Hurricanes' Rally Falls Just Short at FSU

TALLAHASSEE, FLA. (AP) – Okaro White and Deividas Dulkys scored 17 points apiece and Florida State held off a furious Miami finish to escape with a 65-59 victory Saturday for its 20th win of the season.

White, a freshman starting in place of injured Chris Singleton, knocked down a 10-foot jumper with 31 seconds remaining 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.

White hit 6 of 11 shots and grabbed seven rebounds while Dulkys connected of 4 of 8 attempts from 3-point range.

Grant led Miami with 19 points and 6-foot-10, 300-pound center Reggie Johnson added 17 points and 12 rebounds. Miami shot just 31.7 percent (20 of 63).

The Hurricanes (17-12, 5-9 Atlantic Coast Conference) fought back from a 22-point, first-half deficit.

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 two weeks ago. FSU 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. 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.
Grant, Miami’s top scorer this season, didn’t get his first field goal until midway through the second half before heating up.

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 in the opening half.

In its two losses to Florida State this season, Miamimanaged to shoot only 32.7 percent against the rangy Seminole defense. Florida State rallied from a 10-point deficit to win 55-53 at Miamilast month in a cold-shooting contest when the Seminoles shot 32.1 percent and Miami34 percent.

Tonight’s Starters
For the second-straight game, Miami went with the starting five of Durand Scott, Malcolm Grant, Garrius Adams, Adrian Thomas and Julian Gamble.

Streak Snapped
Saturday’s loss at Florida State snapped a three-game road winning streak by Miami, who had defeated Wake Forest, UNC Greensboro and Boston College in consecutive road contests.

From Downtown
With four second-half three-pointers on Saturday, Malcolm Grant extends his three-point streak to 16-straight games for the second-longest active streak in the ACC. With 139 career threes in just his second season as Hurricane, Grant knocks assistant coach Jake Morton (136) out of Miami’s top 10 in career threes and takes over 10th place. Grant now has 78 three-pointers this season, tying Guillermo Diaz (2005-06) for the seventh-most threes in a single season for a Hurricane.

With a pair of three-pointers versus the Seminoles, Adrian Thomas increases his career total to 185 and remains in fifth place on UM’s career three-pointers list, while extending his three-point streak to 14 straight for the third-longest active streak in the ACC. Thomas has 74 treys this season, good for 10th place in a single season for a ‘Cane.

Double Trouble
With 17 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, Reggie Johnson notched his 11th double-double of the season and his third in ACC play. He ties Eric Brown (1988-89) and Tito Horford (1987-88) for fourth most double-doubles in a single season since the return of the program in 1985-86.

Hello Again
With his 125th appearance in this afternoon’s game versus Florida State, sixth-year player Adrian Thomas now is in sole possession of fifth place in career appearances by a Hurricane. With an appearance versus Maryland on Wednesday — which will be his final regular-season home game as a Hurricane, Thomas will move into a tie for third place.

By the Numbers
— Miami’s 32 three-point attempts are the second most the squad this season… The ‘Canes attempted a season-high 33 at Florida Gulf Coast.

— Miami’s 19 offensive rebounds (including eight from Reggie Johnson) were the second most by the ‘Canes this season… They grabbed 23 offensive boards at Memphis… FSU had a total of eight offensive rebounds in the game… Miami built the 40-31 advantage on the glass… The Hurricanes have out-rebounded their opponents in four-straight games and in 10 of 14 ACC games this season.

— UM’s 16 first-half points marked a season low and were the fewest for the ‘Canes since before the 2007-08 season…Their previous season low was 20 points versus Virginia and at Rutgers.

— The Hurricanes outscored the Seminoles in the paint (22-12), in bench points (20-7), in second-chance points (14-5) and off turnovers (18-17).

— FSU’s 22-lead over Miami with 58 seconds remaining in the first half marked the largest deficit for the Hurricanes this season… They previously trailed by as many as 18 points at Rutgers.

— Miami converted just 31.7 percent of its field goals (20-63) — its second-worst shooting peformance of the season… The ‘Canes hit just 29.2 percent at Rutgers (14-48). Conversely, Florida State converted 57.1 percent of its three-point attempts (8-14) — including 71.4 percent in the opening half (5-7), for the second-best three-point percentage by a UM opponent this season.