Cleveland's double-double helps FSU beat Notre Dame 73-72
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Matthew Cleveland hit 3 of 4 from 3-point range and finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds, Caleb Mills and Cameron Corhen scored 18 points apiece and Darin Green Jr. stole a pass in the closing seconds to help Florida State beat Notre Dame 73-72 Wednesday night.
Cleveland hit three free throws to open the second half and made a pair of 3-pointers just 44 seconds apart to make it 51-46 with 15:51 to play and Florida State (4-10, 2-1 ACC) led the rest of the way.
JJ Starling, a 6-foot-4 freshman guard, made 7 of 11 from the field, 2 of 3 from 3-point range and 4 of 4 from the free-throw line and finished with 20 points and three steals for Notre Dame (7-5, 0-2). Cormac Ryan added 17 points, Nate Laszewski scored 12 and Wertz 10.
Corhen made a jumper that gave the Seminoles a seven-point lead with two minutes remaining, but Starling made a jumper followed by two free throws and then a layup to trim Notre Dame's deficit to 73-72 with 37 seconds to go. FSU's Green air-balled a 3-point shot as the shot clock expired with 6.5 seconds left but then stole an errant pass from Trey Wertz and dribbled out the clock.
The Seminoles committed a season-low five turnovers.
Notre Dame hit four of its nine 3-pointers in a 22-6 first-half run that gave the Fighting Irish an 11-point lead when Ryan made two free throws to cap the spurt with 10:41 left. Mills scored nine points in an 18-6 run to make it 38-37 before Starling made a layup and Notre Dame took a one-point lead into intermission.
Notre Dame heads home to play Jacksonville on Tuesday before returning to ACC action against Miami on Dec. 30
Florida State plays at No. 14 Duke on New Year's Eve.
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