Monday March 03, 2008

The Epic Win

The Epic Win
Maybe Coach Purnell knew it was going to be a special night when he had the team warm-up in orange uniforms then surprised them when he broke out the new purple uniforms right before the game.

According to the Clemson sports information department’s release it was the first time Clemson has ever worn purple uniforms for a men’s basketball game.

A night of firsts and a memorable night on senior night in front of over 17,000 in the Comcast Center in College Park, MD as the Tigers pulled off what has to be considered one of the greatest wins in Clemson basketball history. I joked on this morning’s show in comparing it to some of the all-time great wins in school history that when you call roll in that class it doesn’t take long.

We can definitely call it one of the greatest comebacks in school history. The SID release reminds us:

*Clemson overcame a 59-39 deficit with 11:21 remaining to gain a 73-70 victory tonight. That tied for the largest deficit overcome to gain victory at any point in a game in Clemson history. Clemson overcame a 20-point deficit against The Citadel (26-6) in December of the 1978-79 season.

*Clemson trailed by 20 points in the second half this evening and that was the largest second half deficit overcome to gain victory in school history. The previous record was 16 against LaSalle in the second half of Clemson's NCAA Tournament victory in Hartford in 1990.

*It was the largest deficit overcome to gain victory at any point in an ACC game. The previous record for an ACC game was against Duke in 1995-96 when Clemson overcame a 15-point deficit to win 51-48.

*Tonight was the largest halftime deficit overcome to gain victory in an ACC road game in school history. The previous record was eight points. Clemson trailed at Virginia 27-19 at the half before winning 62-52 on December 7, 1996.

*Clemson outscored Maryland 18-2 over the last 4:48 to win the game. Clemson trailed 68-55 at that point, before winning 73-70. (It reminded me of Clemson’s collapse against Virginia last season).

In my opinion, this game had several turning points. Among them are:
*With 19:08 to go, Purnell got a technical foul. I can only remember two or three technical fouls called on him during his time at Clemson.

*With 16:05 to go in the game Cliff Hammonds blocked James Gist dunk attempt. Gist was not the same and only scored two more points the rest of the way.

*With 11:21 to go Maryland had the 59-39 lead but Clemson began to go inside and Trevor Booker became dominating. The Tigers then scored free throws which is big because Clemson was cutting the lead without the clock moving. Oglesby made some three pointers to cut the lead more. After Maryland pushed the margin back to 13 with less than five to play Clemson’s defense was the big key and the Terps could not score down the stretch. Obviously Mays played huge on both ends with the dunks and Oglesby capped it with the bomb at 0:02.

After the game Purnell talked about the inside-outside game so here are Clemson’s points in the last 11 minutes to show exactly what he was talking about.
11:00 Maryland 59- Clemson 39
10:53 Grant layup 59-41
9:13 Booker Dunk 59-43
8:58 2 Free throws Booker 59-45
8:41 2 Free Throws Stitt 59-47
7:53 Oglesby 3-pointer 60-50
6:50 Oglesby 3-pointer 60-53
5:07 Booker dunk 66-55
4:31 Booker layup 68-57
3:51 Mays tip in 68-59
3:00 Mays layup 68-61
3:00 Mays free Throw 68-62
2:49 Steal by Oglesby Dunk Mays 68-64
2:02 Rivers jumper 68-66
1:09 Booker inside the paint 70-68
0:45 Steal by Mays Dunk 70-70
0:02 Oglesby 3-pointer 73-70

33 points in the last 11 minutes came from:
16 points in the paint
9 points on three pointers
6 points from free throws
2 points from mid-range

*The Tigers were 6 of 7 from the free throw line in the last 11 minutes.

*Clemson turned the ball over only three times in the second half.

*Clemson’s defense in the full court and half court sets were a difference coming down the stretch also.

Clemson is now in the NCAA tournament and should be a top four seed in the ACC tournament coming up next week. For the other side of things, it looks like Maryland’s ACC and NCAA hopes took a huge hit last night. The Terps suffered a major collapse Sunday night and they have to be wondering what went wrong from their end. This is not the way senior nights are supposed to go. The Baltimore Sun asked if this is the worst home loss ever at Maryland?

Youtube.com will be fun to watch in the next day or two as we get video from the shocking performance. The last time the Tigers had a win of this nature I am not sure the website existed.

My final thoughts were joy for Purnell winning back in his old neighborhood in front of family and friends and Pete Yanity, who was probably listening on the internet and watching on TV as he buries his father. Great win for both.

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