Florida State loses heartbreaker to No. 24 Clemson in final seconds
At the beginning, it looked like it was going to be the same story as Tuesday night.
The Florida State men’s basketball team was down 11-0 three minutes into the game and 16-2 barely five minutes in, and it looked as if the Seminoles were going to get blown out on their home court for the second straight game.
Instead, the Seminoles had their hearts broken as they fought back and went back and forth with the No. 24 Clemson Tigers all night before falling in the final seconds, 82-81, at the Tucker Center.
“That’s what good teams do,” Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton said. “They find ways to win close games. They make big shots, they make free throws, and that allows you to be the No. 1 team in the ACC.”
With the win, Clemson improves to 18-4 overall and 10-1 in the conference.
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After freshman Cameron Corhen made one of two from the free-throw line with 8.5 seconds left to put FSU up by two, Clemson guard Chase Hunter sprinted downcourt in a blur and converted an and-1 while being fouled by Matthew Cleveland.
Hunter made the subsequent free throw, Caleb Mills couldn’t get a shot off on the other end, and the Seminoles suffered a second straight home loss while Clemson celebrated its first win in Tallahassee since 2015.
Hunter finished with 26 points and Hunter Tyson led the Tigers with 27, including a season-high six 3-pointers.
Cleveland, who picked up his fifth foul in that final sequence against Hunter, led the Seminoles with 18 points. He scored 15 in the second half and made his last three 3-pointers after missing his first six. Mills had 15 and Darin Green Jr. added 14 for the Seminoles, who are now 7-15 overall and 5-6 in the ACC.
After Tuesday’s night shellacking at the hands of Miami, and then starting Saturday’s game down 16-2, it looked like the Seminoles were going to be run off their floor once again. Instead, boosted by Green’s three straight 3-pointers and some pivotal minutes from Baba Miller, Chandler Jackson and walk-on Sola Adebisi, Leonard Hamilton’s team not only fought back but actually took the lead on a Miller finish in the final minute of the first half.
“That was good to see the team bounce back like that,” Hamilton said. “I thought our guys stayed focused, maintained our poise, and gave us a chance to get back into the game. … Our inexperienced guys are starting to grow up a little bit. I thought they gave us a big boost.”:
The Seminoles actually extended the lead to 42-35 early in the second half as the defense kept Clemson without a made field goal for over nine minutes (going back to the final six minutes of the first half). But the Tigers didn’t stay cold.
They wound up scoring 47 points over the final 16:30 of the game, including those final three to win the game with 4.5 seconds left.
“I thought they made the winning plays, the hustle plays,” Hamilton said of the Tigers.
The Seminoles return to action Wednesday night in Raleigh against N.C. State.
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