A fourteenth seed?! Are you kidding me! The St. Bonnaventure Bonnies (20-12) played like a much higher seed with poise, calm, and a hunger to win their first NCAA tournament game in 42 years. But the Seminoles would not be detered.
It was an epic battle that saw two conference champions try to impose their will on the other. However, the third seeded Florida State Seminoles (25-9) dug deep and found a way to beat the fourteenth seeded St. Bonaventure Bonnies 66-63, in a physical game that came down to the wire.
Florida Sate continued its phenomenal season with great defense and timely play in a come-from-behind victory worthy of tournament lore. The Atlantic 10 champion Bonnies led almost the entire game, including a 34-28 half-time lead, and nearly pulled off the upset behind future NBA prospect, Andrew Nicholson's game high 20 points.
But this would be a game of halves and Florida State, despite leading scorer Michael Snaer being held scorless for the first time in his career, would rebound in the second half behind Bernard James' career high 19 points. Fellow senior Luke Loucks, had a huge game as the "Floor General" and contributed 13 points and 6 assist.
These two would be involved with a "defining moment" play late in the game that would seemingly change the momentum and propel the Seminoles team to victory.
With seven minutes to go, the defense came up with a steal that Loucks raced down the floor to finish. He missed the heavely contested reverse lay-up, but James had sprinted the length of the floor to rebound the miss in mid-air and slam it emphatically. This highlight dunk tied the game for the first time all day at 52-52. The Bonnies would call a time-out as James beat his chest with exhuberation yelling "Lets go...Lets go!".
It was a huge momentum shift for the Seminoles and two minutes later, Iam Miller would hit a huge 3-pointer that would give the Seminoes their first lead; a lead they would not relinquish as they avoid the upset.
With the win, Florida State earned a date into the round of 32 against the sixth seeded Cincinnati Bearcats who beat Texas 65-59 earlier in the day. The game will tip-off at approximately 8:40 PM.
