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Hurricanes upset No. 15 FSU without Johnson

Feb 27, 2012 - 3:10 AM Coral Gables, FL (Sports Network) - Durand Scott scored 17 points, Kenny Kadji had 15 and Miami-Florida upset No. 15 Florida State, 78-62, on Sunday despite finding out before the game that its starting center was ineligible to play.

Shane Larkin added 13 points for the Hurricanes (17-10, 8-6 ACC) to pick up some of the slack in Reggie Johnson's absence.

Miami announced before the game that Johnson was declared ineligible following a probe that found members of his family received impermissible benefits from a member of the former Hurricanes basketball staff in violation of NCAA rules.

Still, the Hurricanes used a big run at the end of the first half to take the lead on the way to snapping a six-game losing streak to Florida State.

Michael Snaer scored 20 points to lead the Seminoles (19-9, 10-4) while Ian Miller had 12 and Deividas Dulkys added 10. Florida State has lost two in a row.

Johnson, who is averaging 10.6 points and 6.9 rebounds in 17 games, was not aware of the benefits uncovered in a joint NCAA-Miami investigation and his family was told they were permitted, according to the university, which said it was seeking his immediate reinstatement.

The 6-foot-10 junior was ruled ineligible just hours before the game.

Miami coach Jim Larranaga said he was proud of Johnson for the way he reacted after learning on Friday that he could potentially have his eligibility taken away. Larranaga said Johnson could have chosen not to practice.

"Instead, he had an absolutely great practice on Friday and Saturday he was terrific at the shootaround," said Larranaga. "The players responded very well to him when they found out the news."

They responded well in the game, too, shaking off the news long enough to earn what could be a key win for a team sitting on the NCAA Tournament bubble.

The Hurricanes closed the first half on a 13-2 run to take a 24-20 lead at the break.

Scott scored seven points during the spurt, including the last four, and Kadji knocked down a three.

Trey McKinney Jones, who scored 11 for Miami, opened the second half with a three-pointer for an overall run of 16-2. The Hurricanes never gave up the lead, going ahead by 10 points later when Rion Brown's three made it 38-28.

Florida State cut its deficit to seven points with about 2 1/2 minutes left, but was never closer after that as the Hurricanes made their free throws down the stretch.

The Hurricanes earned their first win over Florida State since January 21, 2009. The Seminoles beat Miami, 64-59, on February 11.

Game Notes

Florida State leads the all-time series, 39-29...The Seminoles are trying to win 20 games for a school-record fourth straight season. They were coming off a loss to Duke on Thursday and have two games left: at Virginia on Thursday and versus Clemson next Sunday...The Hurricanes, just 1-3 in their previous four games, finish with meetings against NC State on the road Wednesday and against Boston College on Saturday.