Tigers Snap Skid With 13-Point Win Over Florida State |
CLEMSON - By the time Wednesday night rolled around, seemingly all of Clemson was in need of something positive to talk about.
Enter the Tigers' basketball team. Clemson snapped a three-game losing streak and pulled back to .500 in Atlantic Coast Conference play with a 71-58 victory over visiting Florida State. The game was played before an announced crowd of 6,620 at Littlejohn Coliseum. The win enables Clemson (19-5, 5-5 ACC) to sweep the season series from the Seminoles. Florida State (17-7, 5-5) had won three straight and five of its last six coming into the game. ?This was a very good win for our team and more typical Clemson basketball that we have come accustomed to seeing," said head coach Oliver Purnell. "We took control of the game early and showed that on the defensive boards as well. Overall we played tough and this was a good ACC win for us.? ?This was a good win for a number of reasons. It was a table setter, streak ender, confidence builder, and resume stuffer.? The Tigers led the entire evening, and had double-digit leads in both halves - as many as 17 in the first half and 15 in the second. Florida State hung around long enough to draw within six points three times in the final 20 minutes, the last coming after Isaiah Swann and Ralph Mims hit back-to-back three pointers to pull the Seminoles within 64-58 at the 1:16 mark. But unlike the Virginia collapse the last time Clemson stepped onto the Littlejohn Coliseum floor, this time the team stayed aggressive in the final minutes and did what was necessary to win the game. One key factor was a driving baseline layup by Cliff Hammonds at 2:32 that turned into a three-point play when the shot fell and Toney Douglas was called for a foul. That extended Clemson's lead to 61-52 at the moment. Another key element proved to be the Tigers' free throw shooting. Clemson hit 12-of-17 free throws in the final 4:01, just enough to keep FSU at arm's length. For the game, the Tigers hit 22-of-33 (66.7 percent). "We've been working on them," Purnell said. "If you look back over the last three or four games we're gradually getting better. We hit enough tonight at the right time to help put the game away." Clemson was led in scoring by K.C. Rivers with 17, 13 of which came in a first half which saw the Tigers get off to what has been - of late, anyway - an uncharacteristic fast start. A pair of early 3s by Hammonds (16 points) and one from Rivers helped Clemson jump out to an early 24-9 advantage. The margin eventually crept at high as 17 points, 31-14, on a Hammonds layup and a Sam Perry free throw at 5:53. The Seminoles would narrow the margin to 11 by halftime, 36-25. Vernon Hamilton added 11 points to the Clemson effort. Al Thorton topped FSU with 21, the only Seminole to reach double figures. Clemson is off for a full week, then hits the road at Wake Forest on Valentine's Day.
VISITORS: Florida State 17-7,5-5
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