Ames, Rohde carry Virginia past Florida State in frantic fashion for a 60-57 win

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Dai Dai Ames scored 18 points and Andrew Rohde scored a season-high 17 points and Virginia scrambled at the end to beat Florida State 60-57 on Tuesday night.

Elijah Saunders added 11 points for the Cavaliers (15-15, 8-11) who can secure a first-round bye as the ninth seed to the ACC Tournament with a win over Syracuse on Saturday in a regular-season finale.

Jamir Watkins scored 18 points for Florida State (16-13, 7-11 ACC).

Ames made two foul shots with five seconds left for the final margin to seal the win. Watkins threw down a dunk with 11 seconds left to get the Seminoles within 58-57 after Justin Thomas stripped Rohde on a drive. Thomas threw the ball long to Watkins for his dunk. Knotted at 55 with the shot clock expiring, Rohde hit a fadeaway 3-pointer from the right baseline nearly falling into the stands to give Virginia the lead for good.

Daquan Davis made a 3 with 4:23 left to put Florida State ahead 52-50. Watkins made 1 of 2 foul shots for a 3-point lead before Saunders buried a 3 to tie for Virginia at 53. Alier Maluk gave Florida State its last lead with layup with 2:35 left. Virginia’s Isaac McKneely tied it 29 seconds later.

Virginia now leads the all-time series against Florida State 30-28. The Cavaliers have outscored the Seminoles by a total of just six points in the 58-game series.

The Seminoles close the ACC regular season hosting SMU on Saturday.

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