Florida State Surprises Duke

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Alexander Johnson wasn’t around for the end of Florida State’s one-point overtime loss to Duke earlier this season.

On Wednesday night, most of the Duke players weren’t near the court when the Seminoles beat the top-ranked Blue Devils, 79-74.

Florida State fans prematurely stormed the court with 1.7 seconds left, but that only delayed the Seminoles’ second win over No. 1 Duke in three years.

Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski had his team -- except the five in the game -- taken to the locker room before Al Thornton took the final free throws with 1.7 seconds left. He said he feared for his players’ safety.

“I would think that security is not ready for that type of thing,” Krzyzewski said. “We weren’t going to win the basketball game, the game was basically over, so why put those kids in harm’s way?”

J.J. Redick made 10 of 28 shots and had 30 points for Duke, 27-2 overall and 14-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Shelden Williams had 20 points.

The loss ended a run at an unbeaten ACC season for Duke, which closes its regular season Saturday at North Carolina.

Johnson, who broke the final tie, said he wasn’t thinking about what happened when Florida State (18-8, 8-7) played at Duke on Feb. 4. Then, he was sent to the bench with his fifth foul, a technical, in the second half.

The ACC later determined the technical against Johnson, called after he was bumped by Williams, who also got a technical, was a mistake and suspended the three-man officiating crew for one game. His basket, over Williams, with 1:06 left gave the Seminoles a 74-72 lead.

“I would have got some cheap fouls trying to be aggressive against Shelden Williams so I kind of relaxed and let my game come to me,” said Johnson, who finished with 22 points.

Thornton had 26 points for Florida State, which beat top-ranked Duke, 77-76, on Jan. 6, 2003, also in Tallahassee.