Mills, Polite lead Florida State to 89-76 win over NC State
AP
Mar 05, 2022
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) Caleb Mills returned from a five-game absence and scored 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting, redshirt senior Anthony Polite had his first career double-double and Florida State Seminoles never trailed as the Seminoles beat N.C. State 89-76 on Saturday in the regular season finale for both teams.
Polite finished with 13 points, a career-high tying 10 rebounds and two steals. Matthew Cleveland and John Butler scored 11 points apiece for Florida State (17-13, 10-10 ACC). Tanor Ngom added 10 points, seven rebounds and two blocks.
Terquavion Smith hit a pair of 3-pointers 41 seconds apart to make it 6-6 before Mills made a layup to spark an 11-4 spurt that gave the Seminoles the lead for good. About 10 minutes later, Jalen Warley made a 3-pointer and followed it up with a steal and layup for a 39-27 lead. The Wolfpack trailed by at least nine points throughout the second half.
Smith made 5 of 10 from 3-point range and finished with 30 points for N.C. State (11-19, 4-15). Jericole Hellems, who also hit five 3s, added 21 points, seven rebounds and two blocks and Dereon Seabron had 17 points and five assists. Seabron shot 3 of 12 from the field but made 10 of 12 from the free-throw line.
RayQuan Evans had five points, five rebounds and a career-high 10 assists for the Seminoles.
Florida State has won three consecutive games after losing seven of its previous eight while battling the injury bug. Polite missed Florida State's final seven games in February before returning to the starting lineup and scoring 12 points in Wednesday's victory over Notre Dame. Cleveland missed the 74-70 win over the Irish due to illness and Cam'Ron Fletcher suffered a season-ending thumb injury in the second half against the Irish.
Mills, who hadn't played since suffering an ankle injury against North Carolina on Feb. 7, limped to the bench before missing the final 3-plus minutes. Reports after the game indicated that the injury is not serious.
N.C. State, which has lost 10 of its last 11, finished last in the 15-team ACC and plays No. 10 seed Clemson in the opening round of next week's conference tournament.
Eighth-seeded Florida State, which earned a first-round bye, plays No. 9 seed Syracuse in Wednesday's second round.
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1st Half
NCST
Wolfpack
35
FSU
Seminoles
46
Time
Team
Play
Score
20:00
Ebenezer Dowuona vs. Tanor Ngom (Rayquan Evans gains possession)
19:40
Anthony Polite misses three point jump shot
19:38
Ebenezer Dowuona defensive rebound
19:29
Jericole Hellems misses two point jump shot
19:27
Rayquan Evans defensive rebound
19:07
Ebenezer Dowuona shooting foul (Tanor Ngom draws the foul)
19:07
+1
Tanor Ngom makes regular free throw 1 of 2
0-1
19:07
+1
Tanor Ngom makes regular free throw 2 of 2
0-2
18:43
Terquavion Smith misses two point jump shot
18:41
Wyatt Wilkes defensive rebound
18:30
Terquavion Smith personal foul (Justin Lindner draws the foul)
18:14
+2
Wyatt Wilkes makes two point jump shot
0-4
17:50
Rayquan Evans blocks Dereon Seabron's two point layup
17:48
Tanor Ngom defensive rebound
17:44
Jericole Hellems shooting foul (Anthony Polite draws the foul)
17:44
Anthony Polite misses regular free throw 1 of 2
17:44
Anthony Polite misses regular free throw 2 of 2
17:44
Jericole Hellems defensive rebound
17:22
Dereon Seabron misses three point jump shot
17:20
Anthony Polite defensive rebound
17:11
Wyatt Wilkes misses three point jump shot
17:09
Wolfpack defensive rebound
16:59
+3
Terquavion Smith makes three point jump shot (Dereon Seabron assists)
3-4
16:33
+2
Harrison Prieto makes two point jump shot (Rayquan Evans assists)
3-6
16:16
+3
Terquavion Smith makes three point jump shot (Dereon Seabron assists)
6-6
15:56
TV timeout
15:41
+2
Caleb Mills makes two point layup
6-8
15:21
Harrison Prieto shooting foul (Dereon Seabron draws the foul)
15:21
+1
Dereon Seabron makes regular free throw 1 of 2
7-8
15:21
+1
Dereon Seabron makes regular free throw 2 of 2
8-8
15:02
Jalen Warley misses two point layup
15:00
Harrison Prieto offensive rebound
14:54
Harrison Prieto misses two point layup
14:52
Dereon Seabron defensive rebound
14:48
Jericole Hellems misses three point jump shot
14:46
Jaylon Gibson offensive rebound
14:36
Terquavion Smith misses three point jump shot
14:34
Jaylon Gibson offensive rebound
14:31
Harrison Prieto personal foul
14:19
Cam Hayes misses two point jump shot
14:17
Caleb Mills defensive rebound
14:12
+2
Matthew Cleveland makes two point layup (Caleb Mills assists)
8-10
14:03
Jericole Hellems misses three point jump shot
14:01
John Butler defensive rebound
13:53
Caleb Mills turnover (lost ball)
13:53
Jericole Hellems turnover (bad pass)
13:35
Anthony Polite misses two point jump shot
13:33
Tanor Ngom offensive rebound
13:31
+2
Tanor Ngom makes two point tip shot
8-12
13:05
+2
Jericole Hellems makes two point layup
10-12
12:55
+2
Matthew Cleveland makes two point dunk (Jalen Warley assists)
10-14
12:30
Cam Hayes turnover (bad pass) (Matthew Cleveland steals)
12:23
Matthew Cleveland misses two point layup
12:21
Anthony Polite offensive rebound
12:16
Cam Hayes blocks Anthony Polite's two point layup
12:14
Anthony Polite offensive rebound
12:09
+3
John Butler makes three point jump shot (Jalen Warley assists)
10-17
11:55
+3
Terquavion Smith makes three point jump shot
13-17
11:26
Matthew Cleveland misses two point jump shot
11:24
Jericole Hellems defensive rebound
11:16
John Butler personal foul (Jericole Hellems draws the foul)