Field Level Media
Jan 27, 2019
Guard M.J. Walker put on a 3-point show in scoring 22 points and forward Mfiondu Kabengele scored 17 off the bench as Florida State led from start to finish for a 78-66 victory over host Miami in Atlantic Coast Conference play Sunday night in Coral Gables, Fla.
Walker was 6 of 7 on 3-pointers for the Seminoles (15-5, 3-4 ACC), who have won their last two outings after losing four of their previous five games, all in league play.
Guard Zach Johnson led Miami with 20 points while forward Sam Waardenburg added 13 off the bench. Leading scorer Chris Lykes (17.5 ppg) scored just a single point in missing all of his 12 field=goal attempts.
The Hurricanes (9-10, 1-6 ACC) have lost three consecutive games for the third time this season and have fallen into a tie with Notre Dame and Wake Forest for last place in the conference.
After taking a double-digit lead late in the first half, the Seminoles never let the Hurricanes closer than 11 points the rest of the way. Their biggest lead was 21 on guard Anthony Polite's jumper that made it 68-47 at the 7:48 mark.
The Seminoles jumped out to an early 12-3 advantage in less than four minutes and maintained leads of six-to-nine points over the next eight minutes until the Hurricanes began chipping away at their deficit.
Miami was within 27-25 on Waardenburg's two free throws at the 6:06 mark of the first half, but Florida State went on an 18-3 surge to close out the period with a 45-28 cushion.
Back-to-back 3-pointers by Walker gave the Seminoles their first double-digit lead at 39-27 with 2:59 left in the half, while Waardenburg's dunk and Lykes' free throw accounted for Miami's scoring over the last six minutes.
The Hurricanes were only 9 of 25 from the field in the first 20 minutes, with the Seminoles shooting 17 of 31. The 17-point gap was Miami's largest halftime deficit of the season.
--Field Level Media