Xavier Rathan-Mayes’ desperation heave to force overtime went awry Friday afternoon as Florida State fell to Hofstra 82-77 in the Paradise Jam opener in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The contest went back and forth early, but Hofstra (3-0) used a 9-0 run before the final media timeout of the first half to go up 27-20 and never trailed again. The Pride led 41-35 at the break, but the Seminoles stayed within striking distance for much of the contest.
Hofstra led 72-63 with just over five minutes to play, but FSU scored six straight to keep the Pride from running away with the victory. FSU (2-1) pulled to within one point on three different occasions in the second half, but Hofstra always had an answer.
The door opened for FSU to try and force overtime after Hofstra’s Juan’ya Green split a pair of free throws with 9.8 seconds remaining to make it an 80-77 game. That’s when Rathan-Mayes was forced to take an off-balanced 3-pointer that was no good. Guard Brian Bernardi, who led the Pride with 24 points, sealed the game by knocking down a pair of free throws.
Bernardi was one of four Hofstra players in double-figures scoring. Green added 17 points and a game-high 7 assists while Denton Koon and Ameen Tanksley finished with 15 and 14 points, respectively.
After scoring 21 points in each of his first two games, FSU freshman Malik Beasley scored a game-high 25 points. Seniors Devon Bookert and Boris Bojanovsky each scored 11 for the Seminoles while Rathan-Mayes added 10. After scoring 50 total points in his first two games, freshman guard Dwayne Bacon was held to 9 points on 3-for-9 shooting.
The Seminoles allowed Hofstra to shoot 47 percent from the field compared to FSU’s 40 and the Pride also outrebounded the Seminoles by a 39-36 margin. The Seminoles forced 16 turnovers to keep the contest close.
FSU will move to the loser’s bracket of the Paradise Jame and will face DePaul on Saturday. Hofstra will face South Carolina, who defeated DePaul, on Saturday.
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