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Florida State hands No. 22 UMass its first loss of the season

MetroPCS Orange Bowl Classic

SUNRISE, FL - DECEMBER 21: Derrick Gordon #2 of the Massachusetts Minutemen goes to the basket against Robert Gilchrist #14 of the Florida State Seminoles during the MetroPCS Orange Bowl Basketball Classic on December 21, 2013 at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Robert Gilchrist;Derrick Gordon

Joel Auerbach

Florida State dictated tempo and slowed down unbeaten No. 22 UMass and senior point guard Chaz Williams as the Seminoles held on for a 60-55 victory in the Orange Bowl Classic.

Despite a controversial ending that featured a missed foul call on a Cady Lalanne dunk that would have cut UMass’ deficit to a point with seconds left, Florida State held on by slowing down the tempo and limiting Chaz Williams. Lalanne was called for hanging on the rim and the basket was waved off by officials.

The Seminoles made it a point to slow down Williams (10 points, 4-for-14 shooting) any chance they could and it didn’t help that the 5-foot-9 senior point guard couldn’t buy a bucket down the stretch. Also credit Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton for throwing a zone at UMass after the Minutemen called a timeout with under a minute left, trailing by only a point, as it caused confusion for the UMass offense and led to a turnover.

Boris Bojanovsky (four points, three rebounds, four blocks) did a nice job defending the rim for Florida State near the end of the game and the Seminoles perimeter defense was solid for the whole game, as they limited the Minutemen to 1-of-15 shooting from beyond the arc in a game in which both teams struggled to produce points and get open looks.

Although Florida State will have a hard time scoring sometimes, their defense will keep them in most games and if they can slow the game down, dictate tempo, and get Aaron Thomas (game-high 18 points) or Ian Miller going they could be dangerous come tournament time. This Seminoles group is big and physical on the defensive end and can cause a lot of problems at the rim or on the perimeter.

UMass may have left the ranks of the unbeatens, but despite their poor outside shooting and Chaz Williams having an off-night, they had a chance to take the lead -- and/or tie the game -- multiple times in the final minute against a long, athletic and physical Florida State team, so they shouldn’t feel too down about the loss.

UMass has now showed in the non-conference portion of its schedule that it can play in any type of game with any type of opponent and still have a chance to win and that is the mark of a good team.

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