National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Florida State 60, Massachusetts 55
When: 2:00 PM ET, Saturday, December 21, 2013
Where: FLA Live Arena, Sunrise, Florida
Officials: # Brian O'Connell, # William Covington Jr., # Dwayne Gladden
Attendance: N/A


Florida State 60, No. 20 Massachusetts 55:
Aaron Thomas spearheaded the effort with 18 points as the Seminoles knocked off the Minutemen in an ugly affair at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Fla.

Okaro White with 10 points was the only other Florida State player in double figures while Montay Brandon added eight points and nine rebounds for the Seminoles (8-3). Florida State won despite shooting just 36.9 percent from the field and committing 17 turnovers.

Derrick Gordon led Massachusetts with 12 points while Cady Lalanne added 10 points and 15 rebounds, but the Minutemen were 1-for-15 from 3-point range and shot just 33.3 percent from the floor. To make matters worse, the Minutemen (10-1) were just 14-for-24 from the free-throw line and committed 17 turnovers.

Ian Miller made two free throws with 1:06 remaining to give the Seminoles the lead before White made it a three-point game with 14 ticks to go. Lalanne had a dunk waved off for basket interference with four seconds to play, which Thomas followed with two free throws to seal the game.

Both teams struggled offensively in the opening half, with neither cracking 36 percent from the floor. UMass was just 1-for-11 from 3-point range and Florida State used 10 points from Thomas to take a 30-28 advantage to the break.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Florida State wore turquoise uniforms to help raise awareness for bringing sport to Native American and Aboriginal youth. … Neither team made a 3-pointer in the second half. … The 55 points were UMass’ lowest total since a 73-53 loss to the Seminoles in 2011.

Top Game Performances
 
Massachusetts   Florida State
Derrick Gordon 12 Scoring Aaron Thomas 18
Chaz Williams 3 Assists Ian Miller 4
Cady Lalanne 15 Rebounds Montay Brandon 9
Sampson Carter 5 Free Throws Made Aaron Thomas 8
Trey Davis 3 Steals Okaro White 2
Cady Lalanne 4 Blocks Boris Bojanovsky 7
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Massachusetts 55 33.3 1-15 14-24 8 36 6 8 17
Florida State 60 36.9 1-7 11-18 11 42 12 4 17