Syracuse’s 16-2 run ruined a stellar effort by Florida State, which posted crisp passes into the halfcourt midway through the game.
FSU made the extra pass. But the Seminoles often couldn’t make the 3-pointers to break Syracuse’s 2-3 zone.
Matthew Cleveland had his 11th double-double of the season — 19 points and 11 rebounds — and Naheem McLeod had a season-high 16 points, but Syracuse pulled out late with a 76-67 win Wednesday.
FSU had 21 assists and 12 turnovers, often positioning Cleveland in the middle of the zone and using him as a shooter and distributor. Cleveland had 12 points in the second half and on the night had 9 of 19 shots from the floor and had three assists.
The Seminoles (8-17, 6-8 ACC) have lost four of their last five games.
But FSU also had to make 3 points against the 2-3 zone to stretch Syracuse – and couldn’t. Darin Green Jr. connected on just 5 of 17 from beyond the arc, while Caleb Mills was just 1 of 7. On a night when just two more 3s would have made all the difference, the Seminoles suffered and were only 9 out of 35. (25.7 percent). FSU opened the game 0 for 8 from 3 points, settled in the middle of the game but faltered in the final 10 minutes.
Joseph Girard scored 26 points on 9 of 16 shooting and Jesse Edwards had 18 points and 12 rebounds for Syracuse, which outscored FSU 47-32 in the second half.
In his last nine games, McLeod has played two games in which he did not score and two others where he was injured. On Wednesday, McLeod tied a career high with 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting with eight rebounds. McLeod’s previous career high was 15 points against Virginia Tech in January 2022, while he recorded a career-best nine rebounds in November 2022 against Mercer.
Chandler Jackson played a season-high 25 points, scoring seven points and providing a season-best nine assists. The freshman scored a season-high eight points a few weeks ago in the win at Pittsburgh.
FSU will host Pittsburgh on Saturday at noon.
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