Douglas' Floater Sends 'Noles Past Hokies (Video Included)

Florida State's Toney Douglas hit a floater in the lane with 6.2 seconds left to help the 'Noles edge the Hokies 67-65 in a critical late season match up at Cassell Coliseum. The loss has Tech's NCAA tournament hopes slipping even further away.

In the first half, FSU's dribble penetration created open looks from behind the arc and helped fuel a hot start.  They hit 4 threes in the first 10 minutes of the ball game and jumped out to a commanding 22-9 lead in front of a home crowd that looked uneasy right from the tip off.

After enduring some shooting struggles in the last two games, Virginia Tech's Malcolm Delaney was back in form.  The Hokie point guard started off cold but eventually came alive and put up 25 points including 5-8 from the three-point line.  But in the end, it wouldn't be enough to stop FSU and All-ACC First Team candidate Douglas, who finished with 22 points of his own.

The 'Noles led by as many as 14 in the first half but Tech was able to cut the deficit to 10 by halftime.  In the second half, the Hokies came out with a sense of urgency on defense and forced a faster tempo.

With just over 15 minutes left in the second, Hank Thorns cleared a rebound and found Delaney on the wing for a 3 that cut FSU's lead to 1.  On the ensuing possession Douglas put up an air ball that sent the Hokie faithful into a roaring chorus of jeers.  The rebound had Tech poised to take their first lead since the count was 3-2 early in the first half.

The home crowd reached its loudest pitch of the night when Delaney buried his second consecutive three-pointer as he fell to the Coliseum floor, putting the Hokies in the lead 47-45.

But the Noles were resilient, and the teams would battle back and forth for the rest of the half.

Down by three with under a minute to play, Tech senior Cheick Diakite went to the line.  He made the first shot then watched as the second rolled off.  A.D. Vassallo made a leaping save as the ball headed out of bounds and eventually Jeff Allen would put the offensive rebound up and in to knot the game at 65.

In a big time situation, the 'Noles went to their big time player.  FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said the leadership of Douglas is a major part of why the team is 4-2 on the road in ACC play.  

"His leadership is giving our younger players a level of confidence.  Hopefully that's allowed them to grow up," he said.  This is in addition to the fact that Douglas has now gone over three consecutive games without committing a single turnover.

On its final possession, Florida State cleared the lane for Douglas and sent Uche Echefu to the top of the key to screen for him.  Hokie forward Jeff Allen didn't pick Douglas up on the play and Delaney was picked off, allowing a wide-open floater to fall and silence the capacity crowd at Cassell Coliseum.

Virginia Tech head coach Seth Greenberg said this same scenario hurt the Hokies all night long.

"In the end, it was ball screen that got us," he said.

Greenberg drew up one final play to give the Hokies a chance.  Delaney raced the ball up the sideline, closely guarded by Douglas, and found Thorns who promptly dished to Vassallo at the top of the key for an open look at a potentially game-winning three.  The shot went long off the back iron and the Hokies dropped yet another nail biter in the final seconds.  Vassallo, who had 15 points on 5-12 shooting, said he thought the shot looked good when he let it go.

"I really thought it was going in.  It hit the back of the rim right in the middle of the rim.  It just went out.  It just didn't want to go in," he said.

The Seminoles, who also got a career-high 19 points from guard Derwin Kitchen, move into sole possession of second place in the conference at 8-4 while the Hokies drop to 6-6.  Both teams are on the road for their next contests as FSU travels to Boston College while Tech heads to Clemson.

Delaney said, despite this most recent blow to the team's NCAA tournament hopes, the Hokies have plenty to look forward to going into their next game.

"Even with the loss we've got some momentum going into Clemson.  I think we're starting to see how good we are when we start playing defense," he said.

When asked how the team will respond to yet another heart breaking loss, senior leader Vassallo simply said, "We just got to get ready."