NICEVILLE, Fl. — Trent Forrest scored 17 points to lead Florida State to a 63-60 overtime victory over Purdue in the Emerald Coast Classic championship game on Saturday night.
Forrest and Devin Vassell were named to the All-Tournament Team while Vassell was named the 2019 Emerald Coast Classic Most Outstanding Performer.
The Seminoles (7-1) outscored the Boilermakers 5-2 in the extra period by getting their points at the free-throw line including the final two with only one second left to play.
Purdue (4-3), trailing by only a point, took several potentially winning shots in the last minute but was unable to score against a stifling Florida State defense.
Devin Vassell was the only other Seminole scoring in double figures with 13 points. That included the final two free throws in overtime after getting fouled when he grabbed a missed Purdue shot.
Matt Haarms led the Boilermakers with 16 points followed by Jahaad Proctor with 12 and Eric Hunter Jr. with 10.
It was a back-and-forth game with 10 lead changes and 11 ties. Florida State never led by more than four points while the Boilermakers briefly went ahead by seven early in the second half after trailing 27-24 at the intermission.
Purdue won the rebounding battle 48-33 but had 24 turnovers to only 13 for Florida State.
The Seminoles have been on a roll since opening the season with a 63-61 road loss to Atlantic Coast Conference foe Pittsburgh. They boast a seven-game winning streak that includes two victories against ranked teams, then-No. 6 Florida on Nov. 10 and No. 17 Tennessee in an Emerald Coast semifinal on Friday. The rest of the always tough ACC schedule, though, looms with a home game against Clemson on Dec. 8 after a trip to Indiana on Tuesday.
