LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton flashed a big smile when talking about a game-winning 3-pointer by 6-foot-10 forward Mfiondu Kabengele.
Kabengele hit the deep jumper with a half-second left in overtime, and No. 14 Florida State advanced to the AdvoCare Invitational championship game with a 79-76 win over No. 19 LSU on Saturday.
“Of course we drew up that last play for Mfiondu to take a jump shot deep in the corner. … That’s the shot we wanted all along,” Hamilton said with a laugh.
The Seminoles (5-0) will play defending national champion Villanova on Sunday.
Tremont Waters made three free throws to pull LSU even at 76 with 11.5 seconds to go in overtime before Kabengele’s shot bounced off the rim and into the basket.
“It just dropped right in and I was in shock,” Kabengele said. “I’m just happy it went in.”
Kabengele, the nephew of former NBA standout Dikembe Mutombo, finished with 15 points.
After trailing by nine, Florida State forced overtime when Trent Forrest tied it at 68-68 on a layup with 2.8 seconds left.
“Our guys, we’re strong in character,” Hamilton said. “I thought they grew up a little bit tonight.”
Naz Reid’s 3-pointer at the buzzer hit off the rim for LSU, who got 19 points from Skylar Mays.
“I think we learned a lot about ourselves this game,” Mays said. “We played a ranked team, a great team and we hung in there. We gave ourselves a chance to win.”
Reid hit a 3 and Emmitt Williams had a fast-break dunk as LSU went up 59-52 with 7½ minutes left.
Reid, slowed recently by an ankle injury, scored 12 points in 41 minutes.
M.J. Walker had 13 of his game-high 21 points during the first half as Florida State took a 30-29 lead at the break.
LSU (5-1) will go against Oklahoma State in Sunday’s third-place game.
“I was proud of us,” LSU coach Will Wade said. “We came back when we were down five in overtime. We could have just packed it in. We got a couple gut punches there and we hung in there.”
VILLANOVA 77, OKLAHOMA STATE 58
Defending national champion Villanova got its swagger back.
Eric Paschall had 22 points and Phil Booth added 20 as Villanova advanced to the AdvoCare Invitational championship game against Florida State.
The Wildcats made a tournament-record 16 3-pointers.
“Just a good next step for us,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said.
Villanova (4-2) stopped a two-game skid by beating Canisius 82-56 in Thursday’s first round.
“They play with a champion mindset,” Oklahoma State coach Mike Boynton said. “You can sense there’s urgency to the way they prepare, the way they warm up, the way they huddle during game, the way they communicate defensively.”
Oklahoma State (3-2) got 15 points from Mike Cunningham. The graduate transfer played in his second game after missing the Cowboys’ first three with a left hamstring injury.
“We were just off today,” Boynton said. “We let them control the tempo.”
Paschall had 20 points, including six 3-pointers, as Villanova took a 42-26 halftime advantage. The Wildcats went 10-for-24 from 3-point range during the half.
