CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The No. 9-ranked Florida State Seminoles forced 24 turnovers, including three in a row in overtime, and rallied from a nine-point deficit in the final 4:33 of regulation Saturday to earn their ninth consecutive victory by beating Miami 83-79.
Sophomore Devin Vassell set a career high for the second consecutive game by leading Florida State with 23 points while adding 11 rebounds and five assists. His two free throws with six seconds left sealed the win.
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M.J. Walker added 19 points in 23 minutes for the Seminoles, who won despite shooting 42 percent and committing 16 turnovers. Malik Osborne's three-point play put them ahead to stay with 2:25 left in overtime, 74-71.
Florida State (16-2, 6-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), which began the day tied with No. 3 Duke for the league lead, beat Miami for the fourth time in a row. The Hurricanes (10-7, 2-5 ACC) lost in league play at home for the third time.
Chris Lykes had 24 points but also six turnovers for the Hurricanes. Their turnover total was a season high.
The Hurricanes had to call a timeout when they were trapped on the game's first possession. They blew a dunk, threw up air balls and had 10 shots blocked.
But Miami stayed in the game early with a strong defensive effort of its own. DJ Vasiljevic sank a 3-pointer and then scored on a breakaway to give the Hurricanes their biggest lead with 5:20 remaining, 65-56.
Walker's three free throws cut the spread to 65-61, and his 3-pointer with 40 seconds left in regulation tied the game at 69.
Following a Miami turnover, Trent Forrest missed a 15-footer with 1 second to go, forcing overtime.
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One more sign the Seminoles win with defense: Their winning streak includes four victories while shooting less than 44 percent.
The addition of Hurricanes freshman Anthony Walker to the rotation gave them more depth. Walker, who sat out the past two games because coach Jim Larranaga was unhappy with his effort, played 13 minutes and had three rebounds.
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The Seminoles return home to play Notre Dame on Saturday. They are 2-3 against the Fighting Irish in the past three years.
The Hurricanes play Tuesday at Duke, which won 95-62 when the teams met Jan. 4. It was Larranaga’s worst home loss in nine years at Miami.
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