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Florida State falls to UMass, loses third straight

 
Massachusetts’ Derrick Gordon watches his pass while being guarded by Florida State’s Michael Ojo (50) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Uncasville, Conn., on Sunday, Nov. 23, 2014. (AP Photo/Fred Beckham) CTFB101
Massachusetts’ Derrick Gordon watches his pass while being guarded by Florida State’s Michael Ojo (50) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Uncasville, Conn., on Sunday, Nov. 23, 2014. (AP Photo/Fred Beckham) CTFB101
Published Nov. 24, 2014

UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Key misses late stymied a Florida State comeback effort and the Seminoles lost their third straight, 75-69 to UMass in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic on Sunday.

Seminoles guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes missed a pair of free throws with 15.1 seconds remaining and UMass leading 73-69. He rebounded the second miss and then missed a 3-pointer.

FSU played the second half without its best player, guard Aaron Thomas, who became ill at halftime and was hospitalized. He went through a battery of tests, and doctors believe he was just dehydrated, a university spokesman told the Tallahassee Democrat.

Thomas said on Twitter he had returned to the team and was headed back to Tallahassee.

"No worries," he wrote.

Rathan-Mayes led the Seminoles (1-3) with 22 points. Boris Bojanovsky came off the bench to score 18 for FSU, which scored the first eight points of the game on the way to a 35-34 halftime lead.

Jabarie Hinds and freshman Donte Clark led UMass with 15 points each.

"(Clark) hit some timely shots," Seminoles coach Leonard Hamilton said. "Any time you've got a guy coming off the bench to give you that type of lift in a nip-and-tuck game, it gives you a tremendous boost."

Hinds and Trey Davis combined to hit five of six free throws in the final 29.4 seconds for UMass.

"Just coming away and gutting out a win (Sunday) is great for the team and the program," said UMass coach Derek Kellogg, whose team improved to 4-1.