TALLAHASSEE, Fla. _ Jonathan Isaac vowed to have his play on the defensive end make more of an impact for the Florida State men's basketball team.
Luckily for the Seminoles, Isaac brought his "A" game offensively as well
Isaac had 23 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high seven blocks, leading No. 10 FSU past No. 15 Notre Dame 83-80 in a close contest Wednesday night at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
Steve Vasturia's 3-pointer with four seconds left and two Notre Dame shot attempts near the basket nearly gave the Irish their sixth conference win until Isaac sealed the victory with two consecutive blocks.
The Seminoles were able to overcome a scorching Notre Dame performance from the 3-point line, with the Irish hitting 15 of 21 in the game to keep it close. FSU forced a three-way tie atop the Atlantic Coast Conference standings with Notre Dame and North Carolina.
Isaac gave the Seminoles (17-2, 5-1 ACC) a much-needed boast while star guard Dwayne Bacon, junior guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes and sophomore forward Terance Mann all struggled against the top team in the conference.
Isaac's dive on a loose ball and his two made free throws after fellow freshman C.J. Walker made two of his own from the free-throw line helped secure the victory in the Seminoles' first game since the Tar Heels snapped their school-record 12-game win streak on Saturday.
Bacon finished with 11 points, Rathan-Mayes hit two shots in the closing minutes to finish with 8 points and Walker added all nine of his points in the second half to propel the Seminoles past the Irish (16-3, 5-1).
FSU guard PJ Savoy added 12 points with three 3-pointers in the first half, but Mann finished with no points and two assists.
The Irish took the conference lead with game-closing runs against their previous five opponents and nearly mustered the same type of rally late, pulling within two points in the final minute.
Isaac scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half, highlighted by two 3-pointers and a basket under the rim off a pass from Rathan-Mayes.
While Notre Dame heated up from the 3-point line early, FSU used its offensive rebounding to get second-chance points to stay in the game until Savoy surged.
The Seminoles took a 39-33 advantage into halftime, but not before Irish coach Mike Brey was called for a technical on a foul he thought should have been called on Rathan-Mayes for disrupting a layup.
FSU converted the missed shot on the other end, with Bacon lobbing a pass up for Jarquez Smith that earned the loudest ovation of the night from the home crowd.
Florida State has won 16 consecutive games at home dating back to last season. The streak began with a win over Notre Dame on Feb. 27, 2016.
The Seminoles will host No. 12 Louisville on Saturday at 2 p.m. to finish a stretch of six consecutive games against top 25 teams before beginning a three-game road trip.
