Tigers hit 12 3-pointers in beating Yellow Jackets for 8th ACC win |
ATLANTA - The end-of-game stat sheet showed that Clemson and Georgia Tech played fairly even in Sunday afternoon’s ACC contest at Alexander Memorial Coliseum, but Georgia Tech wound up lacking two things: Trevor Booker and a killing 3-point game. Booker scored 21 points and grabbed 13 rebounds and the 13th-ranked Tigers hit 12 3-pointers in just 21 attempts (57%) to help overcome an early 15-point deficit in beating the Yellow Jackets 81-73 to improve to 22-4 overall and 8-4 in ACC play with the final quarter of the ACC season looming. With starting shooting guard Terrence Oglesby battling the flu, the Tigers once again seemed to lack effort at the beginning of a road game against a lesser opponent, as in last week’s loss at Virginia, and Tech jumped out to a 27-12 lead. The Tigers came roaring back, however, getting three huge treys from reserve David Potter, and eventually tied the game at 29, and the teams were tied at 33 at the intermission. “We have kind of seen this act before,” Clemson head coach Oliver Purnell said. “We have gotten down on the road before and won. Last time we got down on the road we didn’t come back and win. I think the difference this time was that we got back into it earlier, and were tied at the half, and came out of the attacking with that attacking mentality. The first 10 minutes of the game, we allowed them to be too comfortable.” K.C. Rivers, who finished with 19 points, hit a three in the opening minute of the second half to give the Tigers the lead for good, but Georgia Tech clawed back to within one, at 46-45, on a 3-pointer by Lewis Clinch (27 points) with 14:27 left in the contest. From there, however, it was all Tigers, as freshman point guard Andre Young came off the bench to provide valuable minutes and knock down four 3-pointers of his own in a key stretch that saw Clemson eventually put the game away with a Booker dunk with 1:50 left that gave Clemson a 10-point lead. Purnell said that Potter and Young were huge off the bench, especially from beyond the arc. “The 3-point shot is certainly a big part of our weaponry, no question about it,” Purnell said. “It showed up big after we punished people inside. Potter hits three to get us back into the game, and Young hit three in the second half that gave us a working margin and control of the game. Set up by pounding that thing inside. Two of Andre’s were passes from Booker down on the inside.” Each team was 27-for-53 from the field, Clemson held a 30-27 rebounding margin, each team had 16 assists, while Clemson committed one more turnover than Tech, 18-17. However, Tech hit just six 3-pointers to mark the difference in the game. The Tigers, who are now tied for second in the ACC, host Virginia Tech Wednesday night at Littlejohn Coliseum. “They will come in a little desperate, and with revenge on their minds,” Purnell said of the Hokies. “They may feel like they let that one get away, but we are just going to try and continue to play better. If you want to get to first place, you just have to take care of business.”
VISITORS: Clemson 22-4, 8-4 ACC
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