Seminoles outlast hot-shooting ’Canes in OT
TALLAHASSEE — Florida State’s Leonard Hamilton and Miami’s Jim Larrañaga each has at least 33 years of college basketball coaching experience under their belts. But both coaches may have experienced a first during their matchup on Saturday.
FSU and Miami needed a few extra minutes to settle their sharpshooting affair, which saw the Seminoles overcome 17 3-pointers from the Hurricanes and earn a 103-94 overtime victory in front of an announced crowd of 11,675 at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
“That does seem like a lot, doesn’t it?” said Larrañaga after his team shot 50 percent from the field and 17 of 34 from 3-point range in the loss.
Hamilton doesn’t have to think too far in the past about escaping with a victory against a team with a torrid shooting performance. Just last January, the Seminoles beat a Notre Dame team that made 15 of 21 shots (71.4 percent) from 3-point range.
This time around for Florida State, which led for most of the contest until the Hurricanes tied the game in the final minute, the young Seminoles relied on their developing resilience to even the season series with their heated in-state rival.
Senior forward Phil Cofer led FSU with 21 points, senior guard Braian Angola had 18 points and Cofer and junior forward Terance Mann each had pivotal defensive stops at the rim in the final minute to propel the Seminoles (16-5, 5-4 ACC).
Hamilton said his players repeatedly told each other “we’re not going to lose this game” during timeout huddles. FSU’s persistence, combined with a stellar shooting performance of its own, proved to be the difference.
“Just everybody being so confident in each other, knowing we’re not going to lose,” Mann said. “We said it and believed it.”
Added Cofer: “Everybody was saying, ‘We got to get this. We got to get this.’ We were locked in.”
Point guard CJ Walker chipped in 17 points and Mann, FSU’s leading scorer, overcame a slow start to finish with 14 points for the Seminoles, who avenged an 80-74 loss at Miami on Jan. 7.
Florida State led throughout the game after the first 1:25 minutes until UM forward Dewan Huell tied the game at 83 with a dunk in the final minute of regulation.
Standout freshman Lonnie Walker IV, who led the Hurricanes (15-5, 4-4) with 23 points before fouling out in the final seconds of overtime, missed a potential game-winning jumper in the final seconds of regulation.
“I was getting ready to call a timeout and the players waved me off and felt like they had a great option,” Larrañaga said of Walker’s miss. “I didn’t know what they were thinking but I trust them. … He got a great shot but it was a little bit short. It looked good when it left his hands.”
Sophomore guard Dejan Vasiljevic had 20 points and junior guard Anthony Lawrence added 19 points for the Hurricanes.
FSU shot 60 percent from the field during the game, and had a distinct edge at the free throw line, making 28 of 39 free throws, compared to just 9 of 13 for Miami.
The Seminoles were also much more efficient on offense in the second half, committing just one turnover — a shot clock violation — in the final 32:25 minutes of play after committing six turnovers in the first half.
“That’s great coaching, huh?” Hamilton said with a smile.