
A straightaway jumper from Rathun-Mayes, the ACC’s second-leading rookie scorer, gave Florida State a 54-53 lead with 53.4 seconds remaining, and Bookert closed with a pair of free throws to end the scoring with 6 seconds to go.
Smith, who left the game with 3:31 remaining after appearing to injure his left leg, returned for the final 49 seconds.
Georgia Tech, which lost a 10-point lead with 5:07 remaining to lose Wednesday at Virginia Tech, was ahead by five with 3:31 left in the game, but failed to score the rest of the way, missing five shots from the field.
The Jackets began the game by missing nine of its first 11 shots from the field before Quinton Stephens’ three-point play cut lead to 12-8 at the 9:55 mark of the first half.
Georgia Tech was up by two after Georges-Hunt hit a pair of free throws with 6:05 left in the first, but Rathan-Mayes’ jumper in the final minute closed a 16-5 run that gave Florida State a nine-point lead at halftime.
TIP-INS
Florida State: Junior guard Devon Bookert was coming off a career-high 23 points in Monday’s three-point home loss to Duke, but finished with seven points. Bookert, who was 8 for 11 on 3-point attempts in his previous three games, went 1 for 4 beyond the arc.
Georgia Tech: In nine of their 11 conference losses, the Jackets have been in a one- or two-possession game with 1 minute or less left in regulation. Ten of their ACC defeats have come by seven points or less.
UP NEXT
Florida State: Hosts Boston College on Wednesday.
Georgia Tech: Hosts Clemson on Monday.
