Will Pruitt totaled 24 points and seven rebounds to lead Lipscomb to a 78-75 victory over Florida State on Saturday afternoon in Tallahassee, Fla.
The Bisons (9-6) won their second game in a row, while the Seminoles (6-6) failed to win three consecutive games for the third time this season.
Lipscomb will head into Atlantic Sun Conference play next week with momentum after a win that went down to the wire.
Jamir Watkins’ block of a layup attempt by the Bisons’ Grant Asman gave Seminoles guard Darin Green Jr. a chance to tie the game. But Green’s 3-pointer with three seconds left clanged off the front rim, allowing Lipscomb to hang on for the win.
Lipscomb led by as many as 21 points in the second half with a 62-41 advantage with 15:53 left.
But the Seminoles cut their deficit to 71-66 with 4:26 left thanks in large part to Green and Watkins on the defensive end. Florida State put together a 14-1 run while holding Lipscomb without a made field goal for nearly seven minutes.
After Florida State cut Lipscomb’s lead to 73-70, AJ McGinniss’ triple from the wing pushed the lead to six. But Watkins trimmed the deficit back to three after securing a key rebound on a missed free throw by Camren Corhen and hitting a pair of free throws with 37 seconds left.
Owen McCormack finished with 13 points and five rebounds, while McGinnis had 12 points and five boards for the visitors. Cody Head had 11 points and Joe Anderson had 10 assists and six points for Lipscomb, which shot 47.5 percent from the field and outscored Florida State 34-20 in the paint.
Watkins led the Seminoles with 19 points, six rebounds and two blocks. Primo Spears finished with 16 points, three assists and three steals off the FSU bench.
Green scored 12 points but went 4-for-13 from the field as the Seminoles shot 40.3 percent overall, going 4 of 18 from 3-point range.
Florida State trailed 46-31 at the break after the Bisons scored 12 of the final 14 points of the first half.
–Field Level Media