Coral Gables, FL 

 

Clemson took the trip down I-95 and into the Sunshine State of Florida to meet up with the Hurricanes of Miami in a mid season ACC matchup.  The Tigers winners of their last four consecutive ACC games and on the heels of an upset of then ranked #11 Virginia Tech looked to continue with it’s newly found momentum this night inside conference play.

 

The first half was an ugly display of offensive basketball with neither team able to shoot the ball with any consistency.  A low scoring affair saw the Tigers rally late and go into the locker room at the half leading 26-24.  Eli Thomas emerged late in the half and led the Tigers with 8 points.

 

The second half was much more frenetic and saw the Hurricanes build a ten point lead half way through the stanza.  Then the Tigers stiffened on the defensive end stopping the three pointers that came in a sudden flurry via Miami sharp shooter Visail and courtesy the Canes’ Chris Lykes. 

 

Shelton Mitchell caught on fire briefly and the Tigers fought back to within a single bucket around the 6 minute mark, only to see the Hurricanes again run it back up to as many as six points.  With just under 4 minutes left the Tigers found themselves down 61-58 and in striking distance.  

 

One area the Tigers were spot on was at the charity stripe as they were 12-12 with 2:30 left in the contest.  The Tigers on a Clyde Trapp coast to coast layup cut the lead to one, and again on the free throw line Reed sinks 2 straight to put the Tigers on top 64-63 with 1:11 to go.  15-15  from the free throw line at this point has been the edge the Tigers needed to claw their way back from as many as ten down.  Now the final 1:11 the Tigers can close it out as Miami rebounds and comes down court for a last second score with .04 left on the clock as the Tigers lose a heart breaker in Coral Gables and the win streak is done at four.  Hurricanes 65 Tigers 64. 

 

Notes: With 15 points Shelton Mitchell surpassed the 1,000-point mark of his Clemson career (1,001) and now stands 41st in scoring in Clemson history … Elijah Thomas now has 159 blocks in his Clemson career – 18 shy of tying Sharrod Ford (2001-05) for ninth on the all-time list … Thomas grabbed nine more rebounds and now has 572 for his Clemson career – just 32 shy of tying Horace Wyatt (1978-82) for 25th all-time … Marcquise Reed tallied another steal and now has 146 in his Clemson career – five shy of tying Andre Bovain (1990-94) for 12th on the all-time list … Reed’s 19 points give him 1,278 for his Clemson career – 30 shy of tying Sharone Wright (1991-94) for 21st on the all-time scoring list … it marked Reed’s 61st double-digit scoring game at Clemson – leaving him nine shy of tying Butch Zatezalo (1967-70) and Larry Nance (1977-81) for 16th all-time in program history … after finishing 9-for-9 at the free throw line, Reed has now made 16-straight free throws – a season-high for a Clemson player this year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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