Depleted ’Canes crushed by ’Noles

CORAL GABLES — The even-more-depleted-than-usual Miami Hurricanes never stood a chance against rival Florida State.

With five players out and down to six scholarship players, Miami fell, 88-71, to the 11th-ranked Seminoles, who sit atop the ACC standings and are flush with South Florida talent, on Wednesday night at Watsco Center.

The Hurricanes (7-14, 3-13), despite sophomore guard Isaiah Wong’s game-high 29 points, dropped their fourth straight and suffered their eighth loss in the past nine games. FSU (14-3, 10-2), on the other hand, continued to strengthen its NCAA Tournament résumé as it vies for optimum March Madness seeding.

The Seminoles, who have now taken seven consecutive meetings with Miami, did it with a slew of former South Florida high school standouts contributing.

Forward RaiQuan Gray, a Dillard grad, had 12 points, 13 rebounds and six assists. Center Balsa Koprivica and guard/ forward Scottie Barnes attended University School before graduating from Montverde Academy. Koprivicia had 13 points and eight rebounds, and Barnes went for eight points and eight assists. Guard Anthony Polite, a St. Andrews alum, pitched in 12 points.

“It’s always a cool thing to play down south where your friends and family can see you,” said Gray, who added he had his mother and sister among his immediate family members in the stands. “I watched these guys play when I was a younger kid, and it’s kind of like a dream come true to be able to play in this arena, be able to pull out the win because not many people are able to say they did that coming back home.”

Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton said his team did not mention the homecoming for several of his players.

“We did not have one comment made about coming down here because we have guys from this area,” said Hamilton. “This was a business trip for us. We want to approach it that way. We want to treat this game like all the others.”

But with FSU getting 40 tickets distributed out of the highly limited attendance at Watsco Center on Wednesday due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Hamilton was glad his South Florida players put on a solid performance.

“I’m sure it meant a lot to parents and family that did come see because the kids from South Florida played pretty well,” he said.

Wong was 9 of 16 from the floor, 4 for 5 on 3-pointers and 7 of 8 from the free-throw line for his 29 points. Guard Kameron McGusty and forward Anthony Walker scored 12 points each — Walker adding seven rebounds. Guard Elijah Olaniyi pitched in 11 points.

“I thought our guys gave it everything they had,” coach Jim Larrañaga said. “I thought our effort from start to finish was good. We’re just worn out, completely.”

Florida State, which was led by 16 points from guard Sardaar Calhoun, shot 54 percent from the field on Wednesday while UM connected on 34 percent of its field-goal attempts. The dominance was evident from the start as the Seminoles jumped out to a 27-8 advantage in the first 10 minutes. The Hurricanes never made a significant push to climb back into contention.

“In the first half, we got some really easy shots. We just missed them,” Larrañaga said. “I mean, there were some plays where their defense was terrific, blocking shots, but, I’d say, each of the guys had a layup that the defense didn’t block and we just missed it. We had a couple of open threes. We were only 1 for 9 on threes in the first half, and most of those were good shots.”

Miami was again without guards Harlond Beverly (back) and Chris Lykes (left ankle). Guard/forward Earl Timberlake (left shoulder), forward Sam Waardenburg (left foot) and center Rodney Miller (right knee) are all out for the season.