Florida State spent a month climbing out of the ACC cellar to step up to the precipice of a .500 record.
After 26 wild games, and 11 opponents in the top 75 by KenPom, the Seminoles struggled with No. 150 Boston College for most of Tuesday night.
Robert McCray scored 27 points, the most he’s had in an ACC game, and FSU overcame a 14-point second-half deficit to defeat Boston College 80-72 on Tuesday night.
"We came out sleep walking, and we got what we deserved," FSU coach Luke Loucks said. "Six weeks ago, maybe five weeks ago, we lose this game by 15, 20, 25 and that, to me, is a big testament to the character in our locker room.
"Every time I walked in the huddle five weeks ago, it would have been silent, and they're waiting for me to address them. Every time I walked in the huddle tonight, they were saying the message I was about to give them, and so it was great. I could just repeat most of which they were already saying.”
McCray was among the Seminoles to spark the rally. He shot 9 of 15 from the floor and delivered some clutch shots in the final minute, contributing 18 points in the second half, in his best night since dropping 29 in a loss at Florida in November.
FSU was just 3 of 17 from beyond the arc although the Seminoles were 6 of 13 on 2-point baskets in the first half, with the Eagles in front 42-32 at the break. BC used a first-half 16-0 run and led FSU by double digits for large portions of the game. With 11:28 to go, BC was in front 59-45.
But FSU kept clawing back and chipped away at the lead. AJ Swinton drilled a 3-pointer with 3:49 to go that tied the game at 68. Lajae Jones then rebounded and putback a Robert McCray V missed 3-pointer as FSU grabbed its first lead of the second half, 70-68, with 2:33 to go.
FSU (13-13, 6-7 ACC) was in a tailspin exactly one month ago. The Seminoles lost to Wake Forest at home 69-68, a game it led with four minutes to go, and were 7-11 and had lost all five ACC games.
But the Seminoles pieced together wins over Miami, California, Stanford, Notre Dame and Virginia Tech, while losing close games at SMU and against Virginia. And now a win over Boston College pulls FSU back to .500 with five regular-season games to go.
Alex Steen had 13 points and eight rebounds. Steen was 7 of 8 from the free-throw line as FSU made 26 of 35 from the line and an overwhelming edge compared to Boston College (which was just 3 of 13).
Chauncey Wiggins scored 11 points, while Lajae Jones had 10 points and nine rebounds. FSU also won the rebounding edge 42-30.
At halftime, McCray said teammates and coaches spoke up in the locker room.
“The coaches and us,” McCray said. “We took accountability for that first half.”
FSU finished shooting 22 of 51 (43.1 percent) from the floor, including 9 of 27 (33.3 percent) from 3-point range. The Seminoles were 6 of 10 from deep in the second half.
Boston College was red-hot from the floor early, making 8 of 12 from 3-point range and 8 of 20 from inside the arc.
Fred Payne had 22 points to lead Boston College. The Eagles played without star guard Donald Hand Jr.
Up next
FSU plays at Clemson on Saturday at noon.
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