Robert McCray V delivered 30 points and eight assists to propel eighth-seeded Florida State to a 95-89 victory over ninth-seeded Cal in the second round of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament Wednesday in Charlotte, N.C.
Lajae Jones scored 15 points and Chauncey Wiggins added 14 for the sizzling Seminoles (18-14), who have won 10 of their last 12 under first-year coach Luke Loucks.
Kobe MaGee came off the bench to score all 13 of his points in the first half as Florida State advanced to a quarterfinal matchup with top-seeded Duke on Thursday in Charlotte.
After trailing early, the Seminoles blew past the Golden Bears in the first half and led the rest of the way behind 57.4% shooting overall and 13 of 28 (46.4%) marksmanship from beyond the arc.
McCray made 10 of 17 shots and directed an efficient offense which had 10 assists and zero turnovers in the first half.
Dai Dai Ames scored 27 points to pace Cal (21-11), which likely saw its hopes dashed for an NCAA Tournament berth. The Golden Bears were listed among the “next four out,” in ESPN’s bracket predictions to begin the week.
Chris Bell scored 17 points, Justin Pippen tallied 15, John Camden had 11 and Lee Dort added seven points and 18 rebounds for Cal, which shot 51% from the field and 41% from 3-point range.
The Golden Bears got off to a strong start. A 3-pointer by Camden put them up 9-2. But McCray answered with a 3 and the Seminoles were off and running. With Florida State mixing zone defense with man-to-man pressure, Cal struggled to adjust, getting few quality looks.
The Seminoles overwhelmed the Golden Bears with a 21-2 burst, ignited by a 3-pointer from MaGee.
The run turned a six-point deficit into a 13-point lead and came during a 10-minute stretch when Golden Bears made just one of 11 shots from the floor.
Also during the spree, MaGee made two more triples, the relentless McCray scored three jumpers over defenders and Alex Steen added six points.
McCray’s floater closed the burst and gave Florida State a 28-15 lead 11 minutes into the game.
Later in the period, Ames made back-to-back 3-pointers, but the Seminoles answered with triples from McCray and Jones in the final 1:47 of the half and Florida State went to the locker room with a 46-32 lead.
Midway through the second half, McCray put an appropriate stamp on the game as he made a steal and threw down a breakaway tomahawk dunk in front of his bench.
After that, Cal never made a serious run, only whittling the deficit to single digits in the final minute.
