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Peter Warrick and Adrian McPherson Take Their Talents To The Indoor Game

Can Peter Warrick's speed and acrobatic style translate to eight-man teams, 50-yard fields and being knocked into the third row by aggressive DBs? Get set to find out March 8th when Pete suits up for the Arena League's Las Vegas Gladiators.

As for Warrick being ready for a different kind of football: "I think once I get it, I'm really going to get it," he told the Las Vegas Review-Journal (read the full story here).

Meanwhile, the Noles infamous former QB Adrian McPherson returns to the 8-man game with the Austin Wranglers.
In 2004, A.D. threw for 56 touchdowns and was the Arena League's Rookie of the Year while playing for Indianapolis  — at age 19, no less. In Austin he competes with incumbent QB John Fitzgerald for the starting job.

McPherson was a backup QB for the New Orleans Saints in 2005. But in another bizarre twist to his career, he was injured in '06 by the Titans mascot who careened into A.D. on the sidelines with a golf cart during a preseason game. Placed on injured reserve, McPherson was then cut.

Joining McPherson on the Wranglers is former Nole teammate Eric Thomas ('95-'99), now in his seventh season in the League.

Other Noles showing up on Arena League 2007 rosters include:

Damian Harrell ('95-'97, pictured left), who returns to the Colorado Crush where he was number two in the league in receiving last season with 1920 yards and 60 TDs (no, that's not a typo). 

Leroy Smith (2001-04), defensive back for the Tampa Bay Storm.

And a trio of Noles found a home with the San Jose Sabercats. Clevan Thomas ('97-2000) and Rufus Brown (2000-'03) will roam the secondary, while big Todd Williams ('99-'02) will make his presence felt on the offensive line.

Monday Night Football in March? Notice to Football-starved fans: Monday Night Football Arena League style begins March 12 on ESPN2 with L.A. versus Orlando.

Noles Make Their Mark at the NFL Combine

Making their first appearance since the 2006 Emerald Bowl win, five FSU players are busy impressing NFL coaches at the annual Combine in Indianapolis. Here's how the five are performing on the field and in the weight room.

Chris Davis (pictured above in Combine passing drills): Chris was 8th among all WR's in the Vertical Jump (35.5) and ran a 4.46 to place among the middle of the WR times. 

Lorenzo Booker: LoBo was 5th among RBs in the 40 with a 4.46, and impressed everybody in the 225 lb. Bench Press with 26 reps.

Mario Henderson:  Third among OL in the broad jump (9'1"), 8th in the 40-yd. dash (5.11), 9th in the 3-Cone drill (7.60), and had 20 reps in the Bench Press.

Lawrence Timmons: LT ran a blazing (at least for LBs) 4.59 40, tied for 2nd in the broad jump (10'3"), was 5th in the 3-cone drill (6.89), 9th in the 60 Shuttle (11.78)., and knocked out 25 reps in the bench press. Mark Mayok, NFL Network draft guru, ranks Timmons #3 on his list of top linebackers available on draft day.

Buster Davis: Buster participated in only two drills, clocking 4.67 in the 40 and racking up 24 reps in the bench.

Inside The Locker Rooms: Post-N.C. State Comments

Post-game Coverage by Bill from Tampa

“Man, it felt great,” said Al Thornton (17 points), who remains in the running for player of the year honors in the Atlantic Coast Conference despite the Seminoles' recent struggles. “I know that's the type of team we are... The type of team we are capable of being. When we play together, man, we can easily get wins. We can win by that margin.

"It was special, being my last time playing here," said
Thornton, who, along with Allen, walked along the student section courtside and slapped hands with fans at the end of the game. "I've been through a lot of ups and downs here. I'm matured a lot. I'm going to miss it."

"When we play together, we can easily get wins," Thornton said. "We can win by that margin when we're all on the same page and we're all playing together. When I have to go out and try to get 30, 35 and 20 rebounds, I don't think we're efficient. We won't win as much. When we're on the same page, the sky's the limit. We can get on a run that way."

"We have to pretty much play every game like it's our last, "
said Thornton, who finished with 17 points. "Play the game with passion."

