TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Joe Girard III scored 26 points, Jesse Edwards had his 10th double-double of the season and Judah Mintz scored 14 of his 16 in the final 13 minutes as Syracuse beat Florida State 76-67 Wednesday night.
Edwards finished with 18 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks and Mintz added five assists. Girard made 9 of 16 from the field and 5 of 8 from 3-point range. Chris Bell added 10 points for Syracuse (15-10, 8-6 ACC).
Mintz converted a three-point play, Bell followed with a 3-pointer and, after Chandler Jackson hit a jumper to give FSU a 56-55 lead with 9:24 to play, Mintz converted another three-point play eight seconds later that sparked a 10-0 run and Syracuse led the rest of the way.
Girard made a jumper and Mintz added a jumper and a layup before Girard made 1 of 2 free throws to make it 65-56 with seven minutes left. Matthew Cleveland threw down a fast-break dunk to pull the Seminoles within four points with 3:06 to go but Mintz answered with a layup 14 seconds later and they got no closer.
Cleveland had 19 points and 12 rebounds for Florida State (8-17, 6-8). The 6-foot-7 guard has scored in double figures in 18 consecutive games and has 11 double-doubles this season. Darin Green Jr. hit five 3-pointers and finished with 17 points but was just 6-of-18 shooting, including 17 3-point shots. Naheem McLeod, a 7-4 center, had 14 points.
Syracuse was minus-8 rebounding in the first half and went into intermission trailing 35-29 but outrebounded the Seminoles 25-12 in the second half while outscoring Florida State 47-32.
Bell converted a three-point play and hit a jumper before Girard hit a 3-pointer to cap a 10-2 run that made it 45-44 with 14:54 to play and gave Syracuse its first lead since midway through the first half. Cleveland hit two jumpers and Green made two 3-pointers as the Seminoles scored 10 of the next 14 points to take a five-point lead.
UP NEXT
Syracuse returns home to play No. 22 North Carolina State on Tuesday.
Florida State plays Pittsburg at home Saturday.
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