FSU basketball: Noles beat Miami Hurricanes for ninth straight time

FSU basketball (13-5, 6-2 ACC) hangs on to beat the Miami Hurricanes 61-60 to take first place in the ACC Conference.

FSU shot 56.3 percent from the floor, 50 percent from three-point range, and made 4 of 5 from the free-throw line in the first half for a 43-19 halftime lead.

The Noles only had two turnovers and five steals. Anthony Polite had 13 points and four rebounds in the first half. Caleb Mills had eight points and RayQuan Evans had five points.

FSU’s defense held Miami to 26 percent shooting overall and 1 of 12 from three-point range. Miami only made six field goals and was 6 of 9 from the free-throw line in the first half with seven turnovers.

The second half saw Miami come out with a lot of energy to get back into the game. They went on an 8-0 run and switched to a zone on defense to cut the lead to 49-29 with 16 minutes remaining. Miami cut the lead to 49-33 on a four-point play on a made three-point attempt(it was a flop) with 14:52 remaining.

An FSU foul with Miami making 1 of 2 free throws cut the lead to 49-34 with 12:58 remaining. A RayQuan Evans layup pushed the lead to 51-34 with 12:33 remaining. A pair of Tanor Ngom free throws made the lead 53-34 with 10:34 remaining. Miami cut the lead to 53-37 with a three-point shot on their next possession.

A Caleb Mills jumper made it 55-37, but Miami got fouled on a three-pointer on their next possession and cut the lead back to 55-40 with 9:01 remaining. Miami made a three-pointer on their next shot after an FSU turnover to cut the lead to 55-43 with 8:22 remaining. It was the first time Miami trailed by fewer than 15 points since the first five minutes in the game.

A Miami steal and dunk cut the lead to 55-45 with 6:45 remaining. FSU has been exceptionally careless with the ball in the second half. A Miami jump shot cut the lead to 55-47, and a Miami steal and layup shrink the lead to 55-49 with 5:39 remaining. It has been a 12-0 run for Miami over the last few minutes.

Two Caleb Mill free-throws stopped the bleeding to make it 57-49 with 4:44 remaining. Miami made a three-pointer on their next possession to cut the lead to 57-52. However, Caleb Mills answered with a layup to make it 59-52 with 4:09 remaining. FSU basketball grabbed three huge offensive boards to melt some clock before making a layup to push the lead to 61-52 with 2:40 remaining. Miami went on a 6-0 run to make it 61-58 on a four-point play with 1:22 remaining. A Miami steal and dunk cut the lead to 61-60 with :39 seconds remaining. Miami called timeout and drew up and play, but missed the mid-range jumper as time expired to give the Noles their ninth consecutive win over the Canes.