TALLAHASSEE – The Florida State men’s basketball team fell to conference foe Wake Forest by a final score of 69-68 on Saturday night at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center.

The Seminoles (7-11, 0-5 ACC) could not outlast the Demon Deacons (11-7, 2-3 ACC) in a game that saw five ties and 11 lead changes.

Three Seminoles scored in double figures, with senior forward Chauncey Wiggins leading the effort with 15 points. Senior guard Robert McCray V followed with 12 points and led the team with five assists while recording six rebounds, one block and one steal. Wiggins and McCray V each went a perfect 5-of-5 at the free-throw line. Freshman guard Thomas Bassong rounded out the three with 11 points and five boards.

Senior guard Lajae Jones pulled down a season-high and team-leading 10 rebounds in the loss. He would finish the night with seven points and one block.

Florida State shot 37.9 percent from the field (22-of-58) and a strong 89.5 percent from the stripe (17-of-19) while outrebounding Wake Forest 44-28.

Four three-pointers in the first six minutes courtesy of Somerville, McCray V, Bassong and Jones helped Florida State to a hot start while their opponent struggled to break into double digits. Miles and Swinton would also find the hoop from beyond the arc, creating an 8-point lead and forcing Wake Forest into a timeout at 9:41.

The break would prove fruitful for the Demon Deacons, who generated an 8-0 run to tie the contest at 24-24 with 8:36 remaining. A scoring drought saw a stalemate between both sides until a pair of free throws from Somerville broke the ice. Wake Forest would continue to answer and pushed ahead briefly at 3:52, yet a layup and-one by McCray would recapture the lead for the Seminoles, 30-29.

Despite pushback from the Demon Deacons, strong defensive effort from the Seminoles kept their conference foe off the board through the final two minutes of the first half. A go-ahead jumper from Wiggins coupled with two more makes at the free-throw line by Somerville sent the Seminoles into halftime with a 34-31 edge.

Somerville led the scoring effort with seven points, scoring from all areas of the hardwood highlighted by a perfect 4-for-4 mark at the stripe. Jones recorded seven rebounds while McCray V led with three assists as well as the lone block of the first half.

As a team, six different Seminoles recorded a triple and edged Wake Forest in first half rebounds (25-17), assists (8-4) and first half field goal percentage (39.3 percent to WF’s 34.2 percent).

A corner three from Bassong and subsequent dunk by Steen saw a strong second half open for FSU, yet Wake Forest  was quick to find their footing. Wiggins worked the paint while a mid-range jumper from Somerville saw the Seminoles work right back into the lead at 50-48 with 11:17 to go.

Fighting the lead back once more at 10:13, the Seminoles generated a 7-0 run by dominating the free-throw line alongside intermittent layups from Jones and Swinton.

Wake Forest drew close with their own free-throw shooting prowess as Florida State fought to maintain their lead as what was a nine-point gap at 4:26 quickly became just a one-point game with 24 seconds to go. The Demon Deacons would take advantage and edge ahead 69-68 in the final seconds.

Florida State will travel to Coral Gables to face in-state and ACC rival Miami on Tuesday, Jan. 20 at the Watsco Center. The game will air on ESPNU at 7 p.m.