January 4, 2003

The Virginia Tech Hokies got off to a slow start and never recovered as Florida State led from the beginning in knocking off the Hokies 76-69 in a non-conference game in front of 4,220 fans at Cassell Coliseum.

With the loss, Tech fell to 6-6 on the season. Florida State improved to 8-3.

The Seminoles jumped out to a 47-31 halftime lead by shooting the lights out in the first 20 minutes. FSU shot 63.3 percent from the floor in the first half and hit seven 3-pointers. In contrast Tech shot just 32.3 percent from the floor.

In the second half, the Hokies tried to climb back in it. They cut the lead to eight with 17 minutes left and then with 10:29 left in the game, they cut it to nine, 60-51, on a 3-pointer by Carlos Dixon.

But FSU went on a 7-0 run after Dixon's 3-pointer and never looked back. Tech went more than six minutes without a basket and only made the score close by outscoring the Seminoles 11-3 in the final 42 seconds of the game.

"We have to learn to play 40 minutes," Tech head coach Ricky Stokes said. "We can't afford to get behind by large deficits. All teams would like to get off to a good start, but it's imperative for us to get off to a good start. Otherwise, every mistake gets magnified, particularly in games like this."

Terry Taylor led the Hokies with 17 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the floor, and he grabbed a game-high nine rebounds. Bryant Matthews added 15 points, while Dixon and Brian Chase finished with 13. Tech shot 36.2 percent from the floor for the game and the Hokies were outrebounded 38-34.

FSU got a game-high 22 points from Tim Pickett and 16 from Michael Joiner.

The Hokies now get ready to start BIG EAST play. Tech travels to Villanova on Wednesday in the conference opener for both teams. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m.