Quote:Experience Wins Out Over Youth
By DYLAN BARMMER
Tampa Tribune
Published: Dec 15, 2003

CORAL GABLES - In the end, experience seemed to make all the difference.

Florida State topped Miami 67-58 Sunday, using a 13-0 game-ending run to overcome a 58-54 deficit with 5:25 remaining.

"I thought that we had a little more experience on the floor,'' said FSU coach Leonard Hamilton, whose team improved to 8-0 with the win against his former team.  "Our guys made some defensive plays that gave us a chance. "

"You have to give Miami credit. I don't want to catch these young guys later in the year. They're going to beat some people.''

The youthful Hurricanes put up a good fight, overcoming deficits of 14-5 and 24-13 to take a 35-31 halftime lead they carried well into the second half. But during the Seminoles' deciding run, Miami committed six of its 15 turnovers, including three by freshman guard Guillermo Diaz.

"The last five minutes, our turnovers killed us,'' Miami coach Perry Clark said.  "The turnovers - we only had eight I think going into the last seven minutes, then we had about six or seven there at the end.''

While Clark pointed specifically at Diaz's turnovers, Miami's veteran players weren't immune to the miscues either. Senior forward Darius Rice, who scored a game-high 20 points despite suffering from back spasms all week, lost one off a steal with Miami trailing 59-58 and 1:55 to play.

"We had this game wrapped up, I think,'' Rice said.  "We let them get their momentum and get their crowd in the game.  We let it slip away.''

The Seminoles snapped a 58-58 tie when Anthony Richardson (team-high 15 points) hit one of two free throws with 3:06 remaining. Miami had several chances to regain its lead, but missed four shots and lost a turnover to negate two steals.

When freshman forward Alexander Johnson banked in a shot to give FSU a 61-58 lead, only 47 seconds remained.

"At one point in the latter stages of the game, I thought that we were being outplayed,'' Hamilton said.  "But it seemed like our kids just hung in there and kept defending and rebounding. I think that gave them the chance to win the game.''

The Seminoles entered the game holding opponents to less than 54 points on 34.9 percent shooting, and Miami scored its 58 points on 35.4 percent shooting. The Hurricanes didn't hit a field goal over the final 8:27.

"We had some shots that went in and out that we normally make,'' said Clark, whose Hurricanes dropped to 5-3 with their third consecutive loss to FSU.  "Give Florida State some credit for that defensively. Certainly, we're disappointed. We felt like we could win the basketball game.''

With the win, Florida State matched its best start since the 1988-89 season and snapped Miami's 24-game home winning streak against nonconference opponents. Hamilton, who guided the Hurricanes to a Sweet 16 berth in 2000, improved to 2-0 against his former team.

"I wasn't nervous,'' Hamilton said.  "I wasn't uptight.  I wasn't really anxious.  But I did really want to win the game. "

"This was an important game for us because it was against a high-quality opponent from a good conference. We are trying to improve ourselves, elevate our status.''