Watkins scores career-high 34 as Florida State eliminates Virginia Tech from ACC Tournament
WASHINGTON (AP) - Jamir Watkins scored 12 of his career-high 34 points in the final three minutes, Jalen Warley added 18 points and No. 9 seed Florida State pulled away in the second half to beat No. 8 seed Virginia Tech 86-76 on Wednesday in the second round of the ACC Tournament.
Watkins was 9 of 15 from the field and 14 of 17 at the free-throw line to set a program record for points in an ACC Tournament game. He also had 11 rebounds and four steals. Warley made 8 of his 10 shots as Florida State shot 54% from the field.
Virginia Tech was 4-of-17 shooting in the opening 17 minutes of the second half. The Hokies also finished with 13 turnovers, leading to 25 points for the Seminoles.
Florida State (17-15) advances to play top-seeded and fourth-ranked North Carolina in the quarterfinals on Thursday. The Seminoles dropped both regular-season meetings with the Tar Heels, 78-70 on the road and 75-68 at home. Florida State hasn't beaten North Carolina since the 2020-21 season.
Tyler Nickel sank a long 3-pointer with 7:28 left to tie it at 57-all, but Virginia Tech did not make another field goal until Sean Pedulla's basket with 2:42 left to pull within 71-62.
Florida State took advantage of back-to-back Virginia Tech turnovers with layups by Warley and Primo Spears to take a 63-58 lead with 5:01 left. Another steal under the basket led to Warley's fast-break layup to make it 68-58 at 3:06.
Each team turned it over on an inbounds play and Watkins was fouled before making two free throws at 2:49. Watkins added two more free throws at 2:30 and had an alley-oop dunk at 2:11 for a 74-65 lead.
Spears finished with 10 points for the Seminoles.
Pedulla scored 24 points, Nickel added 18 and MJ Collins had 15 for Virginia Tech (18-14).
Both teams shot 55% or better from the field in the first half. Virginia Tech shot 64% (16 of 25), despite going 4 of 11 from 3-point range, in the first half before finishing at 49%.
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| Time | Team | Play | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20:00 |  | Baba Miller vs. Lynn Kidd (Cam Corhen gains possession) | ||
| 19:50 |  | Darin Green Jr. misses three point jump shot | ||
| 19:48 | | Hunter Cattoor defensive rebound | ||
| 19:34 | | Robbie Beran misses three point jump shot | ||
| 19:32 | | Darin Green Jr. defensive rebound | ||
| 19:19 | | +2 | Baba Miller makes two point layup | 2-0 |
| 18:58 | | +2 | Sean Pedulla makes two point jump shot | 2-2 |
| 18:32 | | Cam Corhen misses two point layup | ||
| 18:30 | | Jalen Warley offensive rebound | ||
| 18:26 | | +2 | Jalen Warley makes two point layup | 4-2 |
| 18:00 | | Sean Pedulla misses three point jump shot | ||
| 17:58 | | Jamir Watkins defensive rebound | ||
| 17:35 | | Jamir Watkins turnover (bad pass) (Lynn Kidd steals) | ||
| 17:24 | | +3 | Hunter Cattoor makes three point jump shot (Sean Pedulla assists) | 4-5 |
| 16:55 | | Jalen Warley turnover (out of bounds) | ||
| 16:34 | | Robbie Beran turnover (bad pass) (Jamir Watkins steals) | ||
| 16:28 | | +3 | Jamir Watkins makes three point jump shot (Darin Green Jr. assists) | 7-5 |
| 16:03 | | MJ Collins misses two point jump shot | ||
| 16:01 | | Mylyjael Poteat offensive rebound | ||
| 15:54 | | +2 | Sean Pedulla makes two point jump shot | 7-7 |
| 15:36 | | Robbie Beran personal foul (Baba Miller draws the foul) | ||
| 15:36 | | TV timeout | ||
| 15:19 | | Taylor Bol Bowen misses three point jump shot | ||
| 15:17 | | Sean Pedulla defensive rebound | ||
| 15:01 | | +3 | Tyler Nickel makes three point jump shot (Sean Pedulla assists) | 7-10 |
| 14:37 | | Darin Green Jr. misses three point jump shot | ||
| 14:35 | | MJ Collins defensive rebound | ||
| 14:09 | | +2 | MJ Collins makes two point layup | 7-12 |
| 13:46 | | +2 | Taylor Bol Bowen makes two point jump shot (Cam Corhen assists) | 9-12 |
| 13:15 | | Tyler Nickel turnover (lost ball) (Primo Spears steals) | ||
| 13:02 | | Taylor Bol Bowen misses two point layup | ||
| 13:00 | | Jaylan Gainey offensive rebound | ||
| 12:55 | | +2 | Jaylan Gainey makes two point layup | 11-12 |
| 12:37 | | +2 | Lynn Kidd makes two point dunk (MJ Collins assists) | 11-14 |
| 12:05 | | Primo Spears misses two point jump shot | ||
| 12:03 | | Sean Pedulla defensive rebound | ||
