UM rally falls just short in loss to Florida State

Freshman guard Durand Scott missed a jumper at the buzzer in the Hurricanes 61-60 loss to FSU
By Shandel Richardson, Sun Sentinel

Durand Scott will have plenty of other chances during his University of Miami career to hit winning shots.

On this day, he came up just a bit short.

Scott, a freshman, missed a difficult running jumper at the buzzer in the Hurricanes' 61-60 loss to Florida State on Saturday at BankUnited Center. The loss guarantees UM a last-place finish in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The 'Canes will play the No. 5 seed Thursday in the first round of the ACC tournament in Greensboro, N.C.

"I don't even know if we got a shot [off]," UM coach Frank Haith said. "I think Durand shot it, but obviously they did a good job defending us. "

The Hurricanes played without leading scorer Dwayne Collins, but still rallied from an 11-point second-half deficit to put themselves in position for the upset. Collins, who is out with a leg stress reaction, is expected to miss the remainder of the season.

He watched from the sidelines as the Hurricanes (18-12, 4-12 ACC) trailed by a point with 5.1 seconds remaining. The inbounds play was designed for Adrian Thomas, but execution was hindered because of Florida State's pressure. When Thomas bobbled the ball, he passed to Scott.

Scott took a few dribbles before missing an off-balance shot.

"I called [Thomas'] name and he gave me the ball," Scott said. "I was hoping I had enough time to get to the basket, but the coaches were like, ‘Shoot,' and I just tried to get it up as soon as possible."'

Despite the loss, the Hurricanes can somewhat enter the conference tournament with momentum. They trailed 56-45 with 7:01 left, but went on a 13-2 run to tie it at 58. After Florida State's Ryan Reid, who played at Boyd Anderson, missed three consecutive free throws, UM went ahead on a driving layup by Scott.

Scott finished with a game-high 14 points, but the lead was short-lived. FSU guard Luke Loucks hit a 3-pointer on the next possession to put the Seminoles up 61-60 with 1:51 left. FSU shot 10 of 18 from 3-point range. Loucks and guard Deividas Dulkys each scored 13 points.

"That was huge because that was the only basket that we scored in an eight- or nine-minute period," FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. "… I thought he came down and very confidently stepped up and knocked down two big 3s that we had to have."