TALLAHASSEE -- The University of Miami entered Tallahassee to play 15th-ranked Florida State riding high on the momentum of a winning streak. Since dropping a close game against N.C. State on Jan. 22, the Hurricanes had reeled off five consecutive wins, including an overtime upset of Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Unfortunately for UM, that momentum wasn’t enough to help it beat a highly motivated Seminoles team on Saturday afternoon. The Hurricanes lost 64-59 to fall to 15-8 overall, 6-4 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Florida State (17-7, 8-2 ACC) was fresh off having its own winning streak snapped.

After reeling off seven wins in a row, including upsets of North Carolina, Duke and Virginia, the Seminoles’ streak came to an end Wednesday in Boston, as the Noles fell 64-60 to lowly Boston College.

The Seminoles were eager for redemption coming into Saturday’s matchup.

“I don’t want to talk too much about BC because it’s a sour memory,” FSU senior guard Luke Loucks said. “It’s nothing against Boston College, but anytime you go in as the number one team [in the conference] and lose to the last-place team, it’s somewhat embarrassing. We didn’t play as well as we should have, so the few practices after that were excellent, everyone was on the same page. I think you saw that [Saturday].”

The game started slowly, with both teams trading unsuccessful possessions dictated by strong defensive play from the big men.

Hurricanes junior center Reggie Johnson and Florida State’s Bernard James engaged in a physical defensive battle that defined much of the game. Early on, UM’s 6-10, 284-pound center seemed to have the advantage.

“Reggie’s a big, strong youngster, and his massive body just throws you off every time you make contact with him,” FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. “And [in the first half] we didn’t set ourselves very well, and he made us pay.”

“It was a pretty even game in the first half,” UM coach Jim Larranaga said. “Then, in the second half, they got a little bit of a lead and it kind of stayed that way until they bumped it up to seven [points]. They were going inside regularly, and we were not able to prevent those baskets.”

After being limited to three points in the first half, James exploded for 15 second-half points and helped the Seminoles begin to build some momentum.

“In the second half, we were able to move Bernard around a little bit and give him some touches when he didn’t have a big body on him,” Hamilton said. “I was trying not to allow Reggie [Johnson] to be so attached to his body.”

That strategy seemed to work.

Neither team ever had decisive momentum. But behind James, as well as contributions from junior guard Michael Snaer (12 points, five rebounds), sophomore guard Ian Miller (11 points off the bench) and Loucks (seven points, six assists, zero turnovers), the Seminoles were able to build a 10-point lead with 7:31 remaining and cling to that lead the rest of the game.

Despite a valiant effort down the stretch, UM was never able to get the game closer than three points the rest of the way.

Johnson, who had 27 points in last season’s trip to the Donald Tucker Center, was held to four points by the Seminoles this time.

Junior forward Kenny Kadji led UM with 14 points and six rebounds, while junior guard Durand Scott, the team’s leading scorer, contributed 12 points and five rebounds.

“We still have six conference games remaining; we still have a lot of work to do,” Larranaga said. “We have Florida State at our place next time [on Feb. 26]. These are great games to watch, and I’m proud of my players. They did a great job of battling.”

UM will host North Carolina on Wednesday, while FSU hosts Virginia Tech on Thursday.