Coming off five consecutive losses in Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) play, Florida State traveled to Coral Gables, Fla., in search of a reset. After falling short in each of their previous five games, the Seminoles men’s basketball finally broke through against the University of Miami Hurricanes, grinding out a 65-63 statement victory. The win gave head coach Luke Loucks his first career ACC victory.
“You can learn a lot from losing, and at times you can learn a lot more from losing than winning,” Loucks said in the postgame press conference. “The foundation you lay will eventually pay off in a big way.”
FSU opened the game by attacking the interior and controlling the glass. The ’Noles racked up 24 points in the paint and 12 rebounds in the opening half. The first half featured two ties and four lead changes, with neither team leading by more than five. Each time Miami pushed the Garnet and Gold away from their usual perimeter approach, Florida State answered with urgency.
Down 32-26 with under five minutes remaining in the first half, the Seminoles capitalized on turnovers, scoring five unanswered points to cut the deficit to 32-31. Despite shooting 3-of-9 from beyond the arc, senior guard Kobe Magee drained a buzzer-beating three to give FSU a 38-37 halftime lead.
Following a deep three from senior guard Martin Somerville to take a 41-39 lead with 18:24 left in the second half, the ’Noles wouldn’t trail the rest of the game. The Garnet and Gold also neutralized Miami’s top scorer and senior guard Tre Donaldson, holding him scoreless on 0-for-7 shooting in the second half.
Robert McCray V bounces back
Senior guard Robert McCray V led Florida State with 20 points, marking his third game this season scoring 20 or more. McCray added three blocks on defense and sank the game-winning free throws with one second remaining.
This performance came just days after one of his toughest outings of the season against Wake Forest. Despite shooting 3-of-10, Loucks left McCray in during the final minutes of the one-point loss against Wake Forest.
“[Rob] is an all-ACC caliber player at his best, and he didn’t understand that even in his worst moments, I am going to trust him,” Loucks said after the Miami victory. “That moment was bigger than just a game; he needs to understand that even when he’s having a tough game, he can make plays for this team and help us win games.”
Senior forward Chauncey Wiggins contributed 10 points, while freshman forward Thomas Bassong paced Florida State on the glass, hauling in six defensive rebounds.
The Seminoles will stay on the road to face Southern Methodist University on Saturday, Jan. 24 at 4 p.m., before returning home to take on the University of California, Berkeley on Wednesday, Jan. 28 at 7 p.m.
“I’ll never pour water on a win, but we have to build off this,” Loucks said. “That’s the only way this season turns into something we can look back on and be proud of.”
Gia Ciaccio is a Staff Writer for the FSView & Florida Flambeau, the student-run, independent online news service for the FSU community. Email our staff at contact@fsview.com.
Follow live game coverage from@FSView Sports on X.
This article originally appeared on FSU News: Seminoles rout Miami 65-63 to end ACC losing streak
Reporting by Gia Ciaccio, Staff Writer, FSView / FSU News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
