Clemson vs. Georgia Tech postgame notes

by CU Athletic Communications - Wed Mar 03 10:01:45 GMT-04:00 2010

Team Notes

•Tonight’s victory gives Clemson a 9-6 ACC record and clinches a third straight winning record in ACC play. It is the first time in history Clemson has had three consecutive winning records in ACC play.

•This is the first time all year Clemson has been three games over .500 in ACC play.

•Clemson finishes the regular season with a 7-1 record in ACC home games. All seven wins were by at least eight points. Tonight was Clemson’s fifth ACC home win by double digits.

•This evening was Oliver Purnell’s 50th career win in ACC regular season play and his 53rd overall against ACC teams (including the ACC Tournament). The record is 59 wins over ACC teams by Cliff Ellis, who coached at Clemson for 10 years.

*Tonight was Clemson’s 30th win over Georgia Tech in Littlejohn Coliseum. Clemson has defeated the Yellow Jackets in Littlejohn more than any other school.

•Clemson has now won six straight games on Senior Night and Oliver Purnell is 6-1 in his seven years at Clemson. The only loss came to Georgia Tech in 2004, the year Georgia Tech advanced to the NCAA Championship game.

•Tonight was the 93rd overall victory for Clemson’s seniors (Trevor Booker and David Potter) and the 35th in ACC regular season play. That is a Clemson record in both categories for a senior class.

•Clemson had shot at least 75 percent from the foul line in five straight games and had won rebound margin in seven straight games entering tonight. Both of those streaks were snapped by large margins tonight (47 percent from the line and -12 in rebound margin) yet Clemson won the game.

•Clemson had 12 made three –point goals in tonight’s game, its high figure in an ACC game this year and second most in any game all year. Clemson had 14 at Liberty earlier in the year.

•Clemson has won two games in three days, one by scoring 53 points and one by scoring 91 points.

•This is the first time Clemson has won two ACC games in three days since the 2007-08 season when Clemson defeated Georgia Tech on Feb. 14 and won at NC State on Feb. 16.

•Clemson is now 70-29 all time in Senior Day games, including a 31-8 record since 1971-72.

•Clemson led 44-41 at halftime this evening. In 16 home games this year Clemson never trailed at intermission. The Tigers were tied with Duke, 23-23 on January 23.

•Clemson improved to 25th in the RPI after tonight’s victory. It was Clemson’s fifth win over an RPI top 50 team this year, the Tigers second in a row and fourth since January 31.

•Clemson will attempt to tie the school record for ACC regular season wins at Wake Forest on Sunday when the Tigers go for a 10th ACC win. Clemson won 10 ACC games in the regular season in 1986-87, 1989-90 and 2007-08. The school record for conference wins in a year is 11. The 1951-52 Clemson team under coach Banks McFadden was 11-4 in the Southern Conference.

•Clemson is now 16-0 this year when it shoots better from the field than the opposition.

•Clemson’s 21/11 assist/turnover ratio was its best in an ACC game this year.

•All 10 players who participated for the Tigers tonight made at least one field goal and had at least one rebound.

Individual Notes

•Trevor Booker joined many other Clemson greats with Senior Night wins over Georgia Tech. Horace Grant (30 points), Greg Buckner (30 points), Grayson Marshall (19 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds) and Dale Davis (23 points and 18 rebounds), all had memorable Senior Nights in victories over the Yellow Jackets. Booker had 21 points, nine rebounds, five assists and three blocks in tonight’s Clemson win.

•Fittingly, Booker’s final field goal in Littlejohn Coliseum was a signature rebound dunk, the 148th dunk of his Clemson career.

•Booker now has 1691 career points and need just six points to move past Horace Grant into fifth place in Clemson history. He is already third in rebounding with 1037. When he gets those six points he will be the only player in Clemson history in the top five in school history in scoring and rebounding.

•Booker established a Clemson record for consecutive starts tonight when he made his 131st in a row. He breaks the record of 130 by former teammate Cliff Hammonds, who played from 2004-08.

•Demontez Stitt had 20 points this evening, just his second 20-point game of the year, his first since the win over North Carolina on Jan. 13. Stitt made four three point goals to tie a career high. His career high is 21 points at Wake Forest last season.

•Stitt has now made 19 straight free throws.

•Andre Young made a three-point goal at the buzzer to end the first half for the second straight game. He made a half court shot at Florida State on Sunday, and a 23 foot three-pointer tonight to give Clemson a 44-41 halftime lead.