ATLANTA – Florida State made the big 3-pointers early and built a lead.
But with the cushion dwindling late in the second half, FSU made the clutch shots to finish off Miami.
Michael Snaer scored 20 points and Ian Miller had 18 points as No. 17 FSU held off Miami 82-71 late Friday night in an ACC Tournament quarterfinal game.
The Seminoles had five players score in double figures to reverse the trend of two straight first-round exits in the ACC Tournament.
"The last two years we were 0-1 in the tournament and it was kind of embarrassing," said FSU senior guard Luke Loucks, who had 14 points. "We came in with the attitude, 'We're not going home tonight.' It doesn't matter what Miami does, they are a great team but we weren't going to lose that game."
FSU (22-9) strengthened its case for a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament when the Selection Committee makes its announcement Sunday evening.
The Seminoles will advance to play No. 6 Duke in an ACC semifinal on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. North Carolina will play N.C. State in the first semifinal.
Malcolm Grant had 19 points and Shane Larkin added 16 points for Miami (19-12), which could have made a convincing argument to be in the NCAA Tournament with a win over FSU. But now the Hurricanes will be on the edge of their seats on Sunday as they await the announcement.
The Hurricanes were shorthanded from the start without leading scorer Durand Scott, who averages 12.9 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. Scott was declared ineligible for receiving impermissible benefits, and Miami is seeking his immediate reinstatement.
"We've been in that type of situation before," said Grant, referencing center Reggie Johnson's prior suspension in the regular season. "We told him (Durand) that we had his back and we would go out and play our hardest for him."
The Hurricanes did just that in the second half. FSU built a 36-27 halftime lead by making seven 3-pointers, including two apiece by Snaer and Loucks.
But Miami made six 3-pointers in the second half as it chipped away at FSU's lead. Kenny Kadji's jumper with 4:10 left in the game cut the FSU lead to 62-59, but Miami couldn't close the deficit.
"I thought we gave ourselves a chance in the second half when we cut the lead to 62-59," Miami coach Jim Larranaga said. "And Florida State stepped it up and we were not able to finish as well as we would have liked."
FSU made 16 of 18 free-throw attempts in the final 3:01 of the game to finish off Miami. Loucks made eight free-throw attempts in that stretch as FSU led by double figures in the final minute of the game.
"I feel very fortunate we were able to come away with a victory because we kept hitting our free throws down the stretch and kept the lead," FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said.
FSU had little time for celebration, as players quickly hit the cold tub at midnight and will try to grab some sleep. The turnaround is a short one, as FSU finished off Miami at 11:45 p.m. Friday and will tip off against Duke less than 16 hours later.
Snaer immediately pictured North Carolina defeating N.C. State in the early semifinal, with the FSU-Duke winner facing the Tar Heels on Sunday.
Regardless of what happens between UNC and N.C. State, Round 3 of FSU-Duke promises to be appointment viewing for not just fans of both programs but all of college basketball.
The teams split the regular-season matchups, with Snaer knocking down a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to win 76-73 at Duke in January, while Andre Dawkins had 22 points and Austin Rivers had 20 points as Duke took a 74-66 win in February in Tallahassee.
"We know that they want another crack at North Carolina and we know we want to make history, so it's going to be a big game for both of us," Snaer said. "… I think we know we have a tremendous opportunity to do something great. My teammates have confidence in our ability and we know we need all of our pieces in order to win."
