FSU men's basketball continues hot run with dominant second half win over Syracuse
The resurgence of Florida State men's basketball continued Tuesday evening at Syracuse
The Seminoles used a 15-1 run late in the second half to knock off the Orange 85-69 in an ACC matchup at JMA Wireless Dome.
Jamir Watkins led FSU (12-8, 6-2 ACC) with a career-high 27 points, topping his previous career high of 22. He also added 11 rebounds to finish with a double-double.
Watkins scored 15 second-half points, shooting 8 of 15 from the floor and shot 9-of-12 from the free throw line.
Syracuse, which entered 9-0 at home, was 1 for 14 from 3-point range, shot 23 of 52 (44%) overall and committed 16 turnovers.
"Really just to get in gaps, try to create for myself and my teammates," Watkins said about his performance following the game. "I knew the game was going to pick up once I started getting layups."
Baba Miller and Cam Cohren each added 12 points, while Primo Spears finished with 11 points and six assists.
FSU outscored Syracuse 50-33 in the second half, overcoming a one-point halftime deficit. The Orange held a seven-point lead with 15:57 to play, their largest lead of the game.
"We contained the dribble a lot better the second half than we did the first half," FSU head coach Leonard Hamilton said postgame.
The Seminoles are now 3-2 in Quad-1 games, with back-to-back wins against Miami and now Syracuse on the road. They have won six of their last seven games and eight of their last 10 games.
FSU entered the night 93rd in Net Rankings, meaning it still has a lot of work to do to qualify for the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2020-21 season.
The Orange (13-6, 4-4) falls to 9-1 at home this season and sees a 10-game home winning streak snapped. Syracuse's last home loss came on Feb. 28, 2023, a 96-76 loss to Georgia Tech.
The Seminoles have won three straight games at Syracuse and are 4-4 at the RMA Wireless Dome. The Orange lead the all-time series 10-7.
Judah Mintz led the Orange with 28 points. Syracuse shot 40% in the second half and were 0-for-5 from 3-point range.
The Orange shot 1-for-14 from three for the game, along with turning the ball over 16 times and finished with just seven assists.
"The gameplan was to be the best version defensively of what we are trying to teach," Hamilton said.
"In tonight's game, basically we stuck with what our principles were and fortunately over a period of time it was little bit more effective in the second half than it was in the first half.
FSU has won three straight road games and is 3-2 on the road this season.
Up next:
The Seminoles will host No. 4 North Carolina (16-3, 8-0) at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center.
The game will be broadcast on ESPN.
The Tar Heels have won nine straight, including an 85-64 home victory over Wake Forest on Monday.
UNC defeated FSU 78-70, overcoming a 14-point second-half deficit on Dec. 2 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Reach Ehsan Kassim at ekassim@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Ehsan_Kassim. You can also follow our coverage on Facebook (NoleSports), Instagram (tlhnolesports) and YouTube channel (NoleSportsTD).
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Jamir Watkins' career night leads FSU to major road victory over Syracuse
