Jamir Watkins scored a team-high 21 points and pulled down eight rebounds, helping Florida State earn a 67-60 victory over Notre Dame on Tuesday in Tallahassee, Fla.
Malique Ewin added 18 points, 10 rebounds, three steals and three blocks for the Seminoles (14-9, 5-7 Atlantic Coast Conference), who snapped a four-game losing streak. The victory comes just one day after it was announced that coach Leonard Hamilton will retire at the conclusion of the season.
Markus Burton had 25 points and Tae Davis followed with 14 points and nine rebounds as Notre Dame (10-12, 5-7) dropped its second game in a row.
After trailing 29-28 at halftime, Notre Dame tied the game at 34 on Burton’s layup with 17:23 left. Watkins then connected on three consecutive 3-pointers to give the Seminoles a nine-point advantage.
From there, Burton sank a trey to begin a 9-0 Notre Dame run that knotted the score at 43 with 12:18 remaining. After AJ Swinton’s dunk gave Florida State a two-point lead, Burton’s ensuing three-point play put the Fighting Irish ahead for the first time in the second half.
With just over four minutes left, Watkins’ free throws extended the Seminoles’ lead to five, before Tae Davis’ triple and Kebba Njie’s free throw trimmed the deficit to one with 2:46 to go.
Buckets from Daquan Davis and Ewin gave Florida State a five-point lead. Burton’s layup cut Notre Dame’s deficit to 60-57, but Ewin responded with five straight points to ice the Seminoles’ victory.
Notre Dame jumped out to a 17-7 lead after Braeden Shrewsberry’s 3-pointer was followed by Njie’s layup with 12:10 left in the first half. Florida State then held the Fighting Irish scoreless for seven-plus minutes while going on an 18-0 run that included 10 points from Watkins.
After Christian Nitu’s layup pushed the Seminoles’ lead to 10, Burton went on a personal 8-0 run to help Notre Dame score the final nine points of the first half and trim its halftime deficit to one.
Burton led Notre Dame with 12 first-half points, while Watkins paced the Seminoles with 10.
