Florida State overcame 19 turnovers on Saturday to notch its 10th straight winning regular season with a 61-52 victory at the Donald L. Tucker Center over a Pittsburgh team desperate for a win to keep its NCAA hopes alive.
The Seminoles (16-15, 8-10 ACC) compensated for their carelessness on the offensive end with stifling defense that held Pittsburgh to 33 percent shooting from the field. The only lead for the Panthers (19-13, 8-10 ACC) came less than 11 minutes in to the contest.
Xavier Rathan-Mayes paced Florida State with a game-high 19 points and 5 assists. Montay Brandon and Kiel Turpin each scored 10 points. Brandon tied for a team-high with 6 rebounds. Turpin, who was honored before the game as Florida State’s lone senior, was 5-for-6 from the floor.
FSU led by as many as 11 late in the second half, but a series of turnovers allowed the Panthers to crawl within four at 56-52 with 1:34 to play. Pittsburgh however, was unable to score for the remainder of the contest.
Jamel Artis led Pittsburgh with 17 points while Josh Newkirk added 12 off the bench. Guard James Robinson added 8 points and team-highs with 9 rebounds and 4 assists.
Florida State and Pittsburgh will begin the ACC Tournament later this week. Each team’s seeding and opponent will be known Sunday night.
