Miami Hurricanes fall at FSU in final regular season game vs. ex-coach Leonard Hamilton
The University of Miami men's basketball team (6-20, 2-13 ACC) faced a 74-66 setback to the Florida State Seminoles (16-10, 7-8 ACC) Wednesday night at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center.
Center Lynn Kidd recorded his sixth double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Hurricanes in both categories.
The game marked what will likely be the final time Florida State coach and former Hurricanes coach Leonard Hamilton would face his former team before he retires at the end of this season. Hamilton coached at Miami from 1990-2000 and led the Hurricanes to the NCAA Tournament three times including a Sweet 16 appearance his final season.
Hurricanes' senior Matthew Cleveland also played his final regular season against FSU, his former team.
The Hurricanes shared the ball extremely well in the first half, totaling 10 assists on 11 made field goals. Six different Miami players recorded a bucket in the first 20 minutes, paced by Kidd who scored eight points on 4-of-4 shooting.
The first half featured five ties and three lead changes with neither team shooting better than 45 percent from the field. Redshirt junior A.J. Staton-McCray sunk two free throws with 23 seconds remaining the in the half to tie the game at 31 at the halftime break.
Miami and Florida State traded buckets to open the second half with neither team leading by more than four points through the first 10 minutes of the frame.
Florida State's AJ Swinton connected on a 3-pointer at the 9:20 mark to spark a 10-2 run for the Seminoles and put them ahead by eight, 55-47 with eight minutes to play. Miami freshman Divine Ugochukwu cut the Seminoles' lead to five, 67-62, with 56 seconds remaining in the game, but Florida State knocked down critical free throws down the stretch to secure the 74-66 victory.
Miami returns to the Watsco Center on Saturday to host the Virginia Tech Hokies. Tipoff in Coral Gables, Fla., is set for 6 p.m. and the game will air on ACC Network.
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