Miami Hurricanes drop to 4-11, remain in last place in ACC after 80-65 home loss to FSU

The first half was winding down, the Miami Hurricanes trailed FSU by 16 points, and the Seminoles fans scattered around the Watsco Center Wednesday night broke into their haunting familiar war chant, making it feel like an FSU home game.

Their chant got louder as the game wore on and the Noles’ lead grew.

It was that kind of night for the Hurricanes, who remain winless and in last place in the ACC through four games after an 80-65 loss to the Seminoles.

Miami dropped to 4-11 for the season and 0-3 under interim coach Bill Courtney, who took over after Jim Larranaga’s abrupt retirement on Dec. 26. It was the seventh time in a row FSU beat UM in Coral Gables.

The Seminoles improved to 11-4 and 2-2 in the ACC.

Once again, the Hurricanes were unable to overcome the Seminoles’ size, depth and relentless defense that FSU coach Leonard Hamilton has become known for during his career, which included 10 years at Miami.

Five Florida State players stood 6-10 or taller. Miami has one. Fifteen FSU players got into the game, compared to 10 for Miami. FSU had eight steals, seven blocks and held a 20-3 edge in points off turnovers. On the offensive end, the Seminoles played unselfishly, dishing out a season-high 26 assists.

“We had our chances, we kept playing hard, but they just took advantage of our mistakes,” Courtney said.

UM’s many mistakes were costly.

Miami went on a 9-0 run and cut the deficit to six points, 56-50, with 10 minutes to go on a Paul Djobet layup. The UM fans, who were quiet most of the game, briefly came to life.

The Hurricanes had a fast-break opportunity off a steal by UM guard Matt Cleveland against his former FSU teammates, but Djobet’s driving layup was blocked, FSU got the defensive rebound and turned that into an alley-oop dunk on the other end by Jerry Deng.

The Seminoles proceeded to go on a 15-1 run over the next three minutes to open a 20-point lead while Miami went on scoring drought. Freshman Austin Swartz turned the ball over twice during that critical stretch. Players rushed shots. FSU led by as many as 25 with three minutes to go and its bench remained energized as many dejected Hurricanes fans filed out of the building.

“They got that dunk and it went from a chance to cut it to four with all the momentum going in our direction to them now going up eight,” Courtney said. “That makes it very, very difficult when those swings happen.”

Hamilton was pleased to see his team respond and clamp down defensively and shoot well when Miami threatened to make a game of it.

“We regrouped mentally, the kids were encouraging and challenging each other, saying things like `We’re better than this,’ and then we put some fresh bodies out there and they executed,” Hamilton said. “At that point [Miami] had cut the lead down with a lot of effort, but I though our fresh group had a little bit more energy.”

One of the big questions heading into the game was how Cleveland would perform. Cleveland transferred to Miami from FSU before last season and had mixed results against the Seminoles last season.

Last year, he shot 1-for-8 against the Seminoles at the Watsco Center and finished with two points in 36 minutes. Coming off back-to-back 21-point games against Boston College and Virginia Tech, Cleveland had a slow start on Wednesday, shooting 1-of-4 for two points in the first half, missing all three of his three-point attempts, and he had no assists. He did contribute five first-half rebounds.

He got stronger in the second half and finished with a team-high 16 points but he went 1-for-5 from beyond the arc and 3-for-9 from the free throw line. Djobet had 13 points. Center Lynn Kidd was held scoreless in the first half and wound up with eight points and seven rebounds.

Freshman starting guard Jalil Bethea had an off night, going 0-for-6 in 22 minutes with his only points coming off three free throws.

“He’s a freshman; a very talented player, but he still has a lot to learn,” Courtney said. “He’s gotten so much better. He’s controlling his emotions...He tries to do too much.”

Forward Malique Ewin led the Seminoles with 20 points of 10-of-14 shooting and had a game-high 10 rebounds. Taylor Bol Bowen added 16 points and Jamir Watkins, who was averaging 21 points, chipped in 10.

Hamilton said that while the game in Coral Gables was “a business trip”, he enjoyed re-connecting with friends from his days coaching the Hurricanes.

“The University of Miami will always hold a very special place in my heart,” he said. “Y’all lost a fine man, Jim Larranaga, a man with tremendous morals. I’m so impressed with the fact he had the courage to stand on his convictions. He probably said what most coaches would like to say, but probably won’t.”

Despite UM’s record, Courtney and Cleveland remain optimistic.

“We’re right there,” Cleveland said. “We’re a couple plays away. If we really lock in at practice and that the preparation super seriously, the results will start turning.”

“We’ve come out the last three games ready to play,” Courtney said. “The previous two games we had leads that we let get away. We have to continue to fight. Nobody’s feeling sorry for us. We’ve been good for so long, people are taking their shots at us now and we have to respond to that in the correct way, respond together and not fall apart.”

Note: Freshman guard Divine Ugochukwu, who started Wednesday’s game, left with a hip injury. Courtney said he did not know when he would be ready to return.

The Hurricanes are home again Saturday against Wake Forest (5:15 p.m.) and then play No. 4 Duke on the road Jan. 14.