"We understand what Al has done for the whole team; we know he carried us on his back for the whole season,'' guard Jerel Allen said. "We just wanted to play as a team, because we understand Al Thornton is going to make big shots, and we just wanted the team to get in a whole unity, a rhythm together."

"Our players played at a much greater level of aggressiveness," FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. "I thought our players rose to the
occasion."

On the team meeting on Friday, "We just wanted to tell the players how much they mean to us, and that we really don't want to come back here [for an NIT game]," Allen said. "We want to make it to the Big Dance. They almost made us a promise, basically."

"We looked at the positive things and the negative things, and how we are going to get back on the same page," sophomore Uche Echefu said of the meeting.

"Al has raised his game up tremendously, and he's been scoring an awful lot of points, but I've said from the beginning of the year, if we are going to be successful, we are going to have to have the full sum of all our parts working," said Hamilton, whose team finishes the regular season next Saturday at Miami.
"I thought the offense today gave everybody the opportunity to be involved."

“We just wanted the team to get into a rhythm, have unity,” Allen said. “Whenever we do that, we play good. Whenever we just look to 'Al, Al, Al' we lose our rhythm. We talked about it. We want to play together.”

Added Thornton: "We pretty much poured our hearts out, and the guys came out today and did a great job responding."

"We created opportunities for each other. In the past, sometimes we've gotten rushed, and we have tried to create for the individual and not create for a teammate," Hamilton said.

"We're a good offensive team," Hamilton said. "But we haven't given ourselves a chance (recently) by not making the extra pass."

"We did a lot of talking this week," coach Leonard Hamilton said. "We did a lot of soul searching. Everyone had to give whatever they had at this point. Our backs are against the wall. I just think we realized we had to be at our very best. Everyone had to give whatever they had at this point because our backs are against the wall. We can't afford any more slip-ups."

“We were going to be evaluated at the end of this game by how did we respond when we were dealing with some adversity,” said Hamilton. “I think they responded in a very positive way.”

On the NCAA tournament, "I've never been, I never went to a game [as a fan], I didn’t watch it last year, I couldn’t watch it," Thornton said of the Tournament and how much an invitation would mean to him.

FSU's all-time leading scorer, Bob Sura, returned to have his number retired at halftime. After watching Thornton play live
for the first time, he said the ACC Player of the Year candidate reminded him of himself. "Wow,'' Thornton responded, "he said that for real?''

"What we saw today was just the more aggressive team, the more active team, won the ballgame," Lowe said. "Right from the very beginning, the first play when Thornton gets the basketball and drove around us and dunked it, that set the tone right there. If you watched us, they just seemed like they were a step ahead."

"We knew they were going to be ready for this game, so it wasn't a surprise,'' first-year N.C. State Coach Sidney Lowe said.

On Thornton's last basket of the game (a three-pointer), "The look I had on my face is because I was surprised that he did it so easily," said Lowe. "We talked about it the last couple of days. We worked on it."

"They brought it," N.C. State's Gavin Grant said. "They outworked us. They're a desperate team and they did what they had to do."

"Just mentally a lot of breakdowns," Pack coach Sidney Lowe said afterwards. "On both offense and defense."

Noles Close Out Home Season Against Wolfpack

Game Preview by Bill from Tampa

Florida State vs N.C. State
Saturday 1:00 PM at the Donald L. Tucker Center
TV – RLF 

Records: FSU – 17-11, ACC 5-9 (9th); Home overall 13-3, ACC 4-3
NC State – 14-12, ACC 4-9 (t 10th); Road overall 2-5, ACC 2-4

Last Five Games: FSU  0-5, NC State 1-4

Last Game: Tied 31-31, FSU gave up 12 straight points to start the 2nd half in losing 73-55 to Maryland.
Down by a point at the half, Sidney Lowe was taken to the hospital due to dehydration and flu like symptoms and NC State was blown out in the second half by UNC 83-64.

