The fourth-seeded Florida State Seminoles and fifth-seeded Virginia Tech Hokies battled back and forth throughout their ACC Tournament quarterfinal game Thursday, but Florida State came out with a 65-63 win thanks to a remarkable shot from Terance Mann at the end of overtime. That shot only came after a lot of other zaniness, though.
The game was tied at 60 with two minutes left, but Nickeil Alexander-Walker hit a three-pointer to give the Hokies the lead. Phil Kofer responded with a three for the Seminoles, though, and then things got weird. Alexander-Walker missed another three-point attempt and Florida State got the rebound, but Virginia Tech’s Ty Outlaw came up with a steal with 38 seconds left and the game tied at 63. However, Nickeil Alexander-Walker then missed a contested layup with 13 seconds left (and nine seconds still on the shot clock). The Seminoles’ M.J. Walker grabbed the rebound and they then rushed down the floor, setting an off-balance jumper that Terance Mann nailed with 1.8 seconds left:
That’s a remarkable jumper that Mann hit from a long way out, and under significant time pressure too. And it marked his first points since early in the first half. Here’s a replay of it:
As the announcers went on to mention, this was a tough week for Mann, as his mother Daynia La-Force was fired Tuesday after five years as the women’s basketball head coach at Rhode Island. But he came through in the clutch for the Seminoles here, and this led to a Florida State win after Alexander-Walker missed a potentially game-winning three at the buzzer:
The Seminoles have now won five games in a row since a loss to UNC, and 13 of their last 14. They’ll face top seed Virginia in the semifinals.
[Clippit]
