FSU dominates 2nd half in win over Miami

For the third straight game, Florida State played on the road against a team which was doing everything in their power to grind the game to a halt. Georgia Tech, Syracuse, and Miami are all at their best playing a crawling tempo, and they went out of their way to slow the game even more than usual as a way to neutralize FSU’s depth.

Tonight, it looked like Miami was going to join Tech and Syracuse by picking up a big home win. With less than a minute left in the first half, the Hurricanes led 34-27, in what to that point was a sluggish 27-possession affair.

On the following possession Jarquez Smith hit the first of two free throws, and Terance Mann battled for the offensive board, finding Xavier Rathan-Mayes for a three.

Suddenly it’s 34-31, which is where the half would end.

We didn’t know it at the time, but that was the start of complete domination by Florida State.

Beginning with the Smith free throw, the Seminoles would outscore the Hurricanes 46-17 in a 19-minute stretch.

After a line change in the final minute, Miami scored six quick points to make the final 75-57.

Jonathan Isaac continued his excellent play with 15 points, seven rebounds, and three steals. Dwayne Bacon got off to a slow start, but made some impressive plays in the 2nd half to finish with 15. XRM was great at the point, scoring 13 to go along with four assists. Terance Mann scored 11.

FSU now returns home for a couple of games, beginning with Clemson on Sunday.