Florida State beats Miami for 8th straight time, 65-64

Published Jan. 11, 2022 10:47 p.m. ET

Associated Press

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Freshman Matthew Cleveland scored 11 of his 15 points in the second half, RayQuan Evans made two free throws with 0.8 seconds left and Florida State beat in-state rival Miami 65-64 on Tuesday night to extend its win streak against the Hurricanes to eight games.

Anthony Polite had 12 points and eight rebounds and Evans finished with 11 points for Florida State (9-5, 3-2 Atlantic Coast Conference).

Malik Osborne hit a 3-pointer late in the shot clock to give FSU a 63-61 lead with 27 seconds left. Moore missed a driving layup on the other end, but Jordan Miller grabbed the offensive rebound off his own missed put-back attempt and kicked it out to Moore in the corner for a 3 to give Miami a one-point lead with 7 seconds to go. Evans was fouled by Moore on a driving lay-up attempt and made the winning free throws.

The 6-foot-7 Cleveland — one of the top recruits in his class — scored seven consecutive Seminoles points before Alexander hit a 3-pointer — his first made 3 in ACC play this season — to give FSU a 52-50 lead with 8 minutes remaining. There were six lead changes and two ties from there.

The Hurricanes (13-4, 5-1), who were picked 12th in the 2021 preseason ACC poll, had won nine consecutive games, including a 76-74 win at then-No. 2 Duke last Saturday.

Moore finished with 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting, including 4 of 5 from 3-point range, and six assists for Miami. Kameron McGusty 17 points and nine rebounds.

McGusty made a layup and, 47 second later, hit a jumper about 6 minutes into the game to crack the 1,500-point plateau. The sixth-year senior, who scored 593 points in two seasons at Oklahoma before transferring to Miami in 2018, has 1,514 career points.

Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton coached at Miami from 1990 to 2000.

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