Florida State was unable to get a win at rival Miami on this day five years ago. What the Seminoles did get however, was an individual performance for the ages.
In an 81-77 loss to the Hurricanes, FSU guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes scored 30 points in less than a 5-minute span late. It still wasn’t enough, but it was an effort that FSU fans may never see again.
Late in the contest in Coral Gables on Feb. 25, 2015, there was no indication that Rathan-Mayes had figured out the Miami defense. Rathan-Mayes had scored just five points in the first meeting in Tallahassee and had been held to just five through more than 35 minutes on the road.
With less than five minutes to play, a layup by Miami’s Davon Reed had pushed the lead to 62-44. Over the next four FSU possessions, Rathan-Mayes had scored 12 points with three 3-pointers and three free throws.
With the lead cut to single digits, Rathan-Mayes added two more treys and a pair of layups over the next two minutes to whittle the deficit down to five. A pair of free throws from Miami’s Angel Rodriguez extended the Hurricanes’ advantage to 73-66 before a 4-point play from Rathan-Mayes had the Seminoles within a triple with more than a minute to play.
Following a Rodriguez make to push the lead to four, Rathan-Mayes proved that he was human as he finally missed from deep. With 30 seconds remaining, Miami’s Tonye Jekiri knocked down a pair of free throws to push the lead to six, but Robbie Berwick answered from distance for the Seminoles to cut the lead in half. Berwick became the first FSU player other than Rathan-Mayes to score in nearly six minutes.
With less than 10 seconds to play, Rathan-Mayes was able to answer a pair of made free throws by Sheldon McClellan by drawing a foul on a 3-point attempt and making all three free throws. Down 79-76, Rathan-Mayes was able to grab a rebound on a Jekiri miss, but was fouled before he could attempt a game-tying 3.
After making the first, Rathan-Mayes intentionally missed the second free throw, but Reed secured the rebound for the Hurricanes with two seconds to play. He knocked down both free throws to put the contest away.
Rathan-Mayes finished the night with a career-high 35 points to go with five assists. Montay Brandon was the only other FSU player in double-figures with 11 points. Rodriguez led Miami with 25 points in the victory.
Although FSU came up short to Miami, Rathan-Mayes was able to make what appeared to be an easy victory for the Hurricanes anything but. His legendary scoring spurt came on this day five years ago.
Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson. Like The Daily Nole on Facebook. To pitch an idea, author a post or to learn more about The Daily Nole, email Mike Ferguson at Mike@TheDailyNole.com.
Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole and former editor of Noled Out. Mike has more than seven years experience as a sports writer including the last four in print and online media. Mike graduated from Florida State University in 2009 with a Bachelors in Religion and a minor in Communications. Mike provided press coverage of Florida State's run to the 2013 BCS National Championship. Mike is also a news reporter at Polk County's newspaper, The Ledger in Lakeland, Florida. and contributes to Athlon Sports and ACCSports.com. Mike has been featured on sites as prominent as Yahoo Sports, FoxSports.com, Associated Press and the front page of SI.com while interviewing athletes as high profile as 2013 National League MVP, Andrew McCutchen. Email Mike at Mike@TheDailyNole.com. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login