Stellar second-half pushes FSU to win over Clemson
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BOX SCORE: Florida State 76, Clemson 65
This time, there was no second-half collapse. Or getting into foul trouble. Nor were there the long moments when Florida State struggled to score or encountered problems while trying to defend.
FSU, after blowing a 10-point lead against Pittsburgh a week ago, shot 58 percent in the second half Saturday and cruised to a 76-65 win over Clemson at the Civic Center.
All of a sudden, the Seminoles (14-7, 4-5 ACC) have won four of their last six conference games as they enter a daunting yet vital February.
"We don't have the luxury of looking too far ahead," Seminoles coach Leonard Hamilton said. "We do realize that we went through a very tough stretch. ... Now that we got a chance to play at home, we cannot afford to slip up and not take advantage of it."
Turnovers limited the Seminoles early in the second half. FSU, which had five turnovers in the first half, had four in the opening three minutes of the second. It allowed for Clemson (13-8, 6-3) to take a 41-40 lead with 12:52 remaining.
FSU's Malik Beasley responded by gliding with ease to the rim for a 42-41 edge on the next play. Beasley's basket gave the Seminoles some momentum, and it only grew stronger when Benji Bell hit a 3-pointer for a 48-44 lead with 10:09 left.
Bell, who scored eight points, then forced a steal and the ran the length of the floor before serving an alley-oop that Beasley finished for a 52-46 lead with 9:10 left. The dunk capped an FSU run of scoring on six straight shots, prompting Clemson to call a timeout.
"This was a tie game with 13 minutes to go on the road," Clemson coach Brad Brownell said. "We were in a position, even not playing great, to have a chance. But Florida State wouldn't let up. They weren't going to give in. They finished the job and played well. They just beat us."
FSU ended the game by scoring on 12 of its last 18 attempts.
Dwayne Bacon, who was 5 of 16 with 10 points in an 84-75 loss at Clemson on Jan. 2, paced FSU early. He went 6 of 10 for 15 points in the first half and finished the game with 21 points and tied for a team-high six rebounds.
Beasley chipped in with 16 points while Xavier Rathan-Mayes contributed 10 as the Seminoles had five players finish with at least eight points.
"Defense, we turned up the defense," is how Beasley explained his team's offensive performance in the second half. "[Devon] Bookert did a great job of pressuring the ball."
Bookert also drew praise from Hamilton as well.
The senior guard finished with nine points, five assists and five rebounds, yet his greatest impact was on defense. Bookert recorded three steals, and the Seminoles finished the game with 13.
Senior center Boris Bojanovsky accounted for two steals and a team-high three blocks. FSU had nine blocks as a team.
"We played great defense throughout the game, but we had some mistakes," Bojanovsky said. "We've just got to work on it to make ourselves more consistent. From close-outs to rebounds to box-outs. We're coming up."
The Seminoles get an extremely brief respite before hosting North Carolina State at 9 p.m. Monday. FSU's run of four wins in its last six began with an 85-78 win over the Wolfpack on Jan. 13 at PNC Arena in Raleigh, N.C.
Hamilton's hope is his team does not get complacent because it defeated N.C. State earlier in the month.
"I think sometimes when you lose a basketball game, you cannot allow yourself to get too down," Hamilton said. "You've got to go back and grind ... and try to recover. Sometimes, it's just as difficult when you have a little success. You've got to handle that equally as well as you're growing and maturing."
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