Wolfpack Steamroll Tigers, 85-51 |
RALEIGH, N.C. — The latest loss in Clemson's seemingly endless streak of
futility could prove to be its most devastating. A month and a day since becoming the Tigers' first Atlantic Coast Conference victory of the season, N.C. State avenged the earlier defeat by steamrolling Clemson 85-51 Wednesday night in Raleigh. Clemson hasn't won since that Jan. 13 encounter, still owns but one conference victory and has lost eight straight for the first time since 1971-72. Meanwhile, the Wolfpack has quietly won two of three to climb over .500 for the season (12-11), and improved to 4-7 in the ACC. "It was definitely most disappointing (loss of the season) to me," Clemson coach Larry Shyatt said afterwards. "I've been very proud of how we've battled teams perhaps more talented, taller and nationally ranked. But this wasn't one of those nights. I'm equipped to take full and total responsibility when we play poorly...and tonight we caved. "I thought we were out of sorts on both ends of the floor." The Tigers (10-14, 1-10) were never in the game after State closed the first half with a 17-2 run to take a 46-28 lead, and any thoughts Clemson had of pulling one of its patented comebacks seemed to end on the first basket of the second half, when Damien Wilkins drove baseline for a highlight-reel reverse dunk to put the margin at 20. The Wolfpack could do little wrong from that point, dropping in jump shots from all angles or hitting easy transition layups to keep Clemson reeling. State's biggest lead was 40, 79-39, with just over 7:53 left in the game. Wilkins finished with a game-high 22 points for the Wolfpack, but had plenty of help. Trey Guidry added 13 points, while Kenny Inge and Anthony Grundy had 11 and 10, respectively. Chris Hobbs was the lone bright spot for the Tigers, at least in the first half. Hobbs scored 12 of his 15 points in the half, and finished the game with a team-leading nine rebounds. Tony Stockman was the only other Clemson player in double figures, finishing with 10. It looked for a while like Wednesday's game would be a repeat of the first meeting between the teams. The first half was a game of runs, with both teams — and individual players — going into scoring spurts. Clemson trailed 20-11 seven minutes into the game, before rallying with eight straight points — a pair of 3-pointers by Pasha Bains and an 18-footer by Tony Stockman — to pull within 20-19. State answered with a 10-0 run, the last four from Wilkins, to regain control with under eight minutes left in the half, 29-19. Hobbs stopped the run with a putback of an Ed Scott miss, the first of seven straight points the freshman forward would score to pull Clemson within 29-26. But State put an emphatic end to the half, outscoring the Tigers 17-2 over the final 5:10 to take a 46-28 lead into the break. Clemson has little time to feel sorry for itself. Looming Sunday is a meeting with No. 1 North Carolina at Littlejohn Coliseum, a test Shyatt seems to welcome. "When we've been beaten badly, and that's four times now, we've bounced back the next game and played pretty well. So having No. 1 there to shoot at might be the best thing for us after a game like this." Notes: — Clemson now owns sole possession of the ACC basement, thanks to Florida State's 74-71 upset victory Wednesday at Maryland. — Solomon's streak of 52 consecutive games with double figures in points came to an end Wednesday. It was the first time since the final game of the 1998-99 season — the NIT Championship game loss to California — that the junior guard failed to score at least 10 points. — Adam Allenspach made his first appearance since Jan. 17 at North Carolina, playing 10 minutes in a reserve role. The senior center had missed six consecutive games with recurring back problems. Allenspach scored two points and had one rebound. — The 34-point margin was Clemson's worst loss to N.C. State since a 112-72 defeat in 1955. NORTH CAROLINA STATE 85, Clemson 51
CLEMSON (10-14)
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