‘Noles’ rally falls short in first-round NCAA loss
By Bud L. Ellis
Down by 16 points at halftime against a NCAA Tournament savvy team, it looked like the Florida State Seminoles might be run right off the floor in their tourney opener.
But the Seminoles found themselves surging for most of the second half before finally falling short, their season ending with a 67-60 loss to Gonzaga in the opening round of the NCAAs on Friday in Buffalo, N.Y.
Deividas Dulkys scored a team-high 14 points, and Solomon Alabi added 13 for Florida State (22-10), which trailed by as many as 18 points in the second half before chipping away at the Gonzaga lead. Dulkys’ 3-pointer with 2:21 to go brought the ‘Noles within five points at 59-54.
But Gonzaga kept FSU at bay from there, hitting its free throws in the final two minutes.
The Seminoles, the ninth seed, fell behind by 15 points thanks to a 24-7 first-half run by the more-experienced Bulldogs. FSU shot just 35.6 percent from the floor, while the Bulldogs hit on 50 percent of their shots.
After winning five of their final six games entering the postseason, the Seminoles ended up losing in both their Atlantic Coast Conference and NCAA tournament openers.
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Monday, March 22, 2010 at 6:01 pm by bud
Tags: Atlantic Coast Conference, Deividas Dulkys, Florida State Seminoles, Gonzaga, NCAA Tournament, Solomon Alabi
