Malique Ewin scores 26 in return, leads Florida State over SMU

Malique Ewin scored 26 points and grabbed eight rebounds in his return from injury to lead host Florida State to a 76-69 victory over SMU on Saturday in Tallahassee, Fla.

Ewin returned to the lineup for the Seminoles after missing the previous two games with an ankle injury and helped Florida State (17-14, 8-12 Atlantic Coast Conference) snap a four-game losing streak heading into the ACC tournament.

The Seminoles dealt the Mustangs (22-9, 13-7 ACC) another potentially damaging hit to their NCAA Tournament hopes and denied them a chance to secure a double-bye in the conference tournament.

Florida State -- which must win the ACC tournament and secure the conference's automatic bid to make the NCAA Tournament -- celebrated an even more special victory.

The game was their longtime coach Leonard Hamilton's final home game. Hamilton is retiring after the ACC tournament following 23 seasons coaching at Florida State. With 3.9 seconds remaining and the outcome no longer in doubt, multiple Seminoles players were subbed out and shared hugs with Hamilton.

A 9-2 surge by Florida State put the Seminoles ahead 47-39 with 15:59 left.

SMU would cut the deficit to 65-63 with 4:04 remaining on a jumper by Boopie Miller.

The Seminoles answered quickly with a layup from Chandler Jackson and a three-pointer from Taylor Bol Bowen to push the advantage back to seven. Florida State's defense didn't allow the Mustangs to make it a one-possession game the rest of the way.

Florida State was clutch from the free throw line, making 18 of 23 attempts, highlighted by Watkins (9-for-10) and Ewin (6-for-7).

Along with Ewin's great performance, Florida State's leading scorer Jamir Watkins finished with 20 points and eight rebounds and Jerry Deng added 11 points.

With 16 points and five assists, Miller led SMU, which saw four players score in double figures. Matt Cross had 13 points and six rebounds, Kario Oquendo had 12 points, and Chuck Harris added 11.

--Field Level Media