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No. 5 Florida State holds on for 85-84 win over Notre Dame

The only thing typical about Florida State's home game Saturday night was the final result.

Playing before a sell-out crowd for the first time in nearly a year and sporting a brand-new No. 5 national ranking, the Seminoles overcame a sluggish start, rallied for a large lead and then held on for an 85-84 victory over Notre Dame.

"I'm very proud of the team," FSU head coach Leonard Hamilton said. "Because even though we're a team that is still growing and maturing we're finding ways to win games. And sooner or later we're going to reach our potential. And right now we're a little ways away from that."

The unlikely hero was redshirt sophomore forward Wyatt Wilkes, who came off the bench to score 14 points in the first half and a team-high 19 for the game. The Seminoles also got double-figures scoring from three other players on a night when they endured several costly lapses on defense but shot the ball incredibly well from the perimeter.

With the victory, FSU improves to 17-2 overall and 7-1 in the ACC. Notre Dame falls to 11-8 and 2-6.

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Box Score: No. 5 FSU 85, Notre Dame 84

It was Florida State's 10th consecutive victory, but it could not have been closer down the stretch. The Irish cut the Seminoles' lead to three points in the final minute and then made it a one-point game by stealing the ensuing inbounds pass and converting a lay-up.

Notre Dame then got the ball back after a five-second violation on the next inbounds attempt, but the Irish were unable to hit a desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Florida State, meanwhile, missed its last nine shots from the field and committed several costly mistakes down the stretch.

"We kinda got out of the game plan and started making silly mistakes," said Raiquan Gray, who finished with 13 points. "They made us pay for each mistake we made.

Gray had the two turnovers on back-to-back inbounds passes to give the Fighting Irish a chance to steal the win. But the redshirt sophomore then came back and made a couple of key defensive plays in the final moments, including a close-out on the desperation 3 at the end.

"They had to foul, they were down one, so I was just trying to get it on the bounce to anybody," Gray said of the pass that was stolen. "I made a mistake, threw the ball and the dude had long arms. And he did a good job of mirroring the ball and pressuring it to not let it in. We've got to learn from it."

Playing a home game with a top-five national ranking for the first time in school history, FSU actually looked out of sorts in the early going and allowed the Fighting Irish to race out to a 15-4 lead.

But thanks largely to Wilkes and several other role players, the Seminoles quickly took control of the game with a 22-3 run. They led by 10 at halftime and by double-digits for much of the second half before squandering most of that advantage in the final minutes.

With freshman forward Patrick Williams out with a toe injury, the redshirt sophomore Wilkes picked a great time to score a career-high 19. Because Florida State needed every single one of his points.

"It happens how it happens," Wilkes said. "Who knows? I might play zero minutes next game. I have no idea. I couldn't tell you. But as long as we're winning I'm happy. I'm good."

As a team, FSU hit 12 of 18 attempts from 3-point range and 13 of 14 shots from the free-throw line. The 'Noles got 13 points apiece from Trent Forrest and Gray, and 11 from Devin Vassell.

FSU now travels to face Virginia in Charlottesville on Tuesday.

Stay connected with Warchant.com for complete postgame coverage.

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