Key Stats (ACC only): Scoring offense – FSU 71.4 ppg (7th), NC State 68.9 ppg (11th) 
Scoring defense – FSU 73.2 ppg (9th) NC State 74.5 ppg (10th) 
Free throws – FSU .783 (1st), NC State .731 (3rd)
FG percentage – FSU .444 (9th), NC State .477 (3rd) 
FG percentage defense – FSU .468 (6th), .469 (7th)
3-pt FG percentage – FSU .388 (1st), NC State .387 (2nd)
3-pt FG percentage defense – FSU .351 (t 4th), NC State .380 (11th)
Rebounding margin – FSU +.5 (6th), NC State -5.2 (12th)
Assists – FSU 12.21 (10th), NC State 13.62 (4th) 
Turnover margin – FSU -.64 (8th), NC State -3.62 (12th)
Steals – FSU 5.86 (9th), NC State 4.92 (11th)

Projected Starters (stats for all games)
FSU: Al Thornton (6-8) – 19.3 ppg, 7.3 rpg, .518 FG%,
.429 3-pt%, .813 FT%
Ralph Mims (6-2) –  5.1 ppg, 2.3 rpg, .390 FG%, .368 3-pt%,
.759 FT%, 66 A, 49 TO
Jason Rich (6-3) – 10.5 ppg, .509 FG%, .424 3-pt%, .819 FT%, 3.3 rpg
Isaiah Swann (6-1) – 9.6 ppg, .441 FG%, .357 3-pt%, .778 FT%,
89 A (1st), 59 TO
Uche Echefu (6-9) – 7.0 ppg, .433 FG%, .328 3-pt%, .763 FT%,
4.4 rpg (2nd)

N.C. State: F Gavin Grant (6-7) - 15.1 ppg, ..469 FG%, .325 3-pt%, .740 FT%, 4.2 apg
F Brandon Costner (6-8) - 16.2 ppg, .467 FG%, .369 3-pt%,
.688 FT% 7.8 rpg
F Ben McCauley (6-9) - 15.6 ppg, .598 FG%, .664 FT%, 6.7 rpg,
89 assists (2nd)
SG Courtney Fells (6-5) - 11.7 ppg, .448 FG%, .327 3-pt%, .746 FT% 4.0 rpg
PG Engin Atsur (6-4) - 11.9 ppg, .509 FG%, .403 3-pt%, .833 FT%, 4.9 apg

Outlook:
It’s no secret that NC State has been very short-handed this season
playing mostly just seven players. All five starters have played a large number of minutes each game with the lowest being 33 mpg by Atsur. Despite that, the Wolfpack have been a very scrappy team that has fought as hard as they can for forty minutes. With two wins over Virginia Tech and a win over the Tar Heels, this is a team that Florida State should not take for granted, especially since the Seminoles are on a five game losing streak.

Lowe has kept some of former coach Herb Sendek’s Princeton-type style, primarily because of the personnel he inherited. However, with his NBA experience, Lowe has installed some pro sets as well. His sets coming out of timeouts in particular have been very good.

It’s not an offense that will generally look for offense from its
defense by creating steals and turnovers. NC State opponents average just over 12 turnovers a game.

Lowe calls all the plays and once he determines a weakness, he will continue to attack that weakness until the opponent stops it. In FSU’s case that been its interior defense.

That’s where Atsur comes in. While Atsur is not a slashing point guard, helped along by still nursing a sore hamstring, the native of Turkey has the experience to adeptly pick apart defenses. Look for Atsur to find McCauley, often down low, who is very agile and can create shots for himself.

Grant is more of a slashing style of guard and has the ability to get to the rim.

For FSU to win the game, someone other than Thornton is going to have to pick up the scoring slack. Everyone except Thornton has seen their offensive stats remain static or go down, notably Rich, since point guard Toney Douglas went down with the fractured hand.

The game will be the final regular season home appearance for seniors Jerel Allen and Thornton. Each will be honored before the game. Bob Sura’s number will be retired at halftime.

Coach of Florida State's Sept. 15th Foe Gives His Team a Reality Check Rant

If Colorado coach Dan Hawkins can give halftime speeches like this, that thin, mile-high air won't be the Buffaloes' only advantage on September 15th.
Hawkins reportedly made the comments during a signing day press conference last week. This 60-second clip is a response to an unnamed player's parent complaining about the lack of free time his players have.

(Note: Safe for work, but cover the kids' ears.)