| 11:58 | | Darin Green Jr. shooting foul (Sean Pedulla draws the foul) | ||
| 11:58 | | TV timeout | ||
| 11:58 | | Sean Pedulla misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | ||
| 11:58 | | +1 | Sean Pedulla makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 11-15 |
| 11:39 | | +2 | Jaylan Gainey makes two point dunk (Primo Spears assists) | 13-15 |
| 11:09 | | +2 | Lynn Kidd makes two point layup | 13-17 |
| 10:50 | | Primo Spears misses three point jump shot | ||
| 10:48 | | Jaydon Young defensive rebound | ||
| 10:39 | | +2 | Sean Pedulla makes two point jump shot | 13-19 |
| 10:37 | | Seminoles 30 second timeout | ||
| 10:18 | | Jamir Watkins misses two point jump shot | ||
| 10:16 | | Lynn Kidd defensive rebound | ||
| 9:56 | | Hunter Cattoor turnover (bad pass) (Jamir Watkins steals) | ||
| 9:47 | | +2 | Jamir Watkins makes two point layup | 15-19 |
| 9:23 | | +2 | MJ Collins makes two point jump shot | 15-21 |
| 8:56 | | +2 | Cam Corhen makes two point dunk (Jalen Warley assists) | 17-21 |
| 8:40 | | MJ Collins misses three point jump shot | ||
| 8:21 | | +3 | Sean Pedulla makes three point jump shot (Mylyjael Poteat assists) | 17-24 |
| 8:02 | | +2 | Jalen Warley makes two point layup (Jamir Watkins assists) | 19-24 |
| 7:42 | | +3 | Jaydon Young makes three point jump shot (MJ Collins assists) | 19-27 |
| 7:22 | | +2 | Primo Spears makes two point jump shot | 21-27 |
| 7:03 | | MJ Collins turnover (lost ball) (Cam Corhen steals) | ||
| 7:00 | | Sean Pedulla personal foul (Jamir Watkins draws the foul) | ||
| 7:00 | | TV timeout | ||
| 6:45 | | +2 | Baba Miller makes two point jump shot | 23-27 |
| 6:45 | | Robbie Beran shooting foul (Baba Miller draws the foul) | ||
| 6:45 | | Baba Miller misses regular free throw 1 of 1 | ||
| 6:45 | | Mylyjael Poteat defensive rebound | ||
| 6:33 | | Tyler Nickel misses three point jump shot | ||
| 6:31 | | Jamir Watkins defensive rebound | ||
| 6:22 | | +2 | Jamir Watkins makes two point layup | 25-27 |
| 5:52 | | Sean Pedulla misses three point jump shot | ||
| 5:50 | | Baba Miller defensive rebound | ||
| 5:44 | | Cam Corhen misses two point layup | ||
| 5:42 | | Mylyjael Poteat defensive rebound | ||
| 5:35 | | +2 | Sean Pedulla makes two point layup | 25-29 |
| 5:15 | | Jamir Watkins misses two point jump shot | ||
| 5:13 | | Jamir Watkins offensive rebound | ||
| 5:11 | | +2 | Jamir Watkins makes two point layup | 27-29 |
| 5:11 | | Sean Pedulla shooting foul (Jamir Watkins draws the foul) | ||
| 5:11 | | Jamir Watkins misses regular free throw 1 of 1 | ||
| 5:11 | | Tyler Nickel defensive rebound | ||
| 4:47 | | Lynn Kidd misses two point hook shot | ||
| 4:45 | | Baba Miller defensive rebound | ||
| 4:38 | | +2 | Jalen Warley makes two point layup (Baba Miller assists) | 29-29 |
| 4:16 | | Jump ball. Hunter Cattoor vs. Cam Corhen (Seminoles gains possession) | ||
| 4:16 | | Hunter Cattoor turnover (lost ball) (Cam Corhen steals) | ||
| 3:45 | | +2 | Jamir Watkins makes two point jump shot | 31-29 |
| 3:21 | | +2 | MJ Collins makes two point jump shot | 31-31 |
| 3:09 | | +3 | Jamir Watkins makes three point jump shot (Jalen Warley assists) | 34-31 |
| 2:54 | | Tyler Nickel misses three point jump shot | ||
| 2:52 | | Darin Green Jr. defensive rebound | ||
| 2:44 | | Jamir Watkins misses three point jump shot | ||
| 2:42 | | Hunter Cattoor defensive rebound | ||
| 2:38 | | +2 | Lynn Kidd makes two point layup (Hunter Cattoor assists) | 34-33 |
| 2:18 | | Cam Corhen misses two point jump shot | ||
| 2:16 | | Tyler Nickel defensive rebound | ||
| 2:13 | | Hokies 30 second timeout | ||
| 2:13 | | TV timeout | ||
| 1:57 | | +2 | Tyler Nickel makes two point jump shot (MJ Collins assists) | 34-35 |
| 1:36 | | Darin Green Jr. misses two point jump shot | ||
| 1:34 | | Tyler Nickel defensive rebound | ||
| 1:09 | | +2 | MJ Collins makes two point jump shot | 34-37 |
| 0:47 | | Jaylan Gainey misses two point jump shot | ||
| 0:45 | | Lynn Kidd defensive rebound | ||
| 0:34 | | Tyler Nickel misses three point jump shot | ||
| 0:32 | | Taylor Bol Bowen defensive rebound | ||
| 0:09 | | MJ Collins personal foul (Jalen Warley draws the foul) | ||
| 0:07 | | Jaydon Young personal foul (Jalen Warley draws the foul) | ||
| 0:02 | | +2 | Jalen Warley makes two point layup | 36-37 |
| 0:00 | | End of period |