Caleb Mills scored 16 points and Anthony Polite added 15 to lead Florida State to its sixth straight win, the latest being a 61-60 victory over host Miami in Atlantic Coast Conference play on Saturday afternoon.
Florida State (13-5, 6-2 ACC), which never trailed, had to hang on after leading by 24 points at halftime. Miami’s Isaiah Wong, who led all scorers with 22 points, had a chance to win the game at the buzzer, but his closely-guarded mid-range jumper clanged off the rim.
Wong, who made a pair of four-point plays in the second half, shot 7 of 17 from the floor. Charlie Moore and Kameron McGusty added 12 points each for Miami (14-5, 6-2), which has won 10 of its past 12 games. Both of those losses were against Florida State. Miami dropped to 9-2 at home this season.
Florida State, which has beaten Miami nine straight times, improved to 4-4 away from home this season.
The Seminoles, thanks to 56.3-percent shooting and an 11-1 assists advantage, led 43-19 at halftime. Miami missed numerous open three-pointers, shooting just 1 of 12 from distance (8.3 percent).
Overall, Miami shot 26.1 percent in the first half.
The Hurricane finished at 37 percent from the field, while the Seminoles shot 48.1.
Polite led all first-half scorers with 13 points, making all five of his shots, including a three-pointer. The first half, rather fittingly for Florida State, ended with Wyatt Wilkes swishing a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
In the second half, Miami cut its deficit to 55-45 on a midcourt steal and a dunk by McGusty, causing Seminoles coach Leonard Hamilton to call a timeout.
New Hurricanes football coach Mario Cristobal grabbed the microphone during that timeout and led Miami fans in a “Let’s go Canes” chant.
A banker by McGusty and a Moore layup cut the deficit to 55-49.
A Mills layup could’ve been a crusher for Miami considering that FSU had four shots on that possession, taking a 61-52 lead with 2:33 left.
But Wong made his second four-point play and added an assist to set Sam Waardenburg up for a dunk, cutting Miami’s deficit to 61-60.
After a shot-clock violation on FSU, Miami called timeout with 8.1 seconds left, and Wong dribbled down the court but missed the shot.
For the game, FSU won the rebound battle 39-27. Miami has been outrebounded in all 10 of its games against Power Five teams, going 7-3 in those contests.
–Field Level Media