Noles Take It On The Chin Again

Game Report by Bill from Tampa

When FSU played Tech last month, the Seminoles with Toney Douglas couldn’t stop Jaravis Crittenton who scored 23 points in that game. Without Douglas it wasn’t any better.

Crittenton scored 29 points in leading Georgia Tech to a 63-57 win over the Seminoles breaking a string of 17 straight road losses for the Yellow Jackets.

In a key stretch in the second half where FSU could not score one point in almost nine minutes, Crittenton scored 11 straight points to erase a five point FSU lead and give Tech a lead they would never relinquish.

Having your first and second scorers on the bench is never a
good scenario for winning a basketball game. With Douglas out with a fractured hand and Al Thornton saddled with four fouls, FSU went ice cold in the second half shooting a horrid 24% from the floor.

Still the ‘Noles had a chance to avoid the loss had it not been for Thornton exerting his will by scoring 11 of his 16 points over the last five minutes of the game.

Thornton’s offensive putback off a missed three by Ralph Mims with 1:37 left pulled FSU to within two points, 52-50.

With twenty three seconds left his three ball made it a one possession game at 58-55 followed by a slam dunk off an offensive rebound seconds later to make it 60-57.

And that was with the back injury he suffered in the Boston College game on Sunday.

“Clearly Al was not himself. You could see that out there tonight.” Leonard Hamilton said afterwards.

Unfortunately Tech did not miss from the charity stripe fending off the Seminoles comeback attempt.

Isaiah Swann led the Seminoles with a career high 23 points but could only manage six after Thornton went out with his fourth foul early in the second half. Swann’s stop-and-pop jumper with 14:59 left in the half gave FSU a 40-35 lead. It would be the last points the Tribe would score until Thornton’s two free throws at the 5:22 mark.

In commenting on his team’s offensive struggles Hamilton said, “We don’t have the ability to post up or draw fouls. We create points off the jump shot. That is who we are and when those are not dropping we have trouble manufacturing points.”

“We couldn’t get in any offensive rhythm in the second half,” added Hamilton. “Isaiah stepped up but not enough other guys stepped up to help him out.”

Florida State got down early 13-6 on the strength of 3 three pointers, two by Crittenton, and a couple of easy layups off the pick and roll.

But Swann scored eight points in the last minutes of the first half to give FSU a 35-30 lead at intermission.

However, both Ryan Reid and Uche Echefu each had three fouls and Thornton picked up his third and fourth fouls in less than two minutes.

That was followed by Crittenton’s offensive outburst scoring from behind the arc, off his defense, and pounding the boards for the offensive rebound.

“Georgia Tech was going thru one guy that we didn’t have an answer for,” Hamilton commented.

With FSU fighting for a NCAA invitation, the loss is a setback towards that goal. Still optimistic Hamilton said “We will have to find a way to reach down. That’s what good teams do. That’s where we are at.”

It doesn’t get any easier for the ‘Noles as they travel to Virginia on Saturday and the Cavaliers’ new John Paul Jones arena, a place that has been a difficult place to win for visiting teams so far this season. Tip off is at 1:00 PM and will be aired by Raycom.

Bowden Rips New Clock Rules, Has Plenty of Company Among Coaching Compadres

   "I don't like it, and the only coaches I know who like it are on defense. Now, they don't have as many plays to defend. I wouldn't mind going back to the way it used to be. I don't think what we have is good for the game." - Bobby Bowden in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

While Bowden may be peeved, former Nole and Texas coach Mack Brown believes the new clock rules cost him last season's big game with Ohio State: "They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything. I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."

This week, Bowden and Brown may get their wish as the NCAA rules committee meets. And the controversial clock rules will hog the discusssion, if not the agenda.

Other coaches believe the new rules range from irritating to downright evil:

"I think we're cheating the fans...Do you think they are saying 'Well, we just drove six hours to the game. I wish we could see 12 fewer plays?'"  - Mark Richt

"It totally changed the way you begin your drive. The bottom line is that you lose about one possession per game." - David Cutcliffe, UT Off. Coordinator

"What we've got now makes it much easier just to run out the clock when you've got the lead." - Steve Spurrier

   Auburn's Tommy Tuberville will have a lot to say about any changes, but he's one coach who's not complaining. Tuberville, one of two Div. I-A coaches on the 13-member committee, says "I'm going to listen to all the arguments, but the bottom line is
we have to do what's best for the players. One of the reasons we wanted to make the change was that we were asking the players to play another game (referring to the 12th game approved by
the NCAA.)"

