Darin Green Jr. scored 24 points, including a key 3-pointer with under two minutes remaining, to rally visiting Florida State to a 71-64 victory over Pittsburgh in ACC play Saturday afternoon.
Green was 5-of-8 from 3-point range as the Seminoles (7-13, 5-4 ACC) recovered after they coughed up a double-digit halftime lead to post a second consecutive road win. The Seminoles won at Notre Dame earlier in the week.
Green’s fifth 3-pointer put the Seminoles up 68-64 with 1:52 left, and he added two free throws in the closing seconds to seal the victory. Caleb Mills also made a free throw with 26.4 seconds remaining to finish off an 11-point game.
Matthew Cleveland also scored 11 points for the Seminoles but saw his streak of double-double games send at eight when he settled for eight rebounds.
Jamarius Burton led the Panthers (13-7, 6-3 ACC) with 20 points while Blake Hinson added 16.
The Panthers needed just over six minutes to erase a 10-point halftime deficit and took a 50-45 lead with 12:34 remaining after going on a 10-0 run that featured two of Hinson’s four 3-pointers.
But the Seminoles recovered to take a 62-56 lead with under six minutes left as Green erupted for 12 points over a span of just over five minutes to put the Seminoles back in control.
Pitt jumped out to an early 15-5 lead, but Florida State responded with a 25-6 run to put the Seminoles up 30-21 lead with 8:04 left in the first half. The Panthers cut the deficit to 32-27 but the Seminoles closed out the half on a 7-2 spurt for a 39-29 advantage at the break.
After opening the game 7 of 11 from the field, the Panthers struggled over the remainder of the first half and were at 9 of 28 (32.1 percent) at the break. The Seminoles were 7 of 14 to start the game and finished the first half 15 of 28 (53.6 percent) and 7 of 12 on 3-pointers.
–Field Level Media