Blacksburg, VA. — What a statement! After a gut-wrenching loss to No. 15 Virginia earlier this week, Florida State (12-13, 5-7 ACC) bounced back in with a dominant 92-69 road victory over Virginia Tech (17-8, 6-6 ACC) on Saturday afternoon. The Seminoles put on a clinic in the second half, shooting 78.3% from the field to run away from the Hokies in Cassell Coliseum.
This wasn’t just a win. This was a statement from a team that refused to let Tuesday’s heartbreaking loss define them. After leading Virginia for over 27 minutes only to go cold down the stretch, FSU flipped the script and showed what this offense can look like when everyone gets involved and the shots start falling.
Martin Somerville was the catalyst for the second-half explosion, going 9-for-11 from the field to finish with 23 points. The sophomore guard, who went 0-for-7 in the Virginia loss, completely erased that performance with one of the best halves of basketball we’ve seen from an FSU player this season. Somerville scored 18 of his FSU career-high 23 points in the second half.
However, Somerville wasn’t alone in the scoring barrage. Lajae Jones scored 17 points, joining four Seminoles in double figures. Robert McCray V added 17 points, and Chauncey Wiggins racked up 19 as FSU finally got the balanced offensive attack they’ve been searching for.
The first half was a back-and-forth affair that saw FSU trail 42-39 at the break. Wiggins led the way with 10 points in the opening 20 minutes, and the Noles shot a respectable 50% from the field (16-32), including 43.8% from three (7-16). FSU didn’t attempt a single free throw in the first half.
Virginia Tech started hot with Ben Hammond going 3-for-3 from deep for a game-high nine points early. The Hokies were clicking on all cylinders to start, missing only two of their first eight shots. Tobi Lawal added 10 points in the first half to keep Tech in front heading into the locker room.
Then came the second half, and FSU took over. The Seminoles came out of the break and caught fire. Virginia Tech simply had no answer defensively in the second half. The Seminoles had runs of 13-0, 10-0 and 11-0 in the second half, extending their lead to as many as 26-points. FSU outscored the Hokies 53-27 in the second half enroute to their largest margin of victory in an ACC game this season.
This was a season-deflating loss for Virginia Tech, which came in riding high off an upset win over No. 20 Clemson earlier this week. The Hokies desperately needed this game for their NCAA Tournament resume, sitting at .500 in ACC play and projected as one of the first teams out of the field. Instead, they got blown out at home and now face an uphill battle with road games against Miami, North Carolina, and Virginia still on the schedule.
My main question coming out of this game is whether FSU can sustain this. We’ve seen flashes from this team all season, including the near-upset of Virginia and a competitive loss to Duke. They have won four of their past 5 games. There is talent there, they are starting to put things together and the defensive improvement over the last month has been real. Since allowing 90-plus points in three straight games in early January, FSU has allowed more than 80 points just once in its last seven games.
The issue has been offensive consistency. Against Virginia, everyone outside of Robert McCray V, Lajae Jones, and Kobe MaGee shot 3-for-26. Today, FSU got contributions up and down the roster and looked like a completely different team. If they can find that balance more often, this team can gain some real late-season momentum in Louck’s first year.
Honestly, this is the type of performance FSU needed after the gut-punch loss to Virginia. To go on the road in a hostile environment against a desperate Virginia Tech team and dominate like this shows real character. This team could have folded after Tuesday’s collapse, but instead, they came out and played their best half of basketball all season.
Luke Loucks deserves credit for keeping this group together after such a deflating loss. The adjustments were clear, and the players responded. Somerville’s bounce-back game was massive for his confidence, and seeing multiple guys contribute offensively is a huge development for a team that has relied too heavily on McCray and Jones.
Coming home with a W ✅#Connected pic.twitter.com/itEa8crUTd
— Florida State Men’s Basketball (@FSUHoops) February 14, 2026
The reality is FSU is still 12-13 overall and 5-7 in conference play. They’re not making the NCAA Tournament, and this season has been a rebuilding year under a first-year head coach. However, games like this show the foundation is being built. The defense has legitimately improved, Lajae Jones has developed into a force on the glass, and when the offense clicks, this team can score with anyone.
Up next for the Noles is a home game against Boston College on Tuesday at 6 p.m. That’s a must-win game if FSU wants to build momentum heading into the final stretch of the season. The pieces are there and today showed what this team is capable of when everything comes together. Now they just need to prove they can do it consistently. This is what FSU basketball can look like when it’s firing on all cylinders. Thanks for reading and Go Noles!
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