   One modification to the rules being discussed: reverting to the old rules for the last five minutes of the half and of the game.

10 Things To Like About FSU's '07 Recruiting Class

1. It fills the biggest need. Eight new OL is key to a quick turnaround on offense. Okay, we're fudging a little. It was 7 OL who signed Wednesday. But we're counting Caz Piurowski among the first class of the Trickett School of Hard Knocks.

2. A shutdown corner. 4-Star Dionte Allen (pictured left) appears to have the tools to contribute early: 4.4 speed, good hands (14 INTs in high school; 22 catches at WR), and not afraid to tackle (54 his senior year) .

3. A Junior College gem. It's an annual tradition to snag at least one JC star who quickly cracks the lineup (Paul Griffin, Chauncey Davis, Javon Walker and Walter Jones to name a few). Now Brian Coulter (pictured right) steps in to add depth
at DL. Or is it DE? Recruiting guru Max Emfinger rates him a six-star JC player and "#1 Strong Defensive End."

4. Great material for Mickey & Company to work with. Besides Allen and Coulter, Bernard Brinson (CB), Aaron Gresham (LB), Maurice Harris (OLB), Jamar Jackson (LB) who could become a rush end), Kendall Smith (LB), and possibly Brandon Paul at CB, all could play a role on a potentially dangerous '07 defense.

5. Lack of prima donna attitudes. This class is a refreshing change from some of the high maintenance, all-about-me egos of past years. Good example: Aaron Gresham's high school coach describes the 3-star LB as "the quintessential team player (who) raises the level of everybody around him. He practices and plays harder than anyone." Says  Gresham, "Ever since I can remember, I've tried to go out and do the best I can on the football field. Good things happen when you do that."

6. Guys with something to prove. We welcome two- and three-star players who work their tails off to prove they're as good as four and five stars guys. The star system has validity, but what really counts is how a player grades after a few years in the system. Few schools out-recruit Tennessee, yet the Vols have underachieved in recent years. Compare that to Wake Forest. The Deacs recruit guys most schools pass over (Wake ranked 65th in recruiting last year), but develop them into winners. FSU's new staff should be a big upgrade for teaching and developing young talent — whether 5-star phenoms or no-star walkons.

7. Last-Second Surprises. Once again, FSU pulls some letters of intent out of the hat. WR Markish Jones (pictured left) actually signed an LOI to Clemson. But before it was faxed he had a change of heart that broke Tommy Bowden's. Antwane Greenlee was a lock to Georgia — until signing day when he left Bulldog fans growling. And big TE Johnathan Hannah surprised N.C. State with an 11th hour switch to the Noles.

8. Smarts. If you believe like we do that intelligent players play smart, check out the vitals on these new Noles:  Cameron Wade,  3.75 GPA. Anthony Grosso, 3.96. Jamar Jackson, 3.00. Dionte Allen, 3.00. Will Furlong's 1290 on the SAT. Looks like Myron Rolle will have some company on the honor roll.

9. Speed at WR. Another big need nicely filled. Brandon Paul runs a 4.4. Markish Jones ran the fastest 40 of any receiver at the Clemson NIKE Training Camp. And 6' 4" Cameron Wade ran one of the 20 best 40's at Florida's NIKE camp.

10. A multi-threat playmaker a la Percy Harvin. Jimbo Fisher now has a game breaker to bumfuzzle opponents. Look for the new O.C. to use Bert Reed to create mismatches in space. The elusive Reed can come at you as a WR or running back. And since he played QB in high school, we can't wait for Reed's first halfback pass to a wide open receiver.

Our grade: a solid B. The staff deserves high marks with all
they had going against them, including: 1. Two down seasons
2. Turnover of assistants with new coaches having little time to establish relationships and sell players on the program, and
3. Fewer scholarships to award.

Okay, now it's your turn. Let us know how you grade this class in the Nole Poll on the right.

