The Miami Hurricanes faced a tough road challenge in a Wednesday night matchup against the Florida State Seminoles, falling 74-66 at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center.
The Hurricanes (6-20, 2-13 ACC) put up a competitive fight until the end but ultimately couldn’t overcome a second-half surge by the Seminoles (16-10, 7-8 ACC).
It was a rough shooting night for both teams, but a standout performance from Lynn Kidd was able to keep Miami in the game. Coming off a performance where he scored 16 points and snatched 15 boards in the loss at Pittsburgh, he was able to record his sixth double-double of the season Wednesday night, posting 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Early in the contest, Miami displayed strong ball movement, assisting on 10 of its 11 made field goals in the first half. Six different Hurricanes were able to contribute to the scoring effort, with Kidd leading the charge, scoring 8 points on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting from the field.
To close out the first half, neither team was able to score efficiently or find their rhythm on the offensive end. After two late free throws by junior A.J. Staton-McCray in the final seconds, the score was even at 31 to enter the break.
Out of halftime, neither team was able to establish a commanding lead, with both schools trading buckets through the first 10 minutes. However, Florida State’s AJ Swinston was able to connect on a three-pointer at the 9:20 mark. This was able to ignite a 10-2 run that pushed the Seminoles ahead by eight at 55-47 with eight minutes to go.
Despite a late push from the ’Canes, including a late basket from freshman Divine Ugochukwu to trim the deficit to five at 67-62 with 56 seconds remaining, Florida State was able to ice the game at the free throw line to secure the 74-66 victory.
Turnovers were a killer for Miami, as it totaled 18 of them in the contest that led to 16 points from the Seminoles. Pair this with shooting only 41.7% from the field and 21.1% from behind the arc, and it makes it a very tough game to win. Outside of Kidd, senior Matthew Cleveland was the only other Hurricane to reach double figures. However, he struggled from the field, recording only 14 points on 3-of-14 shooting and six rebounds.
Florida State was led by junior Malique Ewin, who went a perfect 10-of-10 from the field and totaled a game-high 24 points, five rebounds and three steals, which proved to be too much for the Hurricanes. Senior Jamir Watkins was behind him in the scoring charge for the Seminoles, recording 16 points and eight rebounds.
Miami returns home Saturday at 6 p.m. to face the Virginia Tech Hokies at the Watsco Center. The game is set to air on ACC Network.