Tigers Fall on Last Second Free Throws To FSU, 60-59

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – Anthony Richardson hit a pair of free throws with 0.4 seconds left in the game to give Florida State its first Atlantic Coast Conference win of the season Tuesday night, 60-59 over Clemson.

Tim Pickett led Florida State (10-6, 1-4) with 21 points and snagged three steals to break the Seminoles three-game losing streak.

Clemson (11-3 overall, 1-3) look to have pulled out a 59-58 win when Florida State’s Nate Johnson missed on a jumper in the final seconds. But as Richardson snagged the offensive rebound, Clemson’s Sharrod Ford hit Richardson’s forearm.

As the clock expired, the officials called Ford for a foul, prompting a video review to make sure it was a shooting foul and that it occurred before the buzzer.

Officials added the time and Richardson, who had missed his only previous try from the line, sank both with perfect form. Richardson had hit his last 13 free-throw attempts entering Tuesday’s game.

Clemson coach Larry Shyatt hoped to get a foul called on the subsequent inbounds play, when contact was made on the Tigers’ Edward Scott as Chris Hobbs hurled the ball downcourt. Shyatt tried to argue for a charge call, but no call was made.

Olu Babalola scored 12 points to lead Clemson, which has come out on top in only three of the series’ 15 contests in Tallahassee.

Florida State never led in the first half. The Seminoles earned their first lead 1:03 into the second half, when Pickett sank a layup off a pass from Richardson to put the Seminoles up 37-36.

The Seminoles couldn’t find the basket early, scoring just 10 points in the game’s first 10 minutes.

The Tigers stretched their lead late in the second half through the perimeter shooting of Shawan Robinson, who nailed a trio of three-pointers and another jumper to put the Tigers up 35-23 with 3:17 left in the first half. However, Robinson was held scoreless in the second half.