Discover Yahoo! With Your Friends

close
 

YOUR FRIENDS' ACTIVITY

    Larkin stars as No. 3 Miami gets 74-68 win at FSU

    TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- If it hadn't been for a coaching change a couple years ago, Shane Larkin may have been playing for Leonard Hamilton at Florida State.

    Instead, Andy Enfield, the Florida State assistant recruiting the 5-foot-11 guard, left to take the head coaching job at Florida Gulf Coast and Larkin chose Miami.

    The son of baseball Hall of Fame shortstop Barry Larkin, Shane showed Seminole fans Wednesday night what might have been.

    The Miami sophomore point guard scored 13 of his 22 points in the final 7 1-2 minutes to help third-ranked Miami hold off Florida State 74-68 for its 12th straight victory.

    No one was more impressed than Hamilton, who had Larkin in his summer camps for two years.

    ''We didn't have an answer for Larkin,'' Hamilton said.

    ''His speed, quickness and his ability to make decisions is phenomenal for a sophomore guard,'' the veteran Florida State coach said. ''I haven't seen anybody that has the whole package like he does.''

    ''He is going to do whatever he thinks the team needs him to do,'' said Miami coach Jim Larranaga, now in his second season coaching the 'Canes. ''He is a guy that could be scoring 20 or 25 points in games. But he's also all about winning, and he's ready and willing and able to get the ball to the other guys.''

    Reggie Johnson added 15 points for Miami (20-3, 11-0 ACC), which became the first team to start the league season 11-0 in a dozen years.

    The 6-10, 290-pound Johnson came off the bench and spurred a 25-5 run midway through the first half to help the Hurricanes wipe out an early 13-2 deficit on their way to a 38-30 halftime advantage.

    ''I wanted to get the team a boost and I think I did that in the first half,'' Johnson said. ''There's no magic. I think we're just hungry.''

    Durand Scott had 13 points and Julian Gamble 10 for the Hurricanes, who will try to keep their ACC slate perfect Sunday when they visit Clemson.

    A 3-point play by Scott gave Miami a 51-39 lead with 13:05 left, but Florida State countered with a 12-0 run keyed by a pair of Terry Whisnant 3's to tie the score on Okaro White's basket. They never could get the lead.

    The Hurricanes built their lead back to 68-56, largely behind Larkin.

    ''It's a very tough team when you've got a quick point guard like that and then you have deadly shooters on each wing,'' said White.

    White led the Seminoles (13-11, 5-6) with 15 points before fouling out with 2:04 left. Freshman Devon Bookert added 12 points.

    Larkin, meanwhile, has no regrets.

    ''I'm glad I ended up in Miami,'' he said in the Hurricanes' locker room afterward.

    North Carolina was the last team to start its ACC schedule at 11-0. The Tar Heels, however, faded down the stretch of the 2000-01 season and finished with a 13-3 league mark while archrival Duke led by Shane Battier went on to win the national championship.

    Two years earlier, the Blue Devils were the lone team in ACC history to go 16-0 in league play, but lost to UConn in the national championship game.

    The ACC has gone to 18 conference games now because of expansion.

    Miami, which had never been ranked higher than eighth nationally before this season, hasn't lost since Christmas Day.

    The 'Canes cracked the Top 25 just three weeks ago and rocketed toward the top on the strength of several impressive victories. Miami became the first ACC team to beat both North Carolina and Duke by at least 25 points in the same season with an 87-61 win over the Tar Heels last week.

    Next Opponent

    Florida St. vs. Team Logo (cropped) 50x50cN.C. State
    Tue, Feb 19, 2013 7:00 PM EST
    Miami (FL) vs. Team Logo (cropped) 50x50cClemson
    Sun, Feb 17, 2013 6:00 PM EST

    Team Comparison

    TeamRecordConfDivision/PlacePFPAFG%3 Pt%FT%Streak
    Florida St.14-116-66th Atlantic Coast67.367.444.135.772.1Won 1
    Miami (FL)20-311-01st Atlantic Coast70.659.446.536.465.8Won 12

    25 comments

    • phil  •  2 days 20 hours ago
      Duke on March 2nd is looming large.

      If the Canes can win at Duke, with Duke of course wanting revenge for the absolute domination the Canes had in their first game, then truly the sky is the limit come tournament time.
    • Moe  •  3 days ago
      Due to the heady play of PG Shane Larkin the Miami Hurricanes are winning games both ugly and pretty. Congratulations and continued success at Clemson on Saturday.
    • clever1  •  3 days ago
      Duke is done. Go Miami.
    • A Duke_Bears_Bulls Fan  •  2 days 23 hours ago
      Larkin is one impressive player,he could play himself into the nba draft
    • Big Shifty  •  3 days ago
      Being a K-State fan, I remember around here everybody was so worried about Frank Martin leaving to coach Miami. I bet Miami fan's are more than happy with Jim Larranaga. Amazing coach doing an amazing job. What a turn around at Miami.
    • Jason R  •  3 days ago
      Nice job Canes, keep ahead of Duke, America is cheering for you!
    • Tim  •  2 days 14 hours ago
      This Seminole fan thinks the Canes will go far this season. We had our chances last night, and once again came up short. Good luck the rest of the way, Canes!! GO NOLES!!!
    • Seedaview  •  3 days ago
      And if the bear had not.......in the woods. Who is this writer? What if and maybes just do not cut it. Stick to the facts please and watch the Canes play. Best team in the nation.
    • Alba Latif  •  3 days ago
      wonderful Canes!!!
    • Mark  •  3 days ago
      Wow! Miami is 11-0 in the ACC...Are they really that good or is the ACC just not the same ACC of old? I was told that Duke has some injuries and thats why they just aren't playing that well. But what of North Carolina? I've been out of the country and not seen Maimi play but its hard to believe - I've always thought of them as a Football and Baseball school.