Thomas Bassong recorded his first double-double as Florida State men’s basketball beat Georgia Tech 80-71 at McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta.
The freshman forward scored 14 points, which tied his career high, and added 12 rebounds, a career high, to help lead the Seminoles (15-14, 8-8 ACC) past the Yellow Jackets. Bassong scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half, and he was a perfect 5-for-5 from the field in that time.
“Thomas and I had a chat in front of the whole team. Last game, he airballed two of probably the worst airballs I’ve seen in a long time on a basketball court, and he was beating himself up over it. I reiterated to Thomas ‘Your job on this team is to not be our best three-point shooter, that’s icing on the cake, but you’ve got to build the cake,” FSU head coach Luke Loucks told reporters in Atlanta.
“The cake for Thomas is to guard all positions, to be the best defender on the court, and rebound at a high level. Anything outside of that is bonus points, and Thomas did that at such a high level to me that the basketball gods rewarded good behavior.”
Alongside Bassong’s double-double, Robert McCray V scored 20 points, and Atlanta native Chauncey Wiggins added 12 points to round out the top scorers for the Seminoles.
FSU finishes the month of February with a 5-2 record, winning four games on the road and losing only to Miami and No. 11 Virginia.
It’s the Seminoles first win at Georgia Tech since 2019. It’s the first time the program has won four straight ACC road games since the 2018-2019 season.
“This has a tough place for Florida State to play these last handful of years,” Loucks said. “It’s tough anywhere on the road to win in the ACC.”
FSU led wire-to-wire, with 16 points the largest lead of the night. The Seminoles 37-21 with less than five minutes to go in the first half, however, Georgia Tech closed the period on a 12-4 run to make it a 41-36 game at halftime.
The Yellow Jackets cut the lead to as little as three points in the second half, but the 12-second-half points from Bassong and 10 from McCray gave the Seminoles enough to win 80-71.
With the win, FSU moves back to .500 in the ACC, and they are on the verge of a top-10 ranking in the ACC ahead of the tournament. The Seminoles close the season with a road trip to Pitt before a final home game against SMU.
What’s next for FSU basketball? A trip to Pitt
Liam Rooney covers Florida State athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at LRooney@gannett.com or on Twitter @__liamrooney.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Thomas Bassong’s career day leads FSU basketball pasts Georgia Tech, 80-71
Reporting by Liam Rooney, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
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