Purdue drops Emerald Coast Classic final to Florida State in OT, 63-60

NICEVILLE, Fla. — Trent Forrest scored 17 points to lead Florida State to a 63-60 overtime victory over Purdue in the Emerald Coast Classic championship game on Saturday night.

The Seminoles (7-1) outscored the Boilermakers 5-2 in the extra period by getting their points at the free-throw line, including the final two with only one second left to play.

Purdue (4-3), trailing by only a point, took several potentially winning shots in the last minute but was unable to score against a stifling Florida State defense.

Devin Vassell was the only other Seminole scoring in double figures with 13 points. That included the final two free throws in overtime after getting fouled when he grabbed a missed Purdue shot.

Matt Haarms led the Boilermakers with 16 points, followed by Jahaad Proctor with 12 and Eric Hunter Jr. with 10.

It was a back-and-forth game with 10 lead changes and 11 ties. Florida State never led by more than four points while the Boilermakers briefly went ahead by seven early in the second half after trailing 27-24 at the intermission.

Purdue won the rebounding battle 48-33 but had 24 turnovers to only 13 for Florida State.

BIG PICTURE

Florida State: The Seminoles have been on a roll since opening the season with a 63-61 road loss to Atlantic Coast Conference foe Pittsburgh. They boast a seven-game winning streak that includes two victories against ranked teams, then-No. 6 Florida on Nov. 10 and No. 17 Tennessee in an Emerald Coast semifinal on Friday. That should be enough to move Florida State into the Top 25 ranking, which was just a few votes shy of making it in the current AP poll. The rest of the always tough ACC schedule, though, looms with a home game against Clemson on Dec. 8 after a trip to Indiana on Tuesday.

Purdue: The Boilermakers will have to regroup quickly as they next face No. 7 and defending national champion Virginia on the road. Their trip to the Florida Panhandle, though, did produce some positive results with a 59-56 victory over a ranked team, No. 20. VCU in the tournament’s semifinal on Friday.

UP NEXT

Florida State: The Seminoles gets another dose of the Big Ten with a visit Tuesday to Indiana as part of the ACC-Big 10 Challenge.

Purdue: The Boilermakers likewise get another ACC team in the two-conference challenge, traveling to seventh-ranked Virginia on Wednesday for a rematch of their NCAA Tournament Elite 8 game last season that saw the Cavaliers defeat Purdue in overtime, 80-75.