Inside the Box Score: FSU 64, Miami 59

"I think you saw a little bit of increase in play, increase in energy. Really we were playing for each other and that's what showed tonight."

-- Florida State senior guard Luke Loucks on the difference between Saturday and Wednesday's games.

Top performers

Bernard James: James tied his career-high with 18 points, 15 of which came in the second half. He also added six rebounds, four blocked shots, and two steals.

Ian Miller: Miller scored 11 points off the bench. He knocked down two crucial three-point shots and went 5 of 6 at the free throw line.

Luke Loucks: Loucks scored just seven points, shooting 3 of 7 from the floor, but committed no turnovers in 31 minutes of playing time. He also had six rebounds, six assists, and two steals.

Miller in a groove

After not scoring in double digits for four straight games, Ian Miller has now scored in double digits in each of Florida State's last two games.

Miller scored 12 points in a loss to Boston College and followed it up 11 points on Saturday against Miami. He has knocked down 4 of his last 7 three-point attempts coming of the bench.

"I'm really proud of how he's adjusting," head coach Leonard Hamilton said. "Sometimes he doesn't get as many minutes as we'd like because of different schemes, but he's always there and ready to step up for us."

Miller has played 22 and 23 minutes off the bench the last two games and made a number of clutch plays in the final minutes of Saturday's game.

With just under 10 minutes left in the game it was Miller's three that pushed Seminoles' lead over Miami to five points and then with 7:31 left he connected again to make it a 10-point FSU lead.

He went five of six from the free throw line, including two clutch free throws to extend the lead to five points with 28 seconds left in the game.

"He hit a couple timely baskets for us," Hamilton said. "He's very capable of doing it."

Keeping Johnson in check

In last year's game between FSU and Miami in Tallahassee, Hurricanes' center Reggie Johnson scored 17 points and hauled in 12 rebounds.

On Saturday he was held to four points as he attempted just four shots all game.

"(FSU) puts a lot of pressure on your perimeter players and it makes it hard to make perimeter passes," UM head coach Jim Larranaga said. "If you can't move the ball easily from side to side, then it becomes difficult to post feed, because once it gets on a side they just really try to keep it on a side. When we did try to throw it to Reggie they were flying at him, trying to get two and three guys to him… Not easy for him in a game like this."

Johnson was guarded primarily by Bernard James on Saturday. The two will face off again in Coral Gables on Feb. 26, which is why James wasn't too high on his performance against Johnson on Saturday.

"We've got to play him again so I'm not too happy yet," James said. "But it's definitely good to get a little bit of payback (for last season)."

Guarding the perimeter

On Wednesday Boston College knocked down 10 three-pointers in the upset win over FSU. Eight of those threes came in the first half.

The 'Noles allowed Miami to connect on just 5 of 22 attempts from behind the arc.

"Just being in the gaps early so we don't have to stop late and try to get to the shooters," Michael Snaer said of what was working on the perimeter defense. "Just being in the gap early and cover the shooters when they drive an penetrate."

Next up

Florida State takes on Virginia Tech (13-11) at home on Thursday Feb. 16 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN 2.