Florida State University Athletics
Tuesday, February 4
Tallahassee, Fla.
7:00 p.m.
Florida State
14-9,5-7ACC
67
vs
60
University of Notre Dame
10-12,4-7ACC
1
2
F
Notre Dame
28
32
60
Florida St.
29
38
67
Watkins And Ewin Lead Seminoles To 67-60 Victory Over Notre Dame
2/4/2025 11:22:00 PM | Men's Basketball
TALLAHASSEE – Florida State benefited from an 18-0 first half run which turned a 17-7 deficit into an 25-17 lead midway through the first half, and were led in double-figure scoring by Malique Ewin (18 points and 10 rebounds) and Jamir Watkins (21 points) to take a 67-60 win over Notre Dame at the Donald L. Tucker Center. Ewin earned his eighth double-double of the season and Watkins scored 20 or more points for the 15th time in his career to lead the Seminoles to the victory.
Florida State is now 14-9 overall and 5-7 in ACC play. Notre Dame is now 10-12 overall and 4-7 in ACC play.
Watkins fueled a crucial second-half run, making three consecutive three-pointers at 17:06, 15:45, and 15:18 marks to catapult the Seminoles to a 43-34 lead.
The Fighting Irish clawed back into the game and regained the lead by a 46-45 margin on two free throws by Markus Burton.
Florida State quickly regained the lead on a basket by Justin Thomas only to see the Fighting Irish tie the game at 47-47 on one of two free throws by Kebba Njie. Chandler Jackson gave the Seminoles the lead for good on a jumper at the 9:11 mark to give the Seminoles a 49-47 advantage.
Florida State outscored Notre Dame, 18-13, during the remainder of the game, never relinquished the lead and won its fourth ACC game at the Tucker Center this season.
Watkins recorded his eighth game this season with 20 or more points. Ewin matched his career high with three steals and contributed three assists, tying for the team lead with Watkins.
"Our plan was to try to get to the free throw line a little bit more tonight," said Florida State head coach Leonard Hamilton, whose Seminoles made 16 of 19 free throws. "That probably made a big difference in the game. This (Notre Dame) was the number one three point shooting team in the ACC, regardless of their record, and I thought that we did a very good job by making them have to work for every shot that they got."
Hamilton pointed out that Markus Burton, Notre Dame's leading scorer, scored 25 points but needed to take 22 shots to finish with a game high in scoring.
Seminole freshman AJ Swinton made his first career start. He scored nine points, with two rebounds, one steal, and one assist.
Two Seminoles were perfect from the free throw line with Watkins going two of two and Davis making all three of his shots from the free throw line. Swinton was five of six and shot 83 percent from the free throw line.
"We can't look too far down the road," said Hamilton. "We have to worry about what we can control, and that's just our preparation each day. We have to then hope to be so consistent with our preparation, get our confidence, and go into each game and see if we can be at our very, very best." said Hamilton.
Tae Davis added 14 points and led the Fighting Irish with nine rebounds.
Notre Dame head coach Micah Shrewsberry was very complimentary of Florida State's Hamilton.
"It's kind of a scenario where you find a place that fits you, and you just stay there and do something special in that place," said Shrewsberry. "I think that's what he's (Hamilton) done here (at Florida State). I hope as the rest of this season goes on that he gets the recognition he deserves. No matter what goes on this season or last season, he's done some special things here. He's an OG man."
The Seminoles have a week break until they play at Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on February 12th at 7:00PM.
Florida State is now 14-9 overall and 5-7 in ACC play. Notre Dame is now 10-12 overall and 4-7 in ACC play.
Watkins fueled a crucial second-half run, making three consecutive three-pointers at 17:06, 15:45, and 15:18 marks to catapult the Seminoles to a 43-34 lead.
The Fighting Irish clawed back into the game and regained the lead by a 46-45 margin on two free throws by Markus Burton.
Florida State quickly regained the lead on a basket by Justin Thomas only to see the Fighting Irish tie the game at 47-47 on one of two free throws by Kebba Njie. Chandler Jackson gave the Seminoles the lead for good on a jumper at the 9:11 mark to give the Seminoles a 49-47 advantage.
Florida State outscored Notre Dame, 18-13, during the remainder of the game, never relinquished the lead and won its fourth ACC game at the Tucker Center this season.
Watkins recorded his eighth game this season with 20 or more points. Ewin matched his career high with three steals and contributed three assists, tying for the team lead with Watkins.
"Our plan was to try to get to the free throw line a little bit more tonight," said Florida State head coach Leonard Hamilton, whose Seminoles made 16 of 19 free throws. "That probably made a big difference in the game. This (Notre Dame) was the number one three point shooting team in the ACC, regardless of their record, and I thought that we did a very good job by making them have to work for every shot that they got."
Hamilton pointed out that Markus Burton, Notre Dame's leading scorer, scored 25 points but needed to take 22 shots to finish with a game high in scoring.
Seminole freshman AJ Swinton made his first career start. He scored nine points, with two rebounds, one steal, and one assist.
Two Seminoles were perfect from the free throw line with Watkins going two of two and Davis making all three of his shots from the free throw line. Swinton was five of six and shot 83 percent from the free throw line.
"We can't look too far down the road," said Hamilton. "We have to worry about what we can control, and that's just our preparation each day. We have to then hope to be so consistent with our preparation, get our confidence, and go into each game and see if we can be at our very, very best." said Hamilton.
Tae Davis added 14 points and led the Fighting Irish with nine rebounds.
Notre Dame head coach Micah Shrewsberry was very complimentary of Florida State's Hamilton.
"It's kind of a scenario where you find a place that fits you, and you just stay there and do something special in that place," said Shrewsberry. "I think that's what he's (Hamilton) done here (at Florida State). I hope as the rest of this season goes on that he gets the recognition he deserves. No matter what goes on this season or last season, he's done some special things here. He's an OG man."
The Seminoles have a week break until they play at Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on February 12th at 7:00PM.
Team Stats
ND
FSU
FG%
.365
.490
3FG%
.364
.231
FT%
.462
.842
RB
36
33
TO
16
18
STL
10
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
21
FGM
8
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
9
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
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