Caleb Mills scored 19 points and RayQuan Evans added 15 as Florida State posted a 76-71 road win over Syracuse on Saturday.
Wyatt Wilkes pitched in 11 points for the Seminoles (10-5, 4-2 ACC), who shot 54.9 percent from the field and a sparkling 12 of 20 from 3-point range. Mills was 5 of 6 from long distance, while Wilkes drained 3 of 6 from beyond the arc.
Buddy Boeheim had 18 points and Cole Swider chipped in 17 for Syracuse (8-9, 2-4), which snapped Florida State’s 25-game homecourt ACC winning streak last month and had a chance to take the lead late in this one.
With the Orange trailing by one with nine seconds left, Jimmy Boeheim had a contested shot in the lane bounce off the rim. The Seminoles’ Anthony Polite then found Matthew Cleveland downcourt for the breakaway slam.
With 3.9 seconds left, Joe Girard III quickly threw a long inbounds pass downcourt that was intercepted by Evans, who made two foul shots to seal the victory.
Florida State began to create some separation early in the second half, and the visitors opened a 59-52 lead with just under 12 minutes to play. However, Syracuse responded with 10 straight points, highlighted by 3-pointers from Swider and Buddy Boeheim.
Shortly thereafter, Mills tied the game with a 3-pointer and then knocked down another to give the Seminoles a 67-64 lead with 4:56 to go.
Buddy Boeheim converted a tough floater with 3:04 left to pull the Orange within a point, but Wilkes’ 3-pointer on the other end returned the momentum to the Seminoles, who went on to win for the fifth time in six games.
Syracuse led 28-18 with 4:44 left until intermission, but Wilkes and Mills each knocked down a 3-pointer in the final 90 seconds to get the Seminoles within 37-36 at the break.
Both teams shot better than 50 percent from the field in the first half (Florida State 53.8, Syracuse 54.2). Girard, who scored 11 first-half points to lead all players, did not score in the second half.
–Field Level Media
