by Bill from Tampa
Leonard Hamilton called it your everyday ACC blowout after his Seminoles held off the Clemson Tigers 71-66.
It started out to be a runaway, though, as Florida State built a 16 point lead just ten minutes into the game.
Holding a 38-25 halftime lead and just minutes into the final period, a series of fouls that put both Kiel Turpin and Michael Snaer on the bench after picking up their third each of the game and a turnover by Ian Miller put the Tigers back in the game, 41-33.
Despite stretching out the lead back to twelve, Clemson chipped away closing the score to 55-52 at the 6:38 mark on Jordon Roper's three pointer from the left corner.
Terry Whisnant's three and Snaer's two free throws sandwiched around a Clemson basket moved the lead back to five. But Roper's three from the left wing closed it again to three, 60-57, with plenty of time remaining.
But the Seminoles did enough on both ends of the floor to hold off Clemson even after the Tigers closed it to three points four more times over the last 3:26.
After Milton Jennings sank a three with 4.5 seconds left to make it 69-63, Terrence Shannon's two from the stripe a second later sealed the victory for the Seminoles.
It might not have come down to those final free throws when a half minute earlier Devon Bookert was fouled sending him to the line for two shots. However, the officials went to the replay monitor and determined Bookert had committed a flagrant foul, hitting the Clemson defender in the face with his elbow, giving C.U. two free throws and the ball.
Bookert made just one of two but Adonis Filer returned the favor, also making just one of two.
On the ensuing possession, K.J. McDaniel missed a layup and a tip in by Devin Booker was also no good.
Clemson got the offensive rebound for a second time when the ball went out of bounds off FSU. The inbound pass was picked off, though, by Okaro White who was fouled by Jennings, starting the string of six trips to the line bt FSU.
A steal by Miller and a blocked shot by Shannon eliminated two opportunities to score by the Tigers.
Fortunately the Tigers were not particularly good from the stripe, connecting on just 16 of 30 attempts.
The Seminole defense was also up to the task, holding Clemson to under 39% from the floor, while shooting 44% themselves.
The win at Littlejohn was just the second victory by a Hamilton team in the coaches' eleven years at Florida State. Hamilton said that was a motivating factor coming into the game.
It was also Hamilton's 210th ACC victory, allowing the head coach to pass Jim Valvano for 13th place on the all time ACC victories list.
Hamilton was very pleased with his team's energy and mental focus in holding off the Tigers on their home court, especially after the disappointing loss at Auburn.
Commenting on a somewhat shaky start to the second half, and Hamilton noting the adjustments Clemson made that confused his point guard Montay Brandon, the coach added, "We did just enough to come away with the victory."
"We showed mental focus, energy and intensity ..... we were unselfish."
That was reflected in the 16 assists FSU racked up.
Key in the win were two freshman, where Hamilton noted the contributions of Boris Bojanovsky (3 rebounds, 4 points, and a lot of hustle) and Aaron Thomas (four assists).
Though his line in the box score looks sparse, Bookert's composure down the stretch was a factor as well.
"I was especially pleased with our young guys," said Hamilton. "They didn't look like freshmen."
The Seminoles were led by White's 15 points and 7 boards and was accompanied in double figures by Whisnant and Shannon, both with 11 points. Shannon added 8 rebounds.
For Clemson, they were led by Booker with 19 points on 8 of 11 shooting.
And somewhat amazingly Hamilton was not displeased with that, saying the defense did about as good a job defensively on Booker as they could have done.
"We made him work for those 19 points."
The victory was also the first win in a conference opener for the 'Noles in eight seasons.
Florida State (9-5, 1-0) will end its three game road trip heading to Maryland for an 8 PM tip on Wednesday night. The Seminoles have never won in the Comcast Center.
If the Seminoles are to be successful they will have to defeat a red hot Terrapin team. Maryland is on a thirteen game winning streak against a narrow opening season loss to Kentucky and is also 1-0 in the ACC after easily knocking off Georgia Tech on Saturday.
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