FSU basketball (16-10, 7-8 ACC) pulled away late to defeat the rival Miami Hurricanes (6-20, 2-13 ACC) 74-66 Wednesday night inside the Tucker Center.
It was the 14th win in the last 15 meetings between the two programs, and Leonard Hamilton's ownage of his former team continues.
It was a tight contest, tied 31-31 at the half, with neither team getting much separation. However, the Noles finally gained the edge with just over eight minutes remaining. Two Malique Ewin layups and an AJ Swinton three-pointer gave the Noles a 55-47 lead with eight minutes left.
Ewin took over, scoring the next seven points for FSU, giving FSU a 61-53 lead. Miami cut the lead to within five, with 44 seconds remaining, but couldn't get any closer.
It was a much different game than the first matchup. FSU didn't shoot near as well overall or from the three-point line. One major difference was that FSU got to the charity stripe 29 times and made 19 compared to only going 6 for 11 in the previous game.
The FSU defense forced 16 turnovers and converted those into 16 points. FSU had 38 points in the paint and only six fastbreak points.
Miamis shot the ball better overall than the first matchup but only went 4 of 19 from three-point land.
Malique Ewin had another huge game against the Canes, scoring 24 points. Jamir Watkins scored 16 points and had eight rebounds. Chandler Jackson has 11 points.
The win guarantees Leonard Hamilton will finish his final regular season in Tallahassee with a winning record.
The Noles will travel to face No. 25 Louisville on Saturday at Noon. The game will air on the CW Network.