College basketball

Road win lifts FSU's morale

By KEVIN BRAFFORD
Published January 25, 2006

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Andrew Wilson has been at Florida State so long he gets kidded about having a dormitory named after him.

In six seasons wearing a Seminole uniform, two extra courtesy of medical redshirts, the 6-foot-6 reserve forward has suffered through more lows than highs.

Nights like Tuesday, however, make it all worthwhile.

Wilson scored 18 and made two key baskets down the stretch as Florida State beat Wake Forest 75-68. Just 48 hours after a gut-wrenching one-point loss at home to North Carolina, the Seminoles were resilient and patient in turning back repeated Demon Deacon rallies down the stretch.

"This is a great feeling," said Wilson after FSU (12-4, 3-3 ACC) equaled its win total from last season. "We've been climbing that mountain. Tonight, we made it to the top."

But barely. The Seminoles let all but three points of a 12-point lead with nine minutes left evaporate as Wake Forest (12-7, 1-5) finally got its motor running.

"We knew they were a desperate team and that they'd come after us," guard Jason Rich said. "They started feeding off their crowd and seemed to be scoring every time down the floor. We sort of lost our patience for a few minutes."

FSU got it back just in time. On consecutive possessions inside the four-minute mark, the Seminoles let the shot clock run down in a concentrated effort to get a good shot.

They were rewarded each time, first getting a short jumper off the glass from Isaiah Swann, then a layup from Wilson off a pass from Alexander Johnson that followed a 3-pointer by Wake Forest's Justin Gray.

"Those two possessions were huge," said Wilson, who had the second-most points of his career; he scored 24 against North Carolina two years ago. "Even though they scored, it seemed to settle us down. Last year, I don't think we would have held them off."

Wake Forest closed within 69-66 and had the ball again, but Swann forced Michael Drum into a turnover with 58 seconds left, and Wake Forest began fouling.

FSU coach Leonard Hamilton praised his bench. Jerel Allen added 11 points, nine on first-half 3-pointers as the Seminoles at one point strung together a 19-2 run.

"We knew with the quick turnaround and the emotion we spent and the letdown we received from Sunday's loss, we would need energy and consistent play from our nonstarters," Hamilton said. "They gave us a big lift."

[Last modified January 25, 2006, 00:56:11]