Clemson Set To Face Washington

Dec. 22, 2000

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Clemson vs. Washington Today’s game is just the second-ever meeting between the Tigers and the Huskies. Washington won the only other meeting in the series