Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Florida State Seminoles

Gray, Barnes lift No. 17 Florida State past Wake in OT

Florida State had the depth and made the clutch plays yet again, pulling off an overtime win.

RaiQuan Gray had career highs in points (24) and rebounds (12) as No. 17 Florida State defeated Wake Forest 92-85 in overtime on Saturday.

The Seminoles tied it at 80 with under a second to go in regulation when Scottie Barnes drove the length of the floor and made a reverse layup. That set up Florida State in the extra period; the Seminoles have tied a national record by winning 11 straight overtime games.

Gray made all 10 of his free-throw attempts and scored the Seminoles’ first four points in overtime. The redshirt junior forward scored in double figures for the sixth straight game and had his second double-double in a month for the Seminoles (11-3, 7-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), who were playing their first game in two weeks due to coronavirus issues.

Playing without starting center Balsa Koprivica, the 6-foot-8 Gray was often the Seminoles’ tallest player on the court and did a little bit of everything — even adding four assists and three steals.

“He got some tough rebounds,” coach Leonard Hamilton said. “He was our big guy. He stepped up tonight and gave us a major contribution.”

Jonah Antonio scored a career-high 23 points, drilling 7 of 8 shots from 3-point range, for Wake Forest (6-9, 3-9). Antonio had the best 3-point shooting game in Wake history with a minimum of eight attempts from long range. He was 23 of 62 (37.1 percent) from deep coming into Saturday’s game.

Ian DuBose, one of three Wake players who fouled out, added 18 points on 6 of 9 shooting. Guard Carter Whitt’s nine assists were the most by a Wake Forest freshman since Bryant Crawford dished out nine against Coastal Carolina on Dec. 18, 2015.

Wake coach Steve Forbes lamented two missed free-throw attempts by DuBose in the final 13 seconds as well as Barnes’ final play of regulation as the road upset slipped away.

“At the end of the day we got nobody to blame but ourselves for this loss,” Forbes said. “We had ourselves in position to win and we didn’t make the play or the plays that we needed to make.”

Florida State has won 23 straight home ACC games, a streak that dates to a 77-68 win over Clemson on Jan. 22, 2019.

Barnes had 11 of his 13 points for Florida State in second half or overtime. M.J. Walker scored 14 points, giving him 976 for his career.

Malik Osborne also added eight rebounds. Despite being without Koprivica, Florida State still outrebounded Wake 39-32.

COMFORT OF HOME

Florida State has not lost a home ACC game in more than two years. The 23-game league win streak is second in ACC history, shy of Duke’s 26-game string from January 1997-February 2000.

The Seminoles also tied the national record for consecutive overtime wins, matching the totals by Louisville (1968-75), UMass (1991-96) and Virginia (1991-96).

INJURY REPORT

Hamilton said Koprivica turned his ankle in pregame warmups. The Seminoles did welcome back Anthony Polite, who missed four games with a shoulder injury. A junior guard, Polite scored 12 points and pulled down five rebounds.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Florida State could move up a few spots with its return to the court. But the Seminoles are poised to make a bigger move if they defeat No. 19 Virginia and No. 18 Virginia Tech in home games next week.

TAKEAWAYS

Wake has struggled on the road but battled Florida State to the finish. Aside from the cold finish to end the first half, the Demon Deacons played the Seminoles evenly and nearly pulled off the upset.

Florida State played without Koprivica and gave up too many baskets on easy drives. But the Seminoles made timely plays and had too much depth as Wake battled foul trouble.

UP NEXT

Wake Forest plays host to Duke on Wednesday.

Florida State plays host to Virginia on Monday.

How can I watch Wake Forest vs. Florida State?

• TV Channel: Wake Forest at Florida State 2021 College Basketball, week 12, is broadcasted on ACC Extra.
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