Cleveland buzzer-beater helps FSU finish historic comeback at No. 13 Miami
Florida State men's basketball looked destined for another blowout loss at Miami.
The Seminoles were listless defensively, ineffective offensively and appeared disinterested in trying to keep competitive against the rival Hurricanes, trailing by 25 points early in the second half.
That made what came next pretty shocking. The Seminoles stunningly came all the way back, starting the second half on a 40-16 run to take their first lead of the game with 5:56 left.
After a back-and-forth battle over the final few minutes, it looked like that comeback was going to come up just short when Miami's Jordan Miller hit a three-pointer to give the Hurricanes an 84-82 lead with six seconds left.
Matthew Cleveland had another result in mind. Taking the ball from Jalen Warley just past midcourt, Cleveland swished a long three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Seminoles (9-20, 7-11 in ACC) a highly improbable 85-84 road win at No. 13 Miami (23-6, 14-5 in ACC).
"We work on last-second shots all the time. It didn't make sense for us to call a timeout because we knew that it would give them a chance to set their defense..." FSU head coach Leonard Hamilton told reporters after the win. "Matthew has a focus. I thought his body language, his energy, our kids fed off it. He had a different look in his eye. We missed him the last few days."
The 25-point comeback is the largest in an ACC game in conference history and the largest D-I comeback this season.
The win snapped Miami's seven-game winning streak and was UM's first home loss this season. It was FSU's fifth straight win at the Watsco Center and it also could cost the Hurricanes the regular-season ACC title. They entered the day in control of their own destiny, but this loss takes that out of their hands.
For Cleveland, it was his second heroic buzzer beater to win an ACC road game in as many seasons with the Seminoles. As a freshman last year, Cleveland hit another long three to give FSU a 64-63 win at Virginia.
The sophomore finished with 20 points, tied with Darin Green Jr. for the team lead. And it came in his first game back in action after Cleveland missed the previous two games due to back spasms.
A comeback for the ages
When FSU trailed 56-31 in the opening seconds of the second half, it looked like it was going to be a matter of the Seminoles' resolve and pride determining how many points they would lose by.
What quickly emerged was the ultimate tale of two halves. The Seminoles came to live in just about every way over the final 20 minutes. They shot 37.5% in the first half and 67.7% in the second half. After they had 10 turnovers in the first half which led to 18 fastbreak points for Miami, they had just one second-half turnover and allowed no fastbreak points.
"The first half, we just weren't ready. We mentally struggled with that combination of quickness, speed and athleticism. (Miami) was at a higher level of intensity and focus than we were," Hamilton said. "We didn't get better at halftime. I thought we changed our mindset, were more determined. I thought we executed a lot better."
Conversely, the Hurricanes made 37.9% of their shots over the final 20 minutes after shooting 65.7% in the first half and turned it over seven times in the second half, paving the way for FSU to amass 14 fastbreak points.
18 of Cleveland's 20 points came in the second half as he almost singlehandedly willed the comeback. Green scored 10 points in each of the two halves, making 3 of his 10 three-point attempts.
Those performances aside, it was definitely one of FSU's more well-rounded team performances of the season. Five Seminoles scored double-digit points and FSU outscored Miami 13 to 11 in bench points.
Warley may have had the most well-rounded performance of the game for the Seminoles. Along with his 11 points, he had seven rebounds, six assists, three steals, a block and no turnovers.
Up Next
With the stunning comeback, FSU avoids tying the program record for most losses in a season for at least a few more days. The Seminoles will look to win a second straight game back at home on Senior Day Monday night when they play host to North Carolina.