Green pours in 26 as the Florida State men - once again - beat the Miami Hurricanes
In his last game in the Tucker Center, Darin Green made sure it would be a memorable one.
The Florida State senior tied a career high with eight 3-pointers and finished with a team-high 26 points, leading the Seminoles to yet another win over the Miami Hurricanes on Saturday afternoon.
Florida State beat the visitors 83-75 and has now won 12 of its last 13 meetings against Miami, including both this season. And with the win the Seminoles (16-15 overall, 10-10 in the ACC) secure a first-round bye in next week’s ACC Tournament. Meanwhile, the Hurricanes, who were a Final Four team a season ago, have now lost nine straight as they head into the first round of the conference tourney.
While Green was certainly the star shooter on Saturday, he was far from the only Seminole who contributed in the win. Jamir Watkins, an All-ACC candidate, finished up his regular season with a 16-point, 11-rebound, five-assist, four-steal effort in the victory. And Jalen Warley added 13 points for a Florida State team that is hoping to find some magic in Washington D.C. in a few days.
For a while on Saturday, it looked like Florida State was going to make a run at the program record for 3-point attempts in a game. The Seminoles shot 23 in the first half alone, missing most of them, and finished the game 12-of-33 from beyond the arc (the school record for 3-pointers attempted in a game is 37).
But what Green did from long range was more than enough. The sharpshooter made 4-of-5 from deep in the second half and finished 8-of-15 for the game. His eighth 3-pointer, with 6:52 left, gave the Seminoles a seven-point lead.
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Miami never cut it to within one possession the rest of the way as the Seminoles — namely Warley and Watkins — made enough free throws down the stretch to secure the season sweep over the Hurricanes.
After not attempting a single free throw in the first half, mainly because they were hoisting so many shots from deep, the Seminoles went 15-of-19 from the stripe in the second half.
Miami, which was playing without star guard Nigel Pack, wound up shooting just 10 free throws in the game.
Florida State transfer Matthew Cleveland, who made just one basket in the game earlier in the season, finished with 16 points and nine rebounds in his return to the Civic Center. But much like he did during his time in the garnet and gold, he left the arena with a loss.
Florida State outrebounded Miami 39-38 and outscored the Hurricanes’ bench 41-6.
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