Florida State's Xavier Rathan-Mayes scored 30 points in the final 4:38, and even that wasn't enough to beat the Miami Hurricanes.Hector Gabino/The Associated Press
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 from Scarborough, Ont., 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).
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 per cent 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.