TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- The first 20 minutes couldn't have gone better for No. 23 Miami. The Hurricanes made 50 percent of their shots, forced 11 turnovers and led by 11 points at the half.
But the Hurricanes were flat after that. And they had no answer for Florida State guard Montay Brandon.
Brandon had one of his best games of the season, scoring 18 points on 7-of-7 shooting, and Florida State rallied from a 16-point first-half deficit to beat No. 23 Miami 55-54 on Sunday.
The Hurricanes' Sheldon McClellan missed a floater in the lane as time expired.
Miami shot 6 of 19 (31.6 percent) in the second half and scored just 18 points.
"Florida State defended us very, very well in the second half," Coach Jim Larranaga said. "You have to give them credit. Their defense throughout the second half made us miss shots."
Brandon had 12 second-half points and Kiel Turpin added six of his 10 after halftime for the Seminoles, who shot 53.7 percent. Turpin put Florida State ahead for good with a baby hook with 1:41 left.
A junior guard, Brandon had three steals, including two early in the second half, to help Florida State come back.
"Brandon stole it twice and dunked it twice," Larranaga said. "That fired them up. All of a sudden the lead evaporated right away."
Florida State (12-10, 4-5 ACC) won despite three of its starters struggling from the floor. Xavier Rathan-Mayes had five points, while Devon Bookert and Phil Cofer were scoreless. The three combined to shoot just 2 of 14.
Miami led 54-53 after McClellan's jumper with 3:46 left but didn't score the rest of the way.
Still, the Hurricanes had a few chances late. Davon Reed misfired on a jumper with 1:08 to go, and McClellan was off on the potential game-winning shot.
McClellan led the Hurricanes (14-7, 4-4) with 13 points, and Reed had 11 points and 6 rebounds.
Miami had just earned its Top 25 ranking back a week ago with a 14-4 start, which included a win over then-No. 4 Duke. But the Hurricanes have fizzled since, falling by 20 points to Georgia Tech before Sunday's loss.
The Hurricanes now have little time to regroup for No. 10 Louisville on Tuesday.
"The league is very talented," Larranaga said. "Losing a game to a good team is nothing to be ashamed of. When we play a team like Florida State, it's a battle right to the bitter end. That's the way it is every night in the ACC."
NO. 11 UTAH 67, SOUTHERN CAL 39
LOS ANGELES -- Jakob Poeltl had 14 points and nine rebounds, and No. 11 Utah crushed Southern California 67-39 on Sunday.
Delon Wright added 11 points and 5 rebounds and Jordan Loveridge scored 10 points for the Utes (17-4, 7-2 Pac-12).
Utah was up 32-12 at halftime and led by as many as 29 points in the second half.
Eleven different players scored for the Utes, who never trailed.
Malik Martin scored 11 points to lead the Trojans (9-12, 1-8 Pac-12). USC shot just 26.5 percent, including 1 of 12 from 3-point range, to lose its sixth straight.
It was the Trojans' largest margin of defeat this season.
USC shot just 5 of 26, including 0 of 7 from three-point range, and committed 10 turnovers in the first half to allow Utah to run away with it quickly.
Two 3-pointers by Loveridge helped put the Utes up 17-5 early, as USC missed 11 of its first 13 shots.
The Trojans didn't reach 20 points until Malik Martin's free throw with 13:19 left in the game.
That foul shot was part of an 11-0 USC run that brought some life back into the previously moribund Galen Center, but the Trojans never cut the deficit below 17 points.
Sports on 02/02/2015