Men’s Basketball Defeats Duke 79-78 in OT

TALLAHASSEE, Fl. (seminoles.com) – RayQuan Evans made two free throws with 12 seconds remaining and John Butler blocked a jump shot by Wendell More, Jr., with two seconds remaining, and Florida State won its NCAA record 13^th consecutive overtime decision with a 79-78 win over No. 5 Duke at the Donald L. Tucker Center.

Caleb Mills led the Seminoles with 18 points, while Butler added a career-high 14.

The Seminoles outscored the Blue Devils by a 12-11 margin in the overtime period to win their 13^th consecutive overtime game.  The Seminoles’ overtime winning streak dates back to a 101-90 double overtime win over Syracuse on January 13, 2018.  Florida State has defeated 11 different teams during the overtime streak with its win over Duke marking its first over the Blue Devils during the streak. 

The win was Florida State head coach Leonard Hamilton’s eighth all-time win over Duke.  The win was also the Seminoles’ first over a top-5 ranked team since a 69-69 win over Virginia on March 15, 2019 in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament. 

Florida State gained its first win over a nationally ranked opponent this season and snapped a five-game losing streak to the Blue Devils.

The Seminoles started the second half in a 38-33 hole at half but turned it around at the under 16-minute media timeout to lead by a 44-34 margin. 

Sophomore Naheem McLeod started for the second time in his season and finished with a near a double-double with a career-high nine points and 10 rebounds.

However, it was Mills and Butler who led the way for the Seminoles.  Mills contributed 18 points, two blocks, and two steals, while Butler had a career-high 14 points and blocked two shots for Florida State. Mills made two triples and was a perfect six of six from the free throw line.

The Seminoles were up 63-58 at the under four-minute media timeout in the second half, but Duke’s Mark Williams scored four points in 1:28 to put the Blue Devils up 67-65. Evans made a layup with one second remaining in regulation, and Mills stole the ball back as the clock expired.

Mills opened up the extra period with a three-point shot. He scored eight of Florida State’s 12 points in the overtime period.

Duke was up by one after two made free throws from Paolo Banchero, but Evans was fouled with 12 seconds remaining to put the Seminoles up for good. 

Florida State had a season-low five turnovers and outrebounded Duke by a 42-37 margin. The Seminoles’ bench also gained the upper hand this evening with 23 points compared to Duke’s 13 points. Freshman Matthew Cleveland led Florida State’s bench with eight points and six rebounds. He is the ACC leader in scoring (10.5 ppg) amongst all players who have not started a game this season.

With nine steals for Florida State in comparison to just two steals from Duke, the Seminoles continue to be the top ranked team in the ACC for steals with 154 steals and a 9.6 steals per game average.  The Seminoles lead the ACC in both total steals and steals per game.

Duke’s Banchero led the Blue Devils in all three major categories with 20 points, 12 rebounds, and seven assists.

The Seminoles play at home again this Thursday in a rescheduled match-up against the University of North Florida. The game will tip off at 12 noon and can be watched on the ACCNX.