UNC builds big lead with 3s, FSU's rally falls short

Florida State’s deficiencies defending the perimeter were evident from the start. North Carolina exploited the opportunity.

Caleb Love, RJ Davis, Leaky Black and Pete Nance had three 3s each as North Carolina finished with 14 from long range, holding off a late Seminoles rally for a 77-66 win on Monday night. UNC’s 14 3s tied the most against FSU this season.

Caleb Mills scored 19 points on 8 of 16 shooting while Matthew Cleveland had 12 points and nine rebounds for FSU (9-21, 7-12 ACC), which dropped its seventh straight home game.

"This is a speed bump — it's not a train wreck," FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. "We'll get back to where we're supposed to be. The crowd was into it, gave us a tremendous lift."

The Seminoles stormed back late in the game, pulling within four, 66-62 with 2:10 to go on a Cleveland layup. UNC was in control most of the night and FSU couldn't close the gap any further late, with a Black dunk and Davis jumper extending the lead again.

FSU only had eight turnovers, but Hamilton let his frustration show midway through the second half after a Darin Green Jr. turnover. Hamilton did a quick turn and slammed both hands into the scorer’s table, a rare show of emotion from the coach in the middle of a game.

The Seminoles only won once this calendar year at home, back on Jan. 7 against Georgia Tech. While FSU once owned opponents in the Donald L. Tucker Center, the Seminoles finished the home slate 5-11 in 2022-23.

UNC (19-11, 10-9) dominated from the early minutes and built a double-digit lead late in the first half. At one point midway through the second half, UNC had made 13 3-pointers and FSU had made only 14 shots from the floor.

The Tar Heels shot 14 of 29 (48.3 percent) from 3-point range. It was the 13th time this season an opponent made 10 or more 3s against FSU. Wake Forest and Stetson also hit 14 3s this season.

"Statistically, we're the worst 3-point shooting team in the ACC so teams have been packing in and having multiple guys in the lane and making us shoot the ball from outside at times," UNC coach Hubert Davis said.

UNC also cleaned up on the boards, winning the rebounding edge 40-32. FSU didn’t have an offensive board for the first 15 minutes of the game.

FSU shot 25 of 60 (41.7 percent) from the floor, but they were a dreadful 9 of 27 (33 percent) in the first half as UNC took a 43-25 lead at the half. The Seminoles were also just 3 of 15 (20 percent) from 3-point range.

Green Jr. was 1 of 11 from the floor and 1 of 7 from 3-point range. His one made 3-pointer was his 86th for the season, moving into sole possession of third place on FSU’s single-season list. Toney Douglas made 85 in the 2008-09 season.

Baba Miller had six points in the second half and added three rebounds, a bright spot for the freshman and an impression on the NBA scouts in attendance.

FSU finishes the regular season at Virginia Tech on Saturday at 4 p.m. (ESPN2).