Nov. 13, 2006
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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Junior guard Dominitrix Johnson single-handedly kept Illinois State in the game, but in the end his career-high 32 points weren't enough as the Redbirds fell to Florida State 73-59, in the second day of the Colonial Classic at the Donald L. Tucker Center, Monday night.
The Redbirds (0-2) were never able to overcome a seven-point halftime deficit as Florida State (2-0) led by as many as 17 points in the second half. However, Johnson continued his torrid shooting with his fifth 3-point basket of the second half and dwindled the lead to 66-57 with 2:55 left. Florida State's Al Thornton tried to match Johnson point for point in the second half and finished with 20 points, including 18 in the final frame.
For the second night in a row, Illinois State stormed out of the gate early. The Redbirds jumped on the Seminoles and took an 11-1 lead at the 16:31 mark. It was a total team effort as all five starters scored a basket in the game's first four minutes with Roberto Fortes hitting the game's first three-pointer.
The teams traded baskets to make the score 13-3 with 14:54 left on the clock, but much like the SMU game, the Redbirds were slowed by a couple of four minute scoring droughts in the final 12 minutes of the half. FSU took advantage of the first drought and closed the score to 13-12.
ISU recovered from Florida State's first run and continued to lead thanks the hot shooting of Johnson, who finished with 11 points in the first half. But with the Redbirds leading 19-17 and 8:56 on the clock, ISU suffered its second four-minute scoreless rut of the half. Again the Seminoles capitalized with a 14-5 run to end the half and as a result took a seven-point lead into the locker room at 31-24.
Johnson's 30-point scoring night was the first by a Redbird since Trey Guidry fired in 30 at Creighton on Jan. 22, 2005 and the most since Tarise Bryson scored 38 points in the 2001 National Invitational Tournament game at Purdue. Johnson scorched the nets on 12-for-23 shooting, including 7-for-15 from beyond the arc. His seven triples tied the fourth-best n with single-game performance in ISU history. In addition, Johnson also registered a team-high four assists and three steals.
For Florida State, joining Thornton in double-figure scoring was Isaiah Swann with 14 points and Jason Rich with 12.
The Redbirds return to action on Tuesday night as ISU faces McNeese State, which has also dropped the first two games in the round-robin invitational. Tip off is at 4:05 p.m. CT.
