Greg Paulus scored 17 pts and DeMarcus Nelson added 14 pts and nine reb's but it wasn't enough as the #7 Blue Devils were upset by Clemson, 78-74, Saturday in the semifinals of the 2008 ACC Tournament.
Paulus scored 14 of his 17 in the first half to give the Blue Devils a 31-30 advantage at the break. Neither team led by more than 6 in the opening half. Paulus scored 5 pts in 11 seconds to give Duke its big lead at the half of 25-19 with just over five to go. Clemson then went on an 11-4 run to take a 30-27 lead before Paulus scored the final 4 pts of the half.
Clemson came out gate strong in the second, opening up a quick eight point lead with a 9-0 run in the first 3.5 minutes. Gerald Henderson and Brian Zoubek then scored the next 9 pts for Duke as they pulled back within five at 45-40 with 14:20 left. After a Clemson bucket, Duke used a 9-2 run to tie the game at 49-49 with 11:43 left when Jon Scheyer was fouled on a 3 and hit all three freebies.
A Nolan Smith 3 at the 9:45 mark gave Duke its first lead since the break at 52-51 and the teams traded buckets, neither team holing more than a two-point lead until Jarvis Mayes was fouled by Paulus after making a lay-up and then hit his free throw to put the Tigers up 64-58. After Nelson hit a lay-up, Terrence Ogelsby nailed a three to give Clemson a 67-60 lead with 3:13 left.
The Blue Devils went on a 9-4 run to pull within two on Paulus' only second half points, a 3 with :45 left, making the score 71-69 in favor of Clemson. The Tigers then hit 5-of-6 from the line and got a lay-up in the game's final minute. Scheyer hit a 3 with :08 left before Hammonds, a 43% free throw shooter on the season, knocked down his third and fourth freebie in as many tries in the final moments. Taylor King had a put back before the buzzer on a Paulus heave for the final score.
Hammonds finished with 17 while Trevor Booker added 18 for the Tigers.
Duke did have good production off its bench with Scheyer scoring 13 points and getting a pair of steals while Brian Zoubek scored 8 and had 6 boards while tying his career high with 20 minutes. David McClure had four points and three steals while Nolan Smith had seven points in 19 minutes.
Duke will now wait to find out its NCAA Tournament fate Sunday.
Great win for Clemson, which advance to the ACC Championship Game for the first time since 1962. I wish you all the best in going up against the tarholes, just remember, your team will be playing 7 guys in the finale. Whichever 5 guys the tarholes throw at you, and the two refs, as they are always in roy's back pocket...
Go DUKE!!!
1 comment:
Go Duke!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
They played well this year.
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