TALLAHASSEE, Fla. _ With three of his starters on the bench in foul trouble, Gophers basketball coach Richard Pitino mixed and matched different lineups, going deep into his bench to stay in the game with Florida State on Monday night.
It worked for one half as Minnesota's reserves helped their team take a two-point halftime lead.
But in the first road game of the season, the Gophers couldn't handle the size and athleticism of the Seminoles to suffer their first loss of the season, 75-67 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge at Tucker Center.
The Gophers (6-1) shot an abysmal 29 percent in the first half and had 10 turnovers, but they made 15 free throws, including eight off the bench to take a 33-31 halftime lead.
Florida State (6-1) shot just 35 percent in the first half and committed nine turnovers, but it used a 21-6 run to lead by 13 points after a dunk from Dwayne Bacon, who had 18 points.
The Seminoles let a 19-point second-half lead get cut to 73-66 after a 3-pointer from Akeem Springs with 18.9 seconds remaining, but the Gophers couldn't get any closer.
Center Reggie Lynch returned to Minnesota's lineup after missing a game with an ankle injury. But the 6-foot-10 junior was outplayed by Florida State's 7-1, 304-pound center Michael Ojo, who had 12 points and five rebounds. Jonathan Isaac also finished with 14 points, 13 rebounds and two blocks.
Bacon and Isaac struggled in the first half (3-for-9 shooting combined) with more than a dozen NBA scouts in attendance to watch.
Bacon, a 6-foot-7 sophomore who tested the NBA draft process after last season, woke up with 14 points in the second half to give the Seminoles their first win against Minnesota since 2007.
Nate Mason and Springs led Minnesota with 11 points each. Amir Coffey, who averaged 20.7 points in his previous three games, was held to just seven points Monday after being limited with foul trouble.
Coffey picked up his fourth foul with his team trailing 42-38 with 16:04 remaining in the game. Florida State extended the margin to double digits with a 12-4 run.
A 3-pointer from Ahmad Gilbert cut it to 56-47, but the Gophers couldn't match the effort defensively from the first half. The Seminoles answered with the highlight of the game when Trent Forrest connected with Isaac on a no-look pass for an emphatic dunk.
Lynch's return from injury was expected to be a huge lift for the Gophers. But their entire frontline was overmatched physically by the Seminoles, who also had a 7-4 center coming off the bench. Lynch, Jordan Murphy, Eric Curry and Bakary Konate all had two fouls in the first half.
Konate was a spark off the bench with seven points and six rebounds, but it was far from enough.
After suffering their first loss of the season, the Gophers have five days to regroup before another test Saturday against Vanderbilt in Sioux Falls, S.D.
Pitino had five newcomers playing in their first game away from Williams Arena, including freshmen Coffey and Curry. Lynch also had seven points and four rebounds.
