Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Seminoles
Fifteenth-ranked Florida State overpowers Clemson in basketball for a 109-61 victory.
TALLAHASSEE —Leonard Hamilton wishes he could bottle up Florida State’s performance so he can sprinkle it on his players during the final month of the regular season.
The Seminoles made 17 3-pointers and scored 35 points off 22 turnovers en route to its largest victory in Atlantic Coast Conference history on Sunday.
Dwayne Bacon tied a career high with 29 points to lead No. 15 FSU to a 109-61 blowout win over Clemson in front of an announced crowd of 10,868 at the Donald L. Tucker Center to secure the largest win margin in conference play since beating Virginia by 36 in 1994.
Florida State (20-4, 8-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) rode its leading scorer and received timely contributions from its loaded bench to win the 20th game of the season at the earliest point in program history.
“We’re getting close to being who we are,” Hamilton said. “We’re a team that needs to play with that junkyard dog mentality in order for us to be successful. We got to get deflections and be aggressive with our defensive effort. We have to do all the little things.”
The rising Seminoles, who led by as many as 51 points, continue to make a statement in the ACC, sitting just behind No. 12 North Carolina (21-4, 9-3) for second place in the conference standings.
Bacon found his rhythm early, scoring 18 points in the first half, finishing 10 of 14 from the field with six 3-pointers.
“I was feeling it from deep all game,” Bacon said, tying his point total from FSU’s win over Virginia on Dec. 31, that sparked a stretch of five victories against six top 25 ranked teams for the Seminoles earlier this season.
After losing by doubledigits on the road at Georgia Tech and Syracuse last week, FSU rebounded with two of its more impressive, well-rounded wins of the season against Miami and Clemson this week.
“We just keep growing and keep competing on the defensive end,” Bacon said.