North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State
Clemson
Wolfpack Puts Clamps on Clemson, 63-60
3/5/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 5, 2003
By Tony Haynes
Clemson, S.C.--It was in a place called Death Valley that NC State kept its NCAA Tournament hopes alive on Wednesday night. A clutch 63-60 victory over Clemson was led by guard Scooter Sherrill, who scored a career-high 24 points. Sophomore center Josh Powell also answered the bell on the road, scoring 14 points to go along with eight rebounds as the Pack (16-10, 9-6) guaranteed itself a winning season in the ACC for the second straight year, a feat it had not accomplished since the 1988-89 season.
Coming off Sunday's devastating 3-point loss to Maryland, this had to be one of NC State grittiest efforts of the year. It came on a night when 6th man Levi Watkins sat out with a pulled groin and starting forward Marcus Melvin went scoreless on an 0-8 shooting performance. Still slowed by illness, leading scorer Julius Hodge only managed eight points, more than 10 below his average.
Still, the Wolfpack found a way, thanks to Sherrill, Powell and some pressure shooting at the free throw line. Nursing a tenuous lead down the stretch, NC State made 9-of-10 free throws over the last four minutes and ended up converting on 15-of-17 for the game.
"Every time we've taken a punch in the nose, these guys have just responded like champions," said Wolfpack head coach Herb Sendek. "I don't know if I've ever been around a group as tough-minded as they are. Whether it's a tough loss we're coming off of or some of the injuries we've had to deal with, these guys just somehow keep fighting and scrapping and find a way. I'll confess, it's not always pretty, but they just have a crustiness to them that allows us to get through."
Cliff Crawford, who strained a hip-flexor on Sunday against Maryland, battled through the discomfort to tally nine points and five assists in 31 minutes. He also made sure Clemson star Edward Scott would need to work extremely hard to score 21 points. Although he hit some big shots down the stretch, Scott, playing in his final home game at Littlejohn Coliseum, struggled to get seven field goals in 20 attempts from the floor.
After Sherrill made one of two from the line with 6.5 seconds left, Clemson (15-11, 5-10) still had a chance to tie it. Taking the inbounds pass, Scott quickly pushed the ball up the floor against Crawford. But the Tigers never got up a 3-point attempt that could have sent it to overtime because Crawford stripped the ball away near the top of the key. By the time Melvin picked up the loose ball, time had expired, giving NC State its third ACC road win of the year.
Trailing by 11 at the half and by as many as 12 early in the second period, Clemson closed to within two points on four occasions but was never able to tie it or take the lead.
"At home especially, I think if they would have gotten the lead it could have changed the psyche of the game," Sendek said. "Although we bent, we didn't break."
The Pack didn't break because Sherrill, Powell and even freshman Cameron Bennerman would come up with some big shots. Playing 15 minutes, Bennerman delivered eight big points off the bench, including a contested 3-pointer with nine minutes left that put State up 46-40. Powell also had some timely shots. After hitting a long-range bomb from the top of the key midway through the second half, the 6-9 sophomore threw down a slam in transition that made it 52-46 with just over four minutes left. Powell then dealt perhaps his biggest blow to the Tigers, a tough runner in the lane that left the Pack with a 56-52 edge with 51.7 seconds remaining.
But sealing road games in the ACC is never easy. Senior Tomas Nagys, who had a solid night with 13 points, drew a foul inside on a layup with 7.5 seconds left. His free throw to convert an old-fashioned 3-point play got Clemson within two at 62-60. Sherrill's free throw made it a 3-point game before Crawford stripped Scott to end it.
In two games against Clemson this year, Powell is 14-of-16 from the floor. He was a perfect 8-of-8 in the Pack's 22-point win last month before knocking down 6-of-8 on Wednesday.
"I thought Josh Powell was simply outstanding," said Sendek. "He hit a real bug basket there near the end of the game and gave us a real force inside."
Sherrill came up with his third consecutive strong performance, knocking down 5-of-8 3-pointers along with 7-of-8 from the free throw line. The junior loves playing at Littlejohn--he put up 19 off the bench in NC State's 80-79 win against Clemson last season.
"Guys in the pros talk about their favorite places to play and in college this is my favorite place to play," Sherrill said. "The rims are just so soft. Any shooter is going to love playing here."
The win was NC State's fifth in a row over Clemson. The Wolfpack shot 44.4 percent for the game and outrebounded the physical Tigers 34-27. Hitting 53.8 percent of its shots in the second half, Clemson knocked down 41.8 percent from the field overall.
