Rodriguez scores 25 and Miami beats Florida State 81-77

Rodriguez scores 25 and Miami beats Florida State 81-77

Published Feb. 25, 2015 11:38 p.m. ET

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) The Miami Hurricanes built an 18-point lead and survived the late heroics of Florida State's Xavier Rathan-Mayes to win 81-77 on Wednesday.

Rathan-Mayes scored 30 points in the final 4:38. He shot 8 for 10 during the stretch, including six 3-pointers, and the freshman finished with 35 points to tie his career high.

Angel Rodriguez snapped a shooting slump by scoring 25 points for the Hurricanes, who made 14 of 16 free throws in the final 2:51 to hang onto their lead. Davon Reed's two free throws with two seconds left sealed the victory.

The Hurricanes (18-10, 8-7 Atlantic Coast Conference) won for the third time in the past four games and avenged a one-point loss earlier this month at Florida State (15-14, 7-9).

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The Seminoles trailed 62-44 before Rathan-Mayes scored 19 points in a span of 3:05, cutting the deficit to 69-63 with 1:33 to go. He converted a four-point play with 1:03 left to trim Miami's lead to 73-70.

Rathan-Mayes scored 26 consecutive Florida State points without missing a shot before a 3-pointer by the Seminoles' Robbie Berwick - his only basket - made it 76-73 with 21 seconds to go. The Hurricanes sank seven free throws in the final 30 seconds to maintain their lead.

Rathan-Mayes finished 10 for 19, including 6 for 11 from 3-point range. The Seminoles went 10 for 21 on 3s but were outrebounded 37-23.

Rodriguez began the night shooting 28 percent in league games, but he shot 8 for 14, and in the final 2:51 he went 7 for 8 at the line.

Sheldon McClellan added 19 points and Reed 18 for Miami. Tonye Jekiri had 12 points and 11 rebounds for his ninth double-double of the season.

The Hurricanes missed their first seven 3-point attempts before Reed sank a 3 to start a 9-0 run for a 27-20 lead late in the first half. They never trailed again.

Rodriguez banked in a shot on a drive for a 39-32 lead. McClellan made a steal and layup to put Miami ahead 55-42, and he scored on consecutive possessions to build the margin to 18 before Rathan-Mayes took over the game.

TIP-INS

Florida State: The Seminoles are 37 for 77 (48 percent) on 3s in the past five games.

Miami: McClellan scored in double figures for the sixth game in a row.

UP NEXT

Florida State plays host to No. 17 Louisville on Saturday. It will be the Cardinals' first game in Tallahassee since 1991.

Miami plays host to No. 15 North Carolina on Saturday. The Hurricanes have three victories this season over ranked teams.

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