Old Dominion edges Tigers in Paradise Jam semi-finals |
ST. THOMAS, Virgin Islands -- The Clemson Tigers’ attempt to overcome a sluggish and mistake-filled first half came up short as Demontez Stitt was called for double dribble with 5 seconds left in the game, lifting the Old Dominion Monarchs (3-1) to a 61-60 victory over the Tigers (3-1) in the semi-finals of the Paradise Jam Sunday afternoon.
Clemson will face either Seton Hall or Xavier on Monday. “You hate to lose games to learn some things, but that was a good team,” Clemson head coach Brad Brownell said. “I was disappointed with our rebounding efforts. We allowed them to control the boards in the first half. I thought we played relatively good defense except for finishing plays on the boards. “ Clemson shot 43% from the field and was led by Stitt, who had a career-high 24 points. He scored 18 of those in the second half as the Tigers finally began to settle down. Brownell said he was pleased with the effort and execution that he received from Stitt. “He was ready to go tonight, Brownell said. “We talked to Demontez about the type of players he would face from Old Dominion. Stitt was ready to play too. He made a lot of big plays. I hate that he got some quick fouls and got in trouble. He played exceptionally well for us.” The Tigers were down 28-19 at halftime and had been out-rebounded 20-12 by the Monarchs. Clemson began the second half with an 18-8 run, but would score only six points in the next eight minutes. The Monarchs missed two free throws with under 20 seconds remaining in the game, and the Tigers came down the floor, trailing 59-57,with a chance to either tie the score or take the lead with a 3-pointer. However, Still was called for a double dribble, and the Monarchs had success with a full-court pass and dunk to seal the victory. Andre Young hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to account for the final margin. “That was a tough double dribble call at end against Demontez,” Brownell said. “He might have put his hand under it or carried it for a second. The guy thought it was the right call. That’s not what got us or lost the game for us. “We made some good adjustments and came out playing better in the second half,” Brownell said. “We took them to the buzzer and needed to get a rebound, turnover or steal and didn’t get it. This is a tough loss.” Stitt was the only Clemson player in double figures as Devin Booker, Andre Young and Bobo Baicu got in early foul trouble and were forced to sit for the majority of the first half. Junior swingman Tanner Smith took three charges in the game. “His [Smith’s] floor game and effort have been great all year, “Brownell said. “He didn’t shoot particularly well tonight, but we need more than one guy to step up, not just one to score 20, but two or three to score 10-14 points.” The Monarchs were led by Ben Finney and Frank Hassell, who both scored 13 points. Team Notes * Clemson fell by a score of 61-60 to Old Dominion in the second round of the Paradise Jam on Sunday in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. Individual Notes * Demontez Stitt produced a career-high with 24 points in the loss to Old Dominion. His previous career-high was 21, which he scored against Wake Forest in 2008-09 and in the NCAA Tournament game versus Missouri last March.
* The Tigers shot below 50 percent for the first time in the 2010-11 season, as Clemson made 22-of-51 field goals for a 43 percent mark.
* Clemson had shot 50 percent or better in each of their three wins to open the season.
* The Tigers forced 20 turnovers by Old Dominion and won the points off turnover battle for the fourth consecutive game. Clemson scored 24 points off the Monarchs’ miscues.
* The loss was Clemson’s first in the month of November since last season when Texas A&M won its first round matchup with the Tigers in the 76 Classic in Anaheim, CA.
* It was only the second loss in the month of November for the Tiger basketball program since the start of the 2005 season.
* Clemson collected a season-best 13 offensive rebounds in the contest, including eight in the second half alone.
* The Tigers matched a season-high with nine steals. Three players – Jerai Grant, Milton Jennings and Demontez Stitt – tallied two apiece.
* Stitt hit 9-of-13 shots and 5-of-7 from the free throw line for his career-best point total.
* Stitt scored 18 in the second half of Sunday’s game alone and was the only Tiger to reach double figures in the game with the Monarchs.
* Stitt now needs just 45 points to reach 1,000 for his career. When he does that, he will be the 34th player in Clemson history to score at least 1,000 points.
* Tanner Smith drew three charges on Old Dominion, just one shy of a single-game school record. Three different players share the record with four.
* Through two games at the Paradise Jam, Smith has taken five charges to give him a team-high total of six so far this season.
* Andre Young hit a pair of late three-point goals to give him an even 100 for his career, making him the 16th player in school history to reach the century mark.
* Young has now hit 10 out of 18 three-point attempts on the season
VISITORS: Old Dominion 3-1
Upgrade Your Account
Unlock premium boards and exclusive features (e.g. ad-free) by upgrading your account today.
Upgrade Now
