Hurricanes put Exclamation Point on Week with a 71-47 Victory over Florida State
There was no competition Sunday night at the raucous BankUnited Center. Three Hurricanes players scored double digits in No 25 Miami’s 71-47 win. Florida State head coach Leonard Hamilton, knowing his team is in a rebuilding year, sat back and smiled.
“This is the Hurricanes time,” he reflected.
Miami dominated the entire game and never allowed the Seminoles to lead. Florida State shot 30.8 percent and had 12 turnovers. Fueled by a sold-out home crowd, the Hurricanes showed that beating Duke on Wednesday was not a fluke. The top scorers were true senior leaders. Trey McKinney Jones had 15 points and three shots from beyond the arc. Kenny Kadji and Durand Scott both had 11 points.
Before halftime, the Seminoles came within two. The Hurricanes stood their ground and held Florida State to a nearly five minute scoring drought after the break.
Shane Larkin had eight points and nine rebounds, including one where he lost his shiny pink shoe against 7’1″ center Michael Ojo. Everyone seemed to get in on the fun. Larkin threw an alley-oop to true freshman Tonye Jekiri. McKinney Jones threw a similar play for Julian Gamble to dunk. The team had 19 assists compared to six by their rival.
“We’ve got a great team we’ve got great chemistry,” Kadji said.
Ian Miller led the Seminoles with 12 points off the bench. Michael Snaer, a starter and the lone senior who played for FSU, only scored four points.
Some might have feared that the emotional high after beating Duke was too much for this Hurricanes (15-3) team. However, Coach Jim Larranaga has proven again that he knows how to keep his players focused. Miami is now 6-0 in ACC play, but Larranaga refuses to get excited.
“The expression is, the past is history, the future is a mystery, but they call it the present ’cause it’s a gift. We want to stay in the present and stay focused on this gift we have been given, which is an opportunity to keep playing basketball together and hopefully continue to play very hard and very well,” he stated.
The rankings come out tomorrow and the Hurricanes should move up on the Associated Press Top 25 and make the jump onto the USA Today Coaches Poll.
The Hurricanes next opponent is on the road at 9 p.m. Wednesday at Virginia Tech.
