Canes Come Up Short at No. 15/17 Florida State
Box Score | Season Stats | ACC Stats
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – Bernard James scored 15 of his 18 points in the second half and No. 15 Florida State snapped Miami’s five-game winning streak with a 64-59 victory on Saturday.
Michael Snaer had 12 points and Ian Miller finished with 11 for Florida State (17-7, 8-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), which bounced back from a disappointing 64-60 loss at Boston College on Wednesday.
The 6-foot-10 James went 7 for 8 from the field in the second half and matched his career scoring high. The 27-year-old Air Force veteran also had six rebounds, blocked four shots and added two steals while clamping down on Reggie Johnson, who managed only four points a week after scoring 27 points to lead the Hurricanes to a 78-74 overtime win at Duke.
James’ layup with 16:32 left gave the Seminoles a 32-31 lead. They never trailed again.
Kenny Kadji led Miami (15-8, 6-4) with 14 points and Durand Scott added 12.
Miller hit three crucial free throws in the final 50 seconds and Okaro White sank two more with just 2 seconds left to ice the win.
The Seminoles had a 10-point lead on two occasions in the second half, the last at 53-43 with 6:51 left on James’ three-point play.
Florida State tried to go inside early, but that strategy didn’t work as James and Xavier Gibson were just 3 of 10 down low in the first half.
Florida State shot 46 percent to Miami’s 39.3 percent. Miami had a 35-29 rebound advantage and both teams committed 15 turnovers.
Florida State, which led 28-26 at halftime, has won six straight games in the series. The teams will meet again in Miami on Feb. 26.
Miami hosts North Carolina on Wednesday and Florida State faces Virginia Tech at home Thursday.
At halftime, Florida State retired the jersey of Dave Fedor, who averaged 20.2 points a game during his college career between 1960 and 1962 and was the school’s first player selected in the NBA draft.
Game Notes
– The Canes are 28-39 against the Seminoles overall.
– Miami is 3-3 in conference games on the road this season, the first time the Canes have won three ACC road games in a season since the 2005-06 campaign, when the team was 3-5. UM was 3-5 in league games on the road in its inaugural season in the ACC, 2004-05, too.
– UM is 10-2 at home and 5-6 away from the BankUnited Center this season. In ACC play, Miami is 3-1 in Coral Gables and 3-3 on the road.
– After a pair of games without a trey, Malcolm Grant knocked down a three pointer in the second half at FSU.
– Miami’s bench continues to be productive, scoring the following in the last five games: 15 at FSU,19 vs. VT, 16 at Duke, 22 vs. Maryland and 15 at BC.
