A career-night from freshman forward Phil Cofer was not enough for Florida State to nab its first road win of the season as the Seminoles dropped to 9-8 on the season and 1-3 in ACC play with a 73-64 loss to Pittsburgh on Wednesday night.
Cofer became just the second Seminole this season to record a double-double, going for a career-high 21 points and a team-high 11 rebounds. Still, Florida State had no answer for Pittsburgh’s Michael Young, who led four Panthers in double-figures.
Young finished with a team-high 16 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
The game went back and forth for much of the first half before a tip-in by Young in the closing seconds gave the Panthers (12-5, 2-2 ACC) a 33-32 lead at the break. The Seminoles tied the contest on four occasions during the first 3 1/2 minutes of the second half before a 16-3 Pittsburgh run gave the Panthers control of the contest.
Florida State would get no closer than six over the final 11 minutes. At one point in the second half, FSU missed 12 straight shots and finished shooting just 41 percent after making 55 percent of its field goals in the first half.
In addition to Young’s big night, Chris Jones had 15 points and a game-high 4 assists for the Panthers. Jamel Artis shot 5-for-6 from the field to finish with 13 points while Cameron Wright added 10 points and 7 rebounds.
The win for Pittsburgh was the 300th of head coach Jamie Dixon’s career.
Devon Bookert hit three of Florida State’s four 3-pointers to finish with 13 points on the night. Montay Brandon, the team’s leading scorer coming in, added 12 points and tied a team-high with 3 assists.
Florida State will look to stay above the .500 mark for the season on Saturday afternoon as it hosts N.C. State. Pittsburgh will remain home on Saturday as it takes on Georgia Tech.
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