Still drunk on Duke win, Noles lose to Tigers

Game report by Bill from Tampa

Florida State got down by 17 points in the first half. Unlike the Sunday game against Duke, the Seminoles could not climb out of that hole losing to Clemson 71-58.

As has been the case for the past five seasons,
FSU has not played well in Clemson's Littlejohn Coliseum. This game was no exception.

None of the ‘Noles in no way brought their “A” game, except for Al Thornton who was hammered all night long. For most of the game it appeared the Seminoles were in a daze apparently hung over from the win at Cameron.

There was poor shooting, just 37% that included 4 of 18 three pointers. At least the ‘Noles were 80% from the free throw line.

Then there was the poor defense allowing Clemson to shoot 51% from the floor. The Tigers time and again took advantage of FSU’s overplaying defense, slashing in from the wings or baseline, constantly giving Clemson uncontested lay ups.

Just about all of it was ugly for FSU. It’s just how Clemson likes to make you play and FSU obliged.

Leonard Hamilton had nothing to say about his team’s performance on his post game radio show. That’s because the coach never showed up for the show, instead spending an extended period of time talking to his team in the locker room. One can only assume it was not to compliment them on a game well played.

The obvious game plan for Clemson was to key on Thornton and make it as difficult as possible for him to score. While Thornton did score 21 points, he had to work extremely hard for them. The senior was just 4 of 14 from the floor and was fouled hard virtually every time he put up a shot. He had just 9 points shooting with the remainder coming from the line.

FSU never led in the game and was down 31-14 with 5:56 to
play in the first half. Clemson contested every possession relentlessly and at one point forced three straight possessions where the ‘Noles were forced to take a poor shot before the shot clock expired.

FSU could only close the gap at the half to 36-25.

The Tribe finally did make a run at the Tigers, pulling to within six, 51-45 with 7:13 to play, when Ryan Reid put back a Thornton miss. But Reid and Jason Rich both turned the ball over on the next two FSU possessions and CU capitalized on the miscues.

Shortly after that FSU got it back down to five, 55-50, with 4:14 to play. But FSU scored just two baskets from that point on. Clemson meanwhile never stopped attacking the basket and made constant trips to the charity stripe outscoring FSU 16-8 in that span.

Clemson put three players in double figures led by K.C. Rivers’ 17 points. The reserve guard had recently been in a five game slump but got off to a quick start with seven points in just over three minutes early in the game.

With the loss Florida State drops to 17-7, 5-5 and is now behind the Tigers in the conference standings due to being swept. The ‘Noles will attempt to regroup hosting Boston College on Sunday at 3:00 PM. The game will be shown on FSN-FL.

NOLES BREAK CAMERON CURSE, 68-67

Game Report by Bill from Tampa

Say goodbye to 0-15 at Cameron. Say goodbye no conference road wins this season. Even better, say goodbye to six years of not beating a ranked team on the road. With two games this season lost on the last shot of the game it was about time the ball bounced in favor of Florida State.

Duke got three cracks at the game winner shot, but DeMarcus Nelson’s attempted putback of Josh McRoberts’ short jumper clanged off the rim as time expired giving FSU its first ever win at the storied venue.

After the buzzer sounded a jubilant celebration ensued by the visiting 'Noles as they danced in front of the Cameron Crazies. Duke fans in attendance seemed even less than enthused at the display of exuberance as Leonard Hamilton made his way through the tunnel raising an index finger to salute his team’s triumph.

``That was just a little excitement. We went over there and showed them a little love,'' Thornton said. ``I think we overdid it, but we apologize, though, that we did all that.''

Early on it sure didn’t look like it would be a FSU win. The ‘Noles were down 7-0, had missed their first four shots, and had Isaiah Swann with two fouls in the opening minutes of the game.

By more than half way through the first period the Seminoles were down 27-10 and saw Uche Echefu and Jason Rich pick up back to back charging calls giving the appearance that a blowout was imminent.

Greg Paulus did most of the damage with 13 points in that span. He finished with 23, an indication that the Seminoles defense stepped it up.

