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Clemson, Honor rally past No. 18 Florida State 77-67

NCAA Basketball: Florida State at Clemson

Dec 29, 2020; Clemson, South Carolina, USA; Clemson Tigers forward Aamir Simms (25) reacts after defeating the Florida State Seminoles at Littlejohn Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ken Ruinard-USA TODAY Sports

Ken Ruinard-USA TODAY Sports

CLEMSON, S.C. -- Clyde Trapp scored 15 points and Nick Honor had all his 13 points in the second half, including the go-ahead 3-pointer, as Clemson rallied past No. 18 Florida State 77-67 on Tuesday night.

The Tigers (7-1, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) were down 36-29 when Balsa Korprivica had a layup to start the second half. That’s when things began to turn for Clemson, as Al-Amir Dawes hit a 3-pointer and Trapp scored three points, tightening the game.

The teams traded the lead 13 times over the next 10 minutes, and Korprivica tied things at 54-all.

Honor, a transfer from Fordham, broke the tie and put Clemson ahead for good with a 3-pointer with 7:01 to play. After John Newman III hit a basket, Honor stole the ball in the backcourt, was fouled and hit both foul shots as Clemson moved ahead 60-54.

Honor added a three-point play a minute later, and when Dawes stroked a 3, the Tigers were up 66-57.

Florida State (5-2, 1-1) got within 71-65 on Anthony Polite’s 3-pointer with 1:45 to go. But the Seminoles could not catch Clemson and lost for the second time in three games.

Dawes added 11 points for Clemson, and Aamir Simms, the team’s top scorer this season, finished with eight points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

Scottie Barnes led Florida State with 14 points.

The Seminoles opened sluggishly, starting 0 of 5 from the field with six turnovers in less than five minutes.

The Tigers couldn’t take advantage, though, and the Seminoles soon found their shooting touch as they broke away from a 21-all tie and closed the half with 13-8 run.

Wyatt Wilkes, who came in averaging less than four points a game, hit a pair of 3-pointers in the half to keep Clemson at arms length.

Florida State, though, had difficulty against Clemson’s scoring defense, which leads the ACC and is third nationally at fewer than 54 points a game. The Seminoles had 11 turnovers in the first 20 minutes, entering the game averaging 13 miscues per game.

THE BIG PICTURE

Florida State: The Seminoles couldn’t take advantage of Clemson’s cold shooting early and that eventually cost them when the Tigers continued playing solid defense and made shots in the second half for the comeback victory.

Clemson: The host Tigers defeated a ranked Florida State team for the second straight time, topping then sixth-ranked Seminoles 70-69 on Al-Amir Dawes court-length, game-winning drive.

UP NEXT

Florida State is scheduled to play No. 20 Duke at home on Saturday night.

Clemson heads to Miami on Saturday.