Noles Fly By Miami, Win 65-59
TALLAHASSEE (CBS4) – In a surprising turn of events in what had looked like a runaway game for Miami ended with the Seminoles on top Saturday 65-69.
Florida State needed a clutch basket from its youngest player in the final minute to choke off a furious Miami comeback for the win.
Okaro White, a freshman starting in place of injured Chris Singleton, knocked down a 10-foot jumper with 31 seconds remaining Saturday that gave Florida State a 64-59 lead after Malcolm Grant's 3-point shot 25 seconds earlier moved the Hurricanes to within 62-59.
"I'd gotten a charge the last time I tried that (drive to the basket) so I had to pull up and take the jump shot," said the 6-foot-8, 200-pound White, who led the Seminoles with seven rebounds and shared team scoring honors with Deividas Dulkys with 17 points.
Bernard James added the final point in the Seminoles' win with a free throw with 12 seconds left.
White hit 6 of 11 shots and grabbed seven rebounds while Dulkys connected on 4 of 8 3-point attempts.
"He stepped it up when we needed him," Dulkys said about the 18-year-old White. "He's a very good player. You can't count him as a freshman."
Grant led Miami with 19 points and 6-10, 300-pound center Reggie Johnson added 17 points and 12 rebounds.
Miami (17-12, 5-9 Atlantic Coast Conference) fought back from a 22-point, first-half deficit but couldn't overcome a 31.7-percent shooting effort (20 of 63).
"We didn't match their intensity to start that ballgame," Miami coach Frank Haith said. "They jumped out on us. We were fighting uphill the rest of the game."
Florida State (20-8, 10-4) won for the second time in three games since losing Singleton -- its scoring leader this season -- to a broken right foot. It marked Florida State's third straight season with at least 20 wins and 10 in ACC play.
Florida State led by double figures through much of the contest, including 61-50 with 4:06 left.
The Seminoles jumped to a 16-2 lead on their way to a 36-16 halftime cushion and a fifth straight victory over Miami. Dulkys and Michael Snaer each nailed a pair of 3-pointers that catapulted the Seminoles into the 14-point lead six minutes into the game.
Miami's 16 points at the break was the fewest Florida State has allowed in the first half this season.
"In the first half, we played about as flawless of a defense effort as I've seen us play," Hamilton said. "They threw in some 3s from the parking lot (second half). They're capable of doing that."
Grant, Miami's top scorer this season, didn't get his first field goal until midway through the second half before heating up.
"We can't dig ourselves a hole and then expect to come back and win," said Grant, who made 4 of 7 from 3-point distance in the second half. "We kept fighting. We just couldn't pull it out."
Florida State was as hot in the first half as Miami was cold, shooting 58.3 percent to the 'Canes' frigid 17.2 percent. Miami made just 3 of its first 20 shots, falling behind by as many as 22 points at 36-14.
In its two losses to Florida State this season, Miami managed to shoot only 32.7 percent against the rangy Seminole defense. Florida State rallied from a 10-point deficit to win 55-53 at Miami last month in a cold-shooting contest when the Seminoles shot 32.1 percent and Miami 34 percent.
Florida State honored its 1972 team that was the NCAA runner-up to UCLA during a halftime ceremony.
(© 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
