BOSTON, Mass. (Seminoles.com) — In a conference that has secured 25 bids to the NCAA tournament in the past three seasons, the ACC continues to demonstrate its toughness.
The ACC’s ability to showcase premier talent, from top to bottom, was on display on Sunday afternoon as the No. 11 Florida State Seminoles fell to the Boston College Eagles, 87-82, in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
The Eagles (19-7, 1-4) blitzed the Seminoles with a season-best performance from behind the 3-point line. Boston College, which entered the game shooting 30 percent from behind the arc, made 13-21 (61.9 percent) from deep.
FSU redshirt sophomore Mfiondu Kabengele continued his dominant start in conference play. The Burlington, Ont., native scored a career-high 26 points, breaking his previous high of 24 set just two games ago.
Kabengele added nine rebounds and also posted career-highs in field goals (nine) and field goal attempts (16).
Florida State (13-5, 1-4) looked strong in the first half after a slow start. After trailing 17-11 in the contest’s first seven minutes, the Seminoles outscored Eagles 35-19 to end the first half.
Senior Terance Mann led the way in the first half, as he scored 10 points and grabbed four rebounds, while shooting three of seven from the floor and connecting on a 3-point shot.
Mann finished with 14 points, eight rebounds and a steal, bringing his season total to eight games in double figures.
Trailing 24-23 with 9:38 in the first half, junior guard Trent Forrest answered a Boston College three-point shot with one of his own, sparking a 17-1 run by the Seminoles in which five different players scored.
After finishing with seven points in the first half, Forrest finished with a do-it-all all-around performance of nine points, eight rebounds and six assists on four of eight from the field.
In the second half, though, the Seminoles ran into a Boston College aerial assault.
The Eagles opened up the first 7:30 of the second half on a 23-6 run, in which Boston College hit five three-point shots and held the Seminoles to 22 percent from the floor.
With the Seminoles struggling to find momentum, Kabengele scored six of Florida State’s next eight points to bring the game to 66-60 with 8:46 left.
Boston College continued to find the hot hand from the three-point line, as the Eagles answered Kabengele’s scoring tear with an outside jumper of their own.
It seemed as if every Florida State second-half run was answered. The Eagles shot eight of ten from beyond the arc in the second half.
Down 74-60 with seven minutes left in the second half, Florida State began to claw its way back into the contest.
After securing four offensive rebounds that led to seven points, the Seminoles were down 74-67 with 3:28 to play, and sophomore guard M.J. Walker hit a three-point shot with 2:34 left to bring the score to 76-70.
Sunday’s matchup showed a step in the right direction for Walker, who was caught in the middle of a scoring slump. He finished with 12 points, two rebounds and a career-high two blocked shots, while also connecting on two three-point shots.
After two defensive stands in the backcourt by Florida State that led to a five-second violation and a turnover, Mann hit a fade away three-point shot in the corner to make the game 81-77 with 0:59 left.
A three-pointer by Boston College on the following possession put the game out of reach.
While dropping its first three road games of the ACC slate, Florida State looks to rebound as four of its next six games are at home.
Florida State returns to action quickly to face the Clemson Tigers inside the Donald L. Tucker Center on Tuesday. The game is is set for 7 p.m. tip and will be televised on ESPNU.
