CORAL GABLES, Fla. - Guard Sheldon McClendon went to the locker room at halftime with only one point to his credit after missing all four of his field-goal attempts in the first 20 minutes.

But he more than made up for it after that.

The senior and Miami's leading scorer for the season exploded for 20 points in the second half, including 10 in a decisive 15-1 run, to lead the No. 12 Hurricanes to a 72-59 victory over Florida State in an Atlantic Coast Conference matchup on Saturday evening.

"It's just all about confidence for me," McClendon said after his game-high 21-point performance. "Sometimes I get discouraged when I miss a lot of shots I know I make because I just put in too much work to feel I should miss those shots.

"For it's just all about confidence. I kept shooting the ball and got to the rim a couple of times, so that gave me a little boost. I just can't get discouraged."

Despite McClellan's show start, the Hurricanes (13-1, 2-0 ACC) led 32-24 at the halftime break, but the visiting Seminoles cut their deficit down to one possession early in the second half at 36-33.

That's when McClellan ignited the key run of the game with a jumper. He followed that with a pair of 3-pointers and a dunk off guard Ja'Quan Newton's steal and lob, and suddenly the Hurricanes were up 51-34 with 10:26 to play.

The Seminoles (10-5, 0-3) pulled no closer than eight points the rest of the way, that with less than two minutes remaining in the game.

"Our shots just weren't falling," guard Malik Beasley said after the Seminoles finished the game shooting just 35.4 percent from the floor and just 2-of-19 from 3-point range. "We had a lot of shots that went in and out that me and Dwayne (Bacon) usually make, but it happens.

"I think we had a great effort on defense. At one point, I think we had five stops in a row. But we couldn't score."

Miami was only 4-of-24 from behind the arc but shot 47.4 percent from the floor overall (27-of-57).

"We had equal opportunities there in the first half," said Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton, whose team suffered its third straight loss. "I think we missed 12 point-blank layups there in the first half and probably missed seven, eight more. But each time we gave them an open look they took advantage of it."

Beasley led the Seminoles in scoring with 13 points. Guards Xavier Rathan-Mayes and Bacon had 10 each for the Seminoles.

In addition to McClellan, Newton and guard Davon Reed also were in double figures for Miami with 13 and 12 points, respectively. Reed had a trio of 3-pointers in the first half with his first two helping the Hurricanes get off to a 10-2 early lead.

"The game was a little bit different than I expected," said coach Jim Larranaga, whose Hurricanes stretched their winning streak to eight games. "I expected it to be much more high-scoring. I told the team the first one to 80 would win.

"But I thought our defense was very, very good, and it slowed them down. They weren't able to get on any significant runs."

NOTES: Miami works a lot in practice of having its big guys handle the ball, but center Tonye Jekiri made a play that surprised even coach Jim Larranaga. After securing a rebound, the 7-foot center drove the length of the floor, avoiding one defender near midcourt, and jammed home a dunk to give the Hurricanes an early 10-2 lead. "I've never seen him do that, even in practice, where he gets a rebound and starts out," Larranaga said. "Normally, he gives it up right away. But when he saw the open court, he just kept going." ... With his 13 points, Florida State freshman G Malik Beasley ran his streak of double-figure games to 15. He is the only freshman in the ACC who has scored in double figures in each of his team's games. ... This was the first of two meetings between Miami and Florida State. They will play again in Tallahassee on Feb. 14. ... Miami's next three games are on the road, starting Tuesday night in Virginia.