IOWA STATE 62, FSU 59: Seminoles go to their senior leader, who goes 2-for-15 in the NIT loss.
By ZACHARY SPAIN
Published March 24, 2004
TALLAHASSEE - Throughout the season, whenever Florida State needed a lift, the Seminoles knew senior Tim Pickett was there, calling to have the ball - and the game - in his hands. He was breathlessly quick to penetrate and fearless in his release, which seemed to resurrect the Seminoles whenever it was needed.
So it was no surprise that in Florida State's 62-59 loss to Iowa State in the second round of the NIT on Tuesday night, the Seminoles looked no further than Pickett.
He was their leader, the shooting guard who took FSU to its first winning record and postseason since 1997-98.
But Tuesday night, in what would be Pickett's final college game - in front of an adoring Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center crowd of 8,065 - the oft-rehearsed script came to a different ending.
With FSU behind 58-56 and the clock down to 11 seconds, Pickett drove to the left side, sailing into a mass of Cyclones as he let go of the ball.
His shot bounced off the rim.
Forward Adam Waleskowski managed to grab the rebound and find an open Alexander Johnson for a 15-footer.
It, too, fell harmlessly off the rim.
The Seminoles were forced to foul, and Marcus Jefferson made both free throws, effectively putting the game out of reach with eight seconds left.
That was the kind of night it was for the Seminoles - one in which they shot 34.4 percent and 8-of-34 from behind the 3-point line against an Iowa State (19-12) zone they were largely unfamiliar with.
"It seemed as though we were very indecisive and very passive in our attack of their zone defense," FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. "(The Cyclones) gained confidence as a result."
Meanwhile Pickett, who last Wednesday sank a double-pump 3-pointer to send FSU's first round NIT game at Wichita State into overtime, made only one of his 13 3-point attempts and finished with seven points, his worst home output of the season.
"I was feeling real great coming off that win at Wichita State," said Pickett, who shot 2-for-15 overall, but had seven assists. "I missed a couple early.
"I didn't lose my focus knowing that the next one was going to go in.
"Some were rimming in and then coming out. They were all good looks."
Still, Florida State (19-14) had its chances.
After falling behind 33-20 by halftime, thanks to four Jake Sullivan 3-pointers, his 14 first-half points and an FSU field-goal drought that lasted more than seven minutes late in the half, the Seminoles tied the game with at 47 with 7:15 left on Andrew Wilson's 3-pointer.
But Sullivan followed with a three-point play on Iowa State's next possession, and the Seminoles were unable to pull any closer than 1 the rest of the way. Sullivan finished with a game-high 19 points.
"(Sullivan) came out on fire, and it just opened up a lot of stuff for them," said Waleskowski, FSU's top scorer with 14 points and 10 rebounds. "It killed the crowd.
"It killed the excitement of the game."
Said Pickett: "Tonight just shows that everybody is human."
