Matthew Cleveland’s 3-pointer at the buzzer completed an incredible comeback as visiting Florida State shocked No. 13 Miami 85-84 on Saturday afternoon at Coral Gables, Fla.
Cleveland received a pass at halfcourt and launched the winner as he was between the midcourt line and the 3-point arc.
The Seminoles trailed by 25 points just 13 seconds into the second half and then withstood a back-and-forth finishing stretch to knock Miami out of first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference — at least temporarily. The Hurricanes also saw their seven-game winning streak come to an end.
Cleveland and Darin Green Jr. both scored 20 points for Florida State (9-20, 7-11 ACC), which avenged a 23-point home loss from last month. Caleb Mills had 13 points, including several clutch contributions late in the game, and Jalen Warley collected 11 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals. Chandler Jackson added 10 points off the bench.
Despite the big deficit, Florida State stormed into the lead with about six minutes to play.
Jordan Miller’s 21 points paced Miami (23-6, 14-5), which was hurt by 12 turnovers. He added seven rebounds and three steals. Norchad Omier had 15 points and eight rebounds, Isaiah Wong provided 14 points, Bensley Joseph posted 12 points, seven rebounds and five assists, and Wooga Poplar had 11 points.
The Hurricanes failed to win despite shooting 53.1 percent from the field. Florida State finished at 52.4 percent.
Florida State made a move to cut its hole nearly in half, but it trailed 68-55 before an 11-0 run.
Mills later put the Seminoles on top 71-70 with a drive at the 6:01 mark. Then there were six lead changes with the margin never more than one point in either team’s favor.
Mills made a free throw for a 78-76 edge with 3:08 left, and Cleveland’s steal and dunk stretched the advantage.
Wong responded with a 3-pointer. Then the teams combined for three possessions without a point until Omier’s putback of Miller’s miss gave Miami an 81-80 lead with 39 seconds left.
Mills scored after a timeout and the Seminoles appeared to have a critical defensive stop.
Miami’s offensive rebound led to Miller’s 3-pointer with six seconds left before Cleveland’s heroics.
Miami led 54-31 at halftime and Miller scored the first basket of the second half.
–Field Level Media