That blowout didn’t materialize however and the ‘Noles dug in to claw their way back to within three, 36-39, at the half. FSU took its first lead just 1:10 into the second half when Al Thornton blazed around Gerald Henderson for the lay up.

Hamilton was obviously pleased with the team’s comeback. “We had a horrendous start. But we fought back that gave us some confidence going into the half”, Hamilton said.

“Defensively we were fouling unnecessarily and we had open shots that we could not knock down. Duke’s defense kept us off balance the entire game. But in the second half we rebounded better and got stops.”

“The guys stepped up to make gutty plays,” he added.

One player Hamilton singled out was Ryan Reid. With Echefu
on the bench with four fouls, Coach Hamilton had to rely on the freshman forward late in the game. Reid finished with four points but none bigger than his lay up that scored FSU’s final points
after corralling the offensive rebound moments before. “Ryan’s defense in the second half was outstanding” notably his defense against McRoberts in helping to hold him to 14 points.

Once again leading the way was the duo of Al Thornton and Toney Douglas. Always a big game player, Thornton scored 21 points along with 8 rebounds.

Douglas again came through late in the game scoring 5 points during one stretch with his three pointer from the left wing giving FSU a 60-57 lead they would not relinquish. The redshirt sophomore finished with 15 points.

Also in double figures was Echefu with 12 points, all in the
first half.

After FSU got down by fifteen, the Seminoles went on a 15-2 run helped along by foul trouble on McRoberts and Lance Thomas who had difficulty n containing Thornton. A greater intensity on defense creating Duke turnovers and the ability to get out and run by the speedier ‘Noles had the Blue Devils backpeddling. Echefu’s three ball in transition from the right wing made the score 29-25 in favor of Duke at the 4:56 mark.

In the second half Jerel Allen’s lay up on a break away gave FSU a 45-40 lead. Duke dug in and took back the lead, 48-47, when a Zoubek screen rubbed off Jason Rich allowing Nelson to can a three from the left wing.

After a three ball from Paulus made it 52-49, a key moment in the game occurred when Douglas was fouled by Paulus throwing a right arm as the two came down the near side. Some jawing erupted between the two but Hamilton grabbed his point guard pulling him to the sideline. Paulus was assessed the technical with Thornton making it 52-51.

Shortly after that Douglas knocked the ball away from Nelson and a two on one break was finished off by Rich. Ralph Mims fell down on the next possession that allowed Henderson an easy lane to the basket. Douglas followed with a lay up from the right side off a double screen. Another steal by Rich resulted in Mims head faking his way to a lay up.

Paulus tied it at 57 with a three from the left corner preceding Douglas’ three from the left wing.

With the score at 68-63 and 2:50 remaining and reminiscent of last year’s officiating blunder that fouled out Alexander Johnson, Nelson shoved Rich in front of the Seminole bench forcing him to step out of bounds. Instead of a foul on Nelson, Rich was called out and the ball was turned over to Duke.

After Nelson made it 68-65 and the ball back in the Seminole
side of the court, a normally composed Hamilton exploded at the referee still fuming at the no call on Nelson seconds earlier. Assistant coaches pulled the angry Hamilton back, but not before he was T’d up.

The technical free throws brought the Devils to within one, 68-67 with 2:29 still left on the clock.

It could have been a repeat of past games lost on the final possession during the Hamilton era. FSU had three possessions with Douglas taking the shot. However he couldn’t knock down any of them.

Fortunately Duke couldn’t sink any of their shots either although they certainly had multiple chances in the last 7.7 seconds. Thornton grabbed a rebound but a jump ball was called with 4.2 seconds left and the possession arrow to Duke. Duke got the ball to McRoberts in the lane but the short runner would not go down. Nelson rebounded on the ft side but he missed as well quickly silencing the partisan Cameron crowd when the clock ran out.

Hamilton called the game a “significant win” for the 17-6, 5-4 Seminoles. Now tied for fifth in the standings with Duke, Hamilton said “We now have to back this up with some more victories.”

That starts with another road game, at Clemson on Wednesday at 7:30. It will be a chance for FSU to gain some retribution for an earlier loss this season to the Tigers when Cliff Hammonds hit the game winner with just three seconds left. After starting 17-0 the Tigers are 1-4.