GREENSBORO — Boris Bojanovsky dunked Maryland right out of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Florida State’s 7-foot-3 sophomore took a pass from Okaro White and threw down a dunk with 0.4 seconds left to lift the Seminoles past the Terrapins 67-65 in Thursday’s second round of the ACC tournament, ending Maryland’s six-decade tenure with the league it helped create.
Bojanovsky’s dunk capped a tense final 2 minutes that saw Maryland fight back from an 11-point deficit and twice tie it. But the final basket advanced the ninth-seeded Seminoles (19-12) while marking the Terrapins’ final league game as they head for the Big Ten this summer.
“It might be historical to some other people but it meant very little to us,” FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. “We just wanted to go win. It was a very important game for us in terms of where we are.”
Both teams arrived in Greensboro hoping to improve their chances to making it to the NCAA tournament. Now the Seminoles are headed into Friday’s quarterfinals to face sixth-ranked and top-seeded Virginia.
Bojanovsky had a big hand in that, finishing with 12 points and a career-best 12 rebounds. He also came through at the line by hitting two free throws with 36.2 seconds left after Maryland had fought back to tie the game at 63 on Jake Layman’s transition dunk with 1:49 left.
Then, after Dez Wells hit two free throws with 15.1 seconds left to tie it again, Ian Miller sent a pass into the post for White that Layman nearly deflected. White immediately bounced the ball over to Bojanovsky on the left block.
“I had to go reach and catch it like (NFL receiver) Calvin Johnson,” White said. “There was a double when I caught it so I knew Boris had to be open on that back side. And I almost gave him too low of a pass to be a 7-3 guy but he reached down and grabbed it and went up strong.”
Bojanovsky threw it down through contact from Maryland’s Jonathan Graham.
“I mean, it was a great feeling,” Bojanovsky said. “It was an important game for us, so I was really happy.”
Wells’ desperation heave at the horn wasn’t close, sealing a one-and-done final tournament appearance for the eighth-seeded Terrapins.
Miller finished with 17 points to lead the Seminoles, who shot 48 percent for the game and 54 percent after halftime.