It was the type of celebration Florida State fans are used to seeing after men's basketball victories in February -- even if the circumstances were a little different.
After the Seminoles forced Clemson to miss its final shot to secure an 81-80 victory Tuesday night, FSU's players on the bench streamed onto the court to hug and high-five each other and the hero of the night, senior point guard RayQuan Evans.
With four former starters sidelined by injuries and the Seminoles enduring a six-game losing streak, Evans scored a career-high 28 points to lead a gutsy team effort.
With the win, FSU improves to 14-11 and 7-8 in ACC play. Clemson falls to 12-14 and 4-11.
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Evans connected on 7 of 13 shots from the field and 12 of 13 from the free-throw line, and his final attempts from both spots were his biggest.
With 14 seconds remaining, Evans drove into the lane and hit a short jumper to tie the score at 80. But he was also fouled on the play and hit the and-one to give the Seminoles their final lead.
Evans scored 17 of his 28 points in the second half. FSU also got 17 points from forward Cam'Ron Fletcher and 13 from freshman guard Matthew Cleveland.
The Seminoles were playing without leading scorer Caleb Mills, seniors Anthony Polite and Malik Osborne, and junior center Naheem McLeod.
P.J. Hall led Clemson with a career-high 28 points. The Tigers looked to give Hall a shot at the game-winner, but three FSU defenders collapsed around him on the final possession, and he kicked it out to a teammate who missed the final shot.
FSU returns to action Saturday at Duke (6 p. m. ET, ESPN).
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