No. 8 FSU (20-3, 10-2) beat rival Miami (11-12, 3-10) by a score of 99-81 on Saturday afternoon to complete the season sweep of the ‘Canes.

Game Recap

Within the first 1:02 of the game, the Seminoles had committed two turnovers and two fouls to put themself in a quick 5-0 hole. After Keith Stone’s second three of the entire year, the ‘Noles went down 10-2 three minutes into the game. Rayquan Evans got the Seminoles’ offense going with a three-pointer and an assist to Dominik Olejniczak. A Patrick Williams’ three pointer cut the Miami lead to 14-12 at the first media timeout of the game.

Wyatt Wilkes gave the ‘Noles their first lead of the game with FSU’s third made three in their first six attempts. FSU went into the U-12 media timeout with a 19-16 lead after a vicious put-back slam from Evans. The Florida State bench scored 20 of FSU’s first 22 points after Wilkes drained another three as he posted eight quick points in three minutes off the bench.

After the U-8 media timeout, Wilkes provided another spark off the bench with his third three of the half. After a Trent Forrest steal, Devin Vassell slammed home an alley-oop for his first points of the game.

M.J. Walker drained a three from nearly half-court that sparked a 7-point run for the junior, giving FSU a 39-36 lead at the last media timeout of the half. Florida State went into the locker rooms with a 50-47 lead after shooting 58.1% from the field and 50% from deep for the half. Miami kept it close with hot shooting of their own, shooting 52% from the floor. FSU got 27 bench points, led by Wilkes’ 11 first half points. Walker led the way with 12 points, as he was the only ‘Nole to play more than 12 minutes in the half. The ‘Noles and ‘Canes exchanged the lead 15 times in the half.

FSU extended their lead to seven by the first media timeout of the half behind three-pointers from Vassell and Malik Osborne. After a slow first half, Vassell put up seven points within the first 4:10 of the second. FSU extended their lead to double digits for the first time with 12:50 remaining in the game on a Forrest reverse layup. An 8-3 run gave FSU the a 70-60 lead at the u-12 media timeout. Through the first nine minutes of the half, the ‘Noles out-rebounded Miami 11-3.

The ‘Noles maintained their 10-point lead at the U-8 media timeout despite a quick 7-0 UM run. Easy layups for for Anthony Polite and Evans gave FSU a 77-67 lead with 7:11 remaining. A Williams three and Vassell fast-break layup pushed the Seminoles’ lead to 14 as Miami called their third timeout of the game with 5:57 remaining. A vicious slam from Williams followed by a drawn charge on Wong all but ended the game as FSU went into the last media timeout of the game up 18. The green Vipers put the exclamation point on the game as Travis light drained back-to-back threes to give FSU a 99-81 win.

Post Game

After a close overtime win at Miami earlier this season, FSU was out to prove a point on Saturday afternoon against their rivals. With the ‘Noles upcoming road test at Duke on Monday, it was important for FSU to spare their starters a few minutes and they did just that. Walker was the only starter to play more than 24 minutes on the night. Florida State finished the night with five guys in double digits. The ‘Noles shot 53% from the field and 50% from deep as they drained 13 three’s. FSU also out-rebound the Hurricanes 46-24.

Walker and Williams led the way with 14 each. Forrest also added 10 points, 6 assists, and 6 boards on the night. Vassell added 13 points, five boards, and three assists.

FSU travels to Duke for a top-10 matchup on Monday night at 7:00 PM.

Jim Larranaga talked about the Hurricanes inability to defend FSU and notes that Patrick Williams is special:

Coach Ham touched on a variety of subjects including the defensive adjustments made at halftime, a rather candid opinion of his dislike of Saturday/Monday turnarounds, the maturation process of his young guys, and more. One of his more interesting interviews this year:

Patrick Williams gives a great interview and discusses things like whether there’s extra motivation to playing Duke in his home state and what stat he’d most like to pile up:

Devin Vassell, as always, has some great insight into the team’s adjustments, building confidence, and more.

Game thread

Box Score