Armaan Franklin scored 20 points to lead No. 13 Virginia to a 67-58 victory over Florida State on Saturday in Atlantic Coast Conference action in Tallahassee, Fla.
Franklin made 4 of 7 3-point attempts and the Cavaliers (13-3, 5-2 ACC) shot 50 percent from behind the arc (11 of 22) to win their third straight game. Ben Vander Plas added 15 points and Kihei Clark had nine points, six assists and five rebounds.
Matthew Cleveland had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Seminoles (5-13, 3-4), who lost for the first time in four ACC home games. It was Cleveland’s seventh straight double-double, the longest streak by a Florida State player since Reggie Royals 51 years ago.
Cam Corhen scored 15 points and Caleb Mills had 14 for the Seminoles, who shot 39.6 percent (21 of 53) overall and 26.3 percent (5 of 19) from 3-point range.
Virginia extended its eight-point halftime advantage to 48-34 with 12:48 remaining. The Cavaliers took their largest lead at 56-40 on Ryan Dunn’s dunk with 9:38 to play.
Florida State pulled to within 61-51 on Mills’ layup with 5:09 left, but the Seminoles couldn’t get the deficit below double digits until the final 30 seconds.
With the victory, the Cavaliers knotted up the all-time series with the Seminoles at 28-28.
Virginia raced to a 24-11 lead with a 21-4 run that included three 3-pointers by Vander Plas and two by Franklin.
The Cavaliers were ahead 33-25 at halftime behind 13 points from Franklin and 11 from Vander Plas.
Virginia head coach Tony Bennett needs two wins to reach 400 for his career. The Cavaliers return home to face rival Virginia Tech on Wednesday night.
Baba Miller (tonsillitis) did not play for the Seminoles. The 6-11 freshman from Spain returned from a 16-game NCAA suspension and made his debut in Wednesday’s loss at Wake Forest, posting four points and four rebounds.
–Field Level Media