Improving Tigers Down Yellow Jackets, 70-58 |
CLEMSON, SC -- Bobby Cremins picked the wrong place to try to turn Georgia
Tech's season around. Clemson continued its dominance of the Yellow Jackets in Littlejohn Coliseum with a 70-58 win Wednesday night in front of 8,000. The Tigers (8-13 overall, 2-6 Atlantic Coast Conference) have won 15 of 18 at home against Cremins during his Georgia Tech career. The Yellow Jackets, mired in a slump that could end up costing Cremins his job, fell to 9-11 overall and 2-6 in the conference. "The downward spiral continues," said Cremins. "We've never had less confidence than we did tonight. We're tight as a tick." Meanwhile, Clemson is loosening up, particularly in the second half of games. Clemson stretched a five-point halftime lead to 20 points midway through the second half. The Tigers were never threatened down the stretch. "It's just good to see them have fun in two of the last three games," said Clemson coach Larry Shyatt. Clemson exploded in the second half against N.C. State a week ago for a 17-point win and played on even terms against Duke's second string in Durham on Saturday. Against Tech, the Tigers shot 56 percent from the floor in the second half to finish the first half of the conference schedule with a win. "Except for the first three to four minutes of the game, I think our guys put together an excellent effort on defense, especially on the glass," said Shyatt. Senior forward Adruis Jurkunas led the Tigers on offense with a career-high 21 points. He also added seven rebounds. "(He) stood up to the challenge and played a fabulous game against a pro (Jason Collier)," said Shyatt. Jurkunas held Collier, who had been averaging nearly 18 points a game, to 10 points. Clemson led by five at the half despite shooting 30 percent from the floor. Georgia Tech took an 11-7 lead with 11:54 left in the half on a put back by Collier. Clemson had a six-minute scoring drought, but Tech didn't capitalize. The Yellow Jackets scored just once, on Collier's tip, during the stretch. Clemson outscored Tech 16-7 over the final 7:37 of the half. Clemson guard Dustin Braddick scored seven points during the run. Adrius Jurkunas, who led Clemson at the half with eight points, added a 3-pointer during the run. Jurkunas had 12 points during Clemson's 31-16 run at the start of the second half. The Tigers led 54-34 after Will Solomon hit a pair of free throws with 7:53 left in the game. Tech pulled within 13 (62-49) with 4:11 left in the game. However, the Yellow Jackets didn't get any closer. "In order to win basketball games, we need to play loosely and with confidence," said Cremins. "It's my responsibility to instill this in our players." Right now, Clemson is the one gaining confidence. "Our guards found the open players well and we executed those shots," said Shyatt. Clemson faces North Carolina at Littlejohn Coliseum at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday. Officials-Duke Edsall, Bryan Kersey, Keith Maxwell. Attendance - 8,000 GEORGIA TECH FG 3PT FT Reb
No Player Min M-A M-A M-A O-D-T A PF ST TO BK PTS
CLEMSON
FG 3PT FT Reb
No Player Min M-A M-A M-A O-D-T A PF ST TO BK PTS
42 Chucky Gilmore 23 3-6 0-0 0-0 2-1-3 3 5 3 2 1 6
3 Andrius Jurkunas 36 7-12 4-7 3-9 1-6-7 1 2 1 3 0 21
24 Dustin Braddick 34 4-5 0-0 6-8 2-5-7 3 2 3 3 0 14
15 Will Solomon 38 4-12 0-5 9-11 0-7-7 5 1 0 7 0 17
10 Ed Scott 34 2-5 1-1 1-2 2-3-5 1 4 1 0 0 6
21 Ray Henderson 16 3-4 0-0 0-1 1-1-2 1 4 0 0 0 6
33 Pasha Bains 11 0-2 0-0 0-0 0-2-2 0 0 0 0 0 0
31 Tomas Nagys 7 0-2 0-0 0-0 2-1-3 0 3 0 0 0 0
0 Walker Holt 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0-0 0 1 0 0 0 0
Totals 200 23-48 5-13 19-31 10-26-36 14 22 8 15 1 70
Percentages: FG .479, 3PT .385, FT .613.
Team Rebounds: 4.
Team Turnovers: 0.
Georgia Tech 18 40 - 58
Clemson 23 47 - 70
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