Rathan-Mayes, Smith lead Seminoles past Georgia Tech

ATLANTA -- Xavier Rathan-Mayes scored 22 points, Jarquez Smith added 15 points and Florida State rallied in the game's final minute to beat Georgia Tech 57-53 on Saturday.<br /> <br /> The Seminoles (14-12, 6-7 Atlantic Coast Conference) have won five of eight overall and 10 in a row over Georgia Tech.<br /> <br /> Marques Georges-Hunt finished with 17 points to lead the Yellow Jackets (11-14, 2-11 ACC), but he missed the front end of a one-and-one with 8.1 seconds remaining and Devon Bookert rebounded to preserve Florida State's two-point lead.<br /> <br /> A straightaway jumper from Rathun-Mayes, the ACC's second-leading rookie scorer, gave Florida State a 54-53 lead with 53.4 seconds remaining, and Bookert closed with a pair of free throws to end the scoring with 6 seconds to go.<br /> <br /> Smith, who left the game with 3:31 remaining after appearing to injure his left leg, returned for the final 49 seconds.<br /> <br /> Georgia Tech, which blew a 10-point lead with 5:07 remaining to lose Wednesday at Virginia Tech, was ahead by five with 3:31 left in the game, but failed to score the rest of the way, missing five shots from the field.<br /> <br /> The Jackets began the game by missing nine of its first 11 shots from the field before Quinton Stephens' three-point play cut lead to 12-8 at the 9:55 mark of the first half.<br /> <br /> Georgia Tech was up by two after Georges-Hunt hit a pair of free throws with 6:05 left in the first, but Rathan-Mayes' jumper in the final minute closed a 16-5 run that gave Florida State a nine-point lead at halftime.<br /> <br /> ---<br /> <br /> TIP-INS<br /> <br /> Florida State: Junior guard Devon Bookert was coming off a career-high 23 points in Monday's three-point home loss to Duke, but finished with seven points. Bookert, who was 8 for 11 on 3-point attempts in his previous three games, went 1 for 4 beyond the arc.<br /> <br /> Georgia Tech: In nine of their 11 conference losses, the Jackets have been in a one- or two-possession game with 1 minute or less left in regulation. Ten of their ACC defeats have come by seven points or less.<br /> <br /> UP NEXT<br /> <br /> Florida State: Hosts Boston College on Wednesday.<br /> <br /> Georgia Tech: Hosts Clemson on Monday.

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