TALLAHASSEE, FLA. – The Citadel battled Florida State until the closing stages before six points by Xavier Rathan-Mayes in the final three minutes sealed a 66-55 victory for the Seminoles on Tuesday evening at the Tucker Center. Rathan-Mayes posted a game-high 26 points and teammate Montay Brandon added 19 as the Florida State earned its second win on the season.

A series of 3-pointers by Jake Wright cut the Bulldogs deficit to 56-51 with 2:37 remaining, before Phil Cofer came through with a timely jumper to spark a 10-4 run the rest of the way.

Rathan-Mayes, who finished 8-of-9 from the field and was a perfect 5-of-5 from the 3-point line, has now topped the 20-point mark in back-to-back games for the Seminoles. Brandon came through with his fourth double-digit outing the season by knocking down 6-of-8 from the floor and 7-of-10 at the free throw line.

Florida State capped off the game by hitting 23-of-38 (60.5%) from the floor and 6-of-14 (42.9%) from beyond the arc. Despite their size advantage in the paint, the Seminoles only finished with one more rebound (23) than the visiting Citadel.

The Bulldogs were led offensively by the trio of Ashton Moore (17 points), P.J. Horgan (12) and Wright (12). Moore extended his double-digit scoring streak to 12 games by hitting 8-of-19 from the floor.

Wright, who notched the first points of his collegiate career, was 4-of-5 from the field, all coming from long distance. Meanwhile, Horgan was the dominate post presence for the Cadets with 12 points and six rebounds (two offensive).

Behind a game-high six assists from Marshall Harris III the Bulldogs finished 22-of-47 (46.8%) from the floor. That marks the second-best field goal percentage (Clemson, 50%-Jan. 1, 2013) against any ACC opponent in the five years under head coach Chuck Driesell.

Carrying over the momentum generated just before halftime, The Citadel used a pair of 3-pointers by Harris and Warren Sledge to trim the Florida State deficit to 29-28 just over four minutes into the second half.

The Seminoles responded to the challenge with a 14-5 run, highlighted by a pair of 3-pointers from Rathan-Mayes, pushing the advantage to 43-33 with 11:02 remaining.

Moore answered with a jumper and sliced past the Florida State defense to pull the Dogs back within single digits, 44-37.

Rathan-Mayes countered with a trey and following dunks by Brandon and Michael Ojo, the Seminoles had a 14-point advantage, their largest of the game.

Florida State has now won its last five games in the all-time series dating back Dec. 19, 1966.

The Citadel used a flurry of points by Horgan, Marshall and Moore to take a 6-5 lead by the first media timeout. However, nine missed field goal attempts by The Citadel allowed for a 12-0 run by the Seminoles who charged out in front 17-6 at the 7:09 mark.

A Horgan layup got the Dogs back in rhythm as they scored six unanswered points to move within five points with just over five minutes left in the half.

A 3-pointer by Xavier Rathan-Mayes gave Florida State an eight-point lead but that quickly evaporated as The Citadel put together a 7-2 run to close out the half. In the final 4:03 of the frame the Bulldogs used points in the paint by Koopman and Horgan, along with Jake Wright's first collegiate 3-pointer, to pull within three points at the intermission.

The Citadel returns to McAlister Field House for its next home game when it hosts Warren Wilson on Saturday at 1 p.m.