Florida State Comes Back From 25-Point Deficit, Shocks Miami at Buzzer

Miami’s seven-game win streak came to a crashing halt on Saturday, losing 85-84 after Florida State’s Matthew Cleveland nailed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Cleveland was the leader of the Seminoles’ 25-point comeback. The sophomore had 18 of his 20 points in the second half. Florida State was also fueled by junior Darin Green Jr., who also had 20 points including a trio of 3-pointers. The two guards led Florida State in scoring.

The Hurricanes, who held a 54-31 lead at halftime, were out-paced by Florida State in almost all aspects in the half that followed.

“It appeared to me to start the second half that our battery died,” UM head coach Jim Larrañaga said. “We did not have the energy, the juice, and it shows most of all with our defense which, you give up 54 points in a half, there’s no defense there. And then our offense, we’re very stagnant and had a lot of turnovers.”

Miami turned the ball over eight times in the second half and lacked cohesion without starting guard Nijel Pack, 

The sophomore guard was an unexpected availability for the ‘Canes, as he was ruled out with a lower extremity injury less than an hour before tip-off. Sophomore Bensley Joseph, making his second collegiate start, was productive in Pack’s absence.

Joseph had 12 points and finished with a team-high five assists. First-year guard Christian Watson, making only his 10th appearance of the season, also received minutes as a part of Miami’s Pack-less rotation.

The Hurricanes started the game on a 14-2 run, energizing a packed crowd at the Watsco Center that was nearly packed to its brim. 

Miami shot 65.7% from the field in the opening half, which was a stark contrast from the 37.9% it shot from the field in the second half.

Veteran guard Jordan Miller, who nailed the game-leading 3-pointer with six seconds remaining, finished with a game-high 21 points.

“Credit to [the Seminoles]. They played hard,” Miller said. “I just think they wanted it more. We came out unfocused. We gave up buckets that we shouldn’t have gave up … We just gotta find a way to close out games like this. There’s no excuse as far as losing this game. We just gotta bounce back, have this just be motivation for us.”

Miami’s loss ends its undefeated record at the Watsco Center this season.

The Hurricanes will finish off their regular season at home next Saturday against Pittsburgh at 6 p.m.