HARTFORD, Conn. _ Florida State's Mfiondu Kabengele broke free for a dunk with 9:01 left in the game, pushing the Seminoles up five over the Vermont Catamounts. The bench was electrified during the ensuing timeout and it appeared the Seminoles had had enough.
From there, No. 4 seed FSU got another dunk from Kabengele despite being triple-teamed, and a number of nifty finishes by Terance Mann to finally take a double-digit lead.
It wasn't easy, but Florida State held on for a 76-69 win over No. 13 seed Vermont during the first round of the NCAA Tournament Thursday.
The Seminoles competed without veteran playmaker Phil Cofer, who sat on the sideline with a boot on his right foot.
The Catamounts hung around until the end thanks in large part to an out-of-this-world shooting performance, with the team hitting 16 of its 32 3-point attempts.
Late in the game, however, the Florida State defense showed up as it has all season long. The Seminoles held the reigning America East Player of the Year Anthony Lamb to just 16 points on 4-of-13 shooting and 3 of 10 from 3-point range.
Kabengele led the Seminoles with 21 points and 10 rebounds while Mann finished with 19 points and eight boards.
