National Basketball Association
North Carolina 78, Florida St. 74
When: 2:00 PM ET, Saturday, January 24, 2015
Where: Dean E. Smith Center, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Officials:
# Jerry Heater, # Brian O'Connell, # Terry Wymer
Attendance:
20512
By SportsDirect Inc.
No. 15 North Carolina 78, Florida State 74: Marcus Paige scored 19 points and Brice Johnson contributed 18 points and 14 rebounds as the Tar Heels knocked off the Seminoles in ACC play.
Justin Jackson added 14 points as North Carolina (16-4, 6-1) won its fifth straight game. Kennedy Meeks had 12 points and seven rebounds for the Tar Heels, who committed a season-low five turnovers.
Freshman Xavier Rathan-Mayes scored a career-best 35 points for Florida State (10-10, 2-5), and helped the Seminoles make a final-minute charge by draining three of his five 3-point baskets in the final 40 seconds. Devon Bookert added 11 points and seven rebounds for Florida State, which has lost 16 of its past 20 meetings with the Tar Heels.
The Seminoles were within three points with 13 minutes remaining before North Carolina scored six straight for a 54-45 lead with 10:40 to play. Back-to-back baskets by Rathan-Mayes pulled Florida State within 65-61 with 4:51 left and the Tar Heels soon pushed the lead back up to eight on a basket by J.P. Tokoto and Meeks’ layup made it a 10-point margin with 48.1 seconds to go.
North Carolina opened up an 11-point lead after Jackson’s basket with 7:16 left in the first half. Florida State recovered to trail by two on Bookert’s 3-pointer with 50 seconds left before the Tar Heels took a 35-31 lead into the break.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Johnson posted his fourth double-double of the season. … Rathan-Mayes scored 20-plus points for the fourth time this season. … Tar Heels F Theo Pinson (broken left foot) is out indefinitely.
Top Game Performances
Florida St. |
|
North Carolina |
Xavier Rathan-Mayes 35 |
Scoring |
Marcus Paige 19 |
Xavier Rathan-Mayes 4 |
Assists |
Nate Britt 3 |
Devon Bookert 7 |
Rebounds |
Brice Johnson 14 |
Montay Brandon 5 |
Free Throws Made |
Marcus Paige 5 |
Xavier Rathan-Mayes 2 |
Steals |
Marcus Paige 2 |
Jarquez Smith 3 |
Blocks |
Isaiah Hicks 1 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Florida St.
|
74 |
44.3 |
8-23 |
12-17 |
8 |
27 |
6 |
4 |
10 |
North Carolina
|
78 |
48.3 |
2-8 |
18-28 |
13 |
33 |
4 |
4 |
5 |