TALLAHASSEE — Florida State sent the winningest group of seniors in program history off with another win on Sunday afternoon.
A group that took the program from middle of the pack in the Atlantic Coast Conference — and one that hadn't been to the NCAA Tournament in a decade — walked off the floor in the final minutes for the last time knowing they had put an exclamation point on not just the regular season but their careers.
They finished with a fourth straight 20-win season, the first time in school history that Florida State has achieved the feat.
Undoubtedly, a fourth straight NCAA Tournament appearance is ahead no matter what happens in this week's ACC tournament.
And a season that includes 12 ACC victories, tying for the most conference wins since Florida State joined the ACC in 1991-92.
"I can't say enough about how pleased I am that we were able to win 12 games and tie the school record," Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton said. "It's a tremendous accomplishment."
Luke Loucks, Deividas Dulkys and Xavier Gibson have been there from the start, accumulating 91 wins on the way. Two more seniors — Bernard James and Jon Kreft — came in as junior-college transfers, and Jeff Peterson arrived as a graduate student transfer before this year.
"Luke, Xavier and Deividas — those guys they built this program up from nothing," James said. "I came in last year and was able to help get us to the Sweet 16, a place we hadn't been to in a long time. We're looking to go past that this year."
On Sunday, the Seminoles pulled away early and held off Clemson in the final minute to take an 80-72 win.
The seniors were a big reason why Florida State (21-9, 12-4 ACC) finished the regular season smiling. James had 13 points and 11 rebounds, Gibson had 13 points and eight rebounds, Loucks had 10 points and four assists.
And the seniors got a big push from junior Michael Snaer, who had a game-high 23 points and surpassed the 1,000-point mark.
"The theme before the game was that we would work our fannies off to try to send our seniors off on a positive note," Hamilton said. "And I think Michael was determined to do that."
Florida State's senior send-off included what just might be the best first-half 3-point shooting exhibition in the program's history. The Seminoles knocked down eight of 11 3-pointers, shooting 64 percent overall from the floor, as Florida State grabbed a 49-33 lead at halftime.
Clemson (16-14, 8-8) trailed by as many as 16, 56-40, with 14:36 left in the game and was still down by 10 with 3:38 to go. But the Tigers went on a 10-1 run, with freshman K.J. McDaniels' two free throws cutting Florida State's lead to 75-72 with 30 seconds left.
But Snaer then made two free throws and Loucks made three free throws in the final 18 seconds to seal the win.
"We dodged a bullet," Snaer said. "All the games in the ACC come down to the wire."
Florida State has made it a habit of winning these down-to-the-wire games, claiming three on buzzer-beating 3-pointers since the victory over Duke on Jan. 21.
And on Sunday, the Seminoles were able to show Clemson just how far they had come. It was Clemson that humbled Florida State 79-59 in the teams' ACC opener on Jan. 7. Since then, Florida State has won 12 of 15 games.
"A lot of people wrote us off," Snaer said. "Hopefully we're just now starting to play our best basketball."
Hamilton thinks so, too. He likes the chemistry that the players have, the bond that has been made. Players spent Saturday night together, with the seniors talking about how much the season have meant. The underclassmen likewise shared their appreciation for the veterans.
It was an emotional night, and the group took the energy into Sunday's game and finished off the regular season on a positive note.
"I couldn't be more proud of a bunch of guys," Hamilton said. "We still have a lot to play for. Maybe the best is yet to come."
