For a key stretch of the second half Tuesday night, Xavier Rathan-Mayes was strong, Duke was sloppy and the Seminoles took control.
Rathan-Mayes scored 18 of his 21 points after halftime as No. 9 Florida State took advantage of Duke’s season-worst 16 turnovers to beat the No. 7 Blue Devils 88-72 in ACC basketball.
A sold-out Donald L. Tucker Center crowd of 11,675 watched the Seminoles (16-1, 4-0 in ACC) consistently frustrate the Blue Devils (14-3, 2-2 in ACC), who played their first game without injured senior forward Amile Jefferson (bruised foot).
After scoring three points in the first half when Florida State led 41-37 at the break, Rathan-Mayes scored 10 points during a three-minute stretch where the Seminoles opened a 75-61 lead.