Robert McCray V took over in the second half for the second time in as many games this week, totaling 29 points to lead Florida State to a 70-65 win over host Clemson in an Atlantic Coast Conference game Saturday afternoon.
After McCray scored 18 of 27 points after halftime in Tuesday’s win over Boston College, he scored 22 of his season-high-tying 29 after halftime against the Tigers, making 10 of 19 shots from the field for the game, including four 3-pointers, and adding six rebounds and three assists.
McCray scored Florida State’s final 10 points to help secure the team’s third win in a row and the sixth in the past seven games.
Lajae Jones added 13 points as the only other scorer in double figures for the Seminoles (14-13, 7-7), who won their third straight road game and snapped a six-game losing streak to Clemson to get back to .500 in conference play after losing their first five ACC games.
Facing the second-ranked ACC scoring defense, the Seminoles shot 50% from the floor for the game, including 10 of 24 from 3-point range and 57.1% after halftime.
Clemson (20-8, 10-5) was held scoreless for the final 2:44, missing four would-be game-tying 3-pointers in the final 78 seconds to lose its fourth straight game.
Ace Buckner led the Tigers with 15 points off the bench and added four rebounds, three assists and two steals. Dillon Hunter added 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting, and RJ Godfrey chipped in 12 points.
The Tigers got off to a shaky start, tallying only 11 points in the opening 11:48. Florida State took advantage but not to an extreme degree, opening a 17-11 lead.
After a 3-for-17 shooting start, Clemson awakened with a 10-0 run. That started a furious finish to the half for the Tigers, who made 8 of their final 10 first-half shots — including five 3-pointers — to jump to a 36-33 halftime advantage.
Despite the icy start, Clemson made 40.7% of its shots from the field and 42.9% of its 3-pointers in the first half.
Another slow start to the second half allowed Florida State to establish an eight-point lead thanks to an 11-2 surge. Again, though, the Tigers responded with a quick 9-0 run to retake the lead, 56-55, with 8:05 to play.
Neither team ever led by more than eight points, and the entirety of the final 10 minutes was played within a five-point margin, setting the stage for 22 total lead changes.
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