Florida State wins 5th straight against Louisville, 79-70

Updated Jan. 8, 2022 10:58 p.m. ET

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Caleb Mills matched a career high with 27 points and Florida State held off Louisville's late rally for a 79-70 victory on Saturday night.

Florida State (8-5, 2-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) has beaten Louisville (10-5, 4-1) in five straight games, the best in the series that dates to 1968. The Cardinals ended a three-game win streak and dropped a game back of ACC-leader Miami, which upset No. 2 Duke earlier in the day.

Freshman Matthew Cleveland, who entered averaging 9.9 points, finished with 17 points for the Seminoles.

El Ellis scored 14 points to lead the Cardinals. Samuell Williamson added 13 points and Mason Faulkner 12.

Louisville trailed by 14 with about 16 minutes remaining and used a 21-9 run to pull to 63-61 with 4:42 left. Faulkner had five points to lead six who scored for the Cardinals during the stretch.

But a 9-2 surge, capped by Cleveland’s 3-pointer, pushed the Seminoles' advantage to 72-63 with 1:59 to play.

Mills scored 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting and made three 3-pointers in the first half as the Seminoles built a 50-40 halftime lead.

Florida State shot 46% (27 of 59) from the floor overall but just 61% (17 of 28) from the free-throw line. The Cardinals shot 41% (24 of 59) and weren’t much better at the line, hitting 70% (14 of 20).

Florida State will look to end Miami's nine-game win streak when the Hurricane's visit Tallahassee on Tuesday. Louisville hosts North Carolina State on Wednesday.

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Caleb Mills

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