No. 2 Virginia guts out win over Florida State

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — On a night when Oscars are handed out to the best of cinematic achievements at the 87th Academy Awards, the second-ranked Virginia Cavaliers tussled with the Florida State Seminoles in a game that would have been more suited for the Razzies.

After three physical meetings last season where Virginia went 3-0 against Florida State, the Cavaliers did what they do best and gutted out their 25th win of the season with a 51-41 win over the Seminoles at John Paul Jones Arena on Sunday.

“We talked about it before the game, whoever wants this more will get it,” Virginia coach Tony Bennett said. “It’s that time of the year and I thought our guys found a way. We challenged them and told them to dig down deep.”

Florida State (15-13, 7-8 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) was held without a field goal for the final 10:33 of the second half and scored just four points during that stretch. The Seminoles shot a woeful 33 percent from the field on the night and turned the ball over 14 times.

It was the eighth time this season Virginia has held an opponent without a field goal for a span of at least nine minutes.

“I thought they (Virginia) did a tremendous job defending us,” Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton said. “The difference in the game was, when we defended them well, they had a couple of guys come up with some big plays.”

Virginia (25-1, 13-1 ACC) guard London Perrantes exited the game with 14:39 remaining after a nasty collision with fellow guard Malcolm Brogdon. Perrantes did not return.

“I liked how other guys responded defensively,” Bennett said. “There were enough stops and it was what we had to do. It was a tough situation and the crowd was once again, special.”

Florida State forward Phil Cofer connected on a corner 3-pointer as the two Cavalier players laid on the floor covering their faces to bring the Seminoles to within three at 31-28.

Brogdon was sidelined with a bloodied forehead for a short stretch and finished the game with 10 points and four rebounds while forward Anthony Gill led the Cavaliers with 13 points and nine rebounds. Forward Darion Atkins rounded out Virginia players in double figures with 11 points.

“The crowd was great, it was electric,” Atkins said. “I love when I can contribute and have the crowd on my side.”

The Seminoles took their only lead of the second half at 37-36 but saw Virginia use a 15-4 run to end the game as Florida State fell victim to one of the best defensive teams in the nation.

“I thought Virginia came out in the second half and executed very well,” Hamilton said. “It kind of put us back on our heels there early in the second half.”

Virginia shot 56 percent in the second half and connected on 44 percent of its shots for the game but continued to struggle from the 3-point line as it made just one of its 11 attempts.

The Cavaliers tied a season high with 11 steals, four of those being tallied by Atkins, and outrebounded the Seminoles 34-30 while netting 34 points in the paint.

Guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes was the only Seminole in double figures as he scored 13 points with only three of those points coming after halftime. Guard Devon Bookert, who entered the game averaging 11 points per game, played 38 minutes and was held to just one point on 0-8 shooting. The Seminoles were just 4-19 from beyond the arc.

After a quick start that saw Virginia lead 13-5, Florida State responded as the Cavaliers went ice cold from the field.

The Seminoles used a 10-0 run that spanned more than six minutes and took their first lead at 15-13 on a Rathan-Mayes jump shot with 4:41 left in the half. That shot came just one minute after Rathan-Mayes knocked down a 3-pointer to tie the game at 13.

A put-back dunk from Atkins late in the half gave the Cavaliers a 22-21 halftime advantage even though Virginia shot just 36 percent from the field before the break. The Cavaliers also turned the ball over six times during the first 20 minutes.

Gill and Brogdon paced Virginia with six