Tallahassee, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - Montay Brandon scored 12 of his 18 points in the second half to help Florida State edge No. 23 Miami-Florida, 55-54, on Sunday.
The Seminoles (12-10, 4-5 ACC) trailed by 11 at the break but gradually chipped away at that deficit in the second half before Kiel Turpin's jumper with 1:41 to go accounted for the final margin.
Sheldon McClellan led the Hurricanes (14-7, 4-4) with 13 points and Davon Reed added 11. Miami scored its last points of the game with 3:46 to go and missed its last three shots.
After struggling for much of the first half, Florida State's offense got in gear and hit its last three shots before the break to cut Miami's lead to 36-25.
The Seminoles carried that momentum into the second half with four straight makes to pull within 38-34. Brandon scored nine straight points for FSU in its 11-4 run to start the half.
"That really got them going," said Miami coach Jim Larranaga. "They were behind at the half by 11 and the lead evaporated right away."
Tonye Jekiri's jumper with nine minutes to play put the Hurricanes back up six, but they would enter a long dry spell the remainder of the game. FSU scored the next six points to tie the game, getting a three-point play from Jarquez Smith on an emphatic dunk.
On their next possession, the Seminoles took their first lead since early in the game on Xavier Rathan-Mayes' layup. McClellan responded with a basket to briefly put the Hurricanes back in front, but they did not score again.
"We kept our energy up coming out of halftime," said Turpin. "We knew that defensively, we had to make a lot more stops."
Miami had a chance to take the lead with the shot clock turned off, but the game ended with a contested McClellan shot after several indecisive seconds of play from the Hurricanes.
The Hurricanes' defense was the difference in the first half. After Robbie Berwick's 3 gave the Seminoles a 13-11 lead 7 1/2 minutes into the game, it would take until the 1:53 mark to hit their next shot from the floor. In the interim, FSU committed six turnovers and allowed the Hurricanes to build a 16- point lead.
Game Notes
Florida State improves to 42-32 in the all-time series and 28-7 at home ... These teams meet again in Miami on Feb. 25 ... The Seminoles are 6-0 against in-state opponents this season ... This is the first time since 2008-09 FSU has beaten both Miami and Florida ... The Hurricanes were 10-1 when leading at the half and 13-1 when shooting above 40 percent ... Miami takes the court again Tuesday against Louisville while Florida State wraps up a three-game homestand Wednesday against Clemson.
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