Florida State tops Florida after Gators’ Johnson collapses
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton told assistants and administrators that Florida could decide whether to continue after standout forward Keyontae Johnson collapsed and was rushed to a nearby hospital.
Coach Mike White let his players make the call — not once, but twice. With tears in their eyes and their teammate’s condition uncertain, the Gators wanted to play.
They were obviously and understandably distracted the rest of the way.
Highly touted freshman Scottie Barnes scored 17 points and No. 20 Florida State extended its dominance against the Gators with an 83-71 victory Saturday that came after Florida suddenly lost its best player.
Johnson, the Southeastern Conference’s preseason player of the year, was taken off the floor on a stretcher in the opening minutes and transported to Tallahassee Memorial for evaluation. Florida officials said he was in critical but stable condition and would remain there overnight.
White canceled postgame interviews to join Johnson at the hospital as his players boarded a bus for the two-hour trip back to Gainesville. Johnson’s parents were flying in from Virginia to be with their son.
Whether the game should have resumed surely will be debated. White let his players choose both times — moments after Johnson left the court and then again at halftime.
“Whatever they thought was in the best interest of their team, then I would accept it,” Hamilton said. “My administration asked me and I told them we would be OK with whatever they decided. It was my understanding that they wanted to play.”
Florida (3-1) was ahead 11-3 following Johnson’s dunk. The Seminoles (3-0) scored the next seven points and pulled away from there. They outscored the Gators 42-24 in the first half after Johnson was stricken.
The Seminoles led by as many as 18 in the second half. They ended up extending their winning streak against Florida to seven games, tying the longest by either team in the series. They also stretched their winning streak against nonconference opponents at home to 41 and won their 26th straight at home.
Florida’s Scottie Lewis, who was clearly affected by Johnson’s ordeal, tied a career high with 19 points. Tre Mann added 17 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
The Gators got little from anyone else. Johnson surely would have been a factor. He averaged a team-high 14 points last season to go along with 7.1 rebounds. He also led the Gators with 38 steals. He had five points in four minutes Saturday.
Like many of his teammates, Johnson tested positive for COVID-19 during the summer. The coronavirus can lead to myocarditis, a viral infection of the heart muscle, and it is common for athletes. At its most severe, myocarditis can lead to sudden cardiac arrest and has been a documented cause of death for young, otherwise healthy athletes.
The Southeastern Conference mandates strict protocols, including rigorous heart testing, before players can be cleared to return to play following positive COVID tests.
NO. 12 TENNESSEE 65, CINCINNATI 56:
John Fulkerson had 15 points and 12 rebounds, helping Tennessee pull away late in the second half to beat Cincinnati.
A 3-pointer by David DeJulius put Cincinnati ahead 53-51 with 6:14 left. The 6-foot-9 Fulkerson came back with four foul shots, giving the Vols (2-0) the lead for good.
Jaden Springer added 11 for Tennessee, making five foul shots. The Vols went 25 for 30 from the line while Cincinnati went 4 for 7.
Jeremiah Davenport came off the bench to lead the Bearcats (2-2) with 14 points. DeJulius scored 11 and Tari Eason had 10.
NO. 16 NORTH CAROLINA 73, NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL 67:
Armando Bacot had 19 points and 11 rebounds, and North Carolina stopped a two-game slide by holding off North Carolina Central.
Caleb Love and Day’Ron Sharpe scored 12 points apiece for the Tar Heels (4-2), and Andrew Platek finished with 11.
N.C. Central (1-3) scored the final nine points of the game. C.J. Keyser had 19 points for the Eagles, and Justin Whatley finished with 13.
Nicolas Fennell had 11 points for N.C. Central, and foul-plagued Jamir Moultrie finished with 10 points.
NO. 17 TEXAS TECH 77, TEXAS A&M-CORPUS CHRISTI 57:
Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 15 points in his return from an ankle injury and Texas Tech beat Texas A&MCorpus Christi for coach Chris Beard’s 100th victory with the Red Raiders.
Freshman Micah Peavy and graduate transfer Marcus Santos-Silva scored 12 points apiece for the Red Raiders (6-1), who never trailed after finding themselves behind with eight minutes to go before avoiding a major upset in their previous game against Abilene Christian.
The game at the home of the Dallas Mavericks’ G League team was the second neutral-site meeting in the Dallas area in two weeks for the Red Raiders. They lost to No. 7 Houston 64-53 in a Top 25 matchup in Fort Worth.
Nolan Bertain scored 12 points and Simeon Fryer added 10 for the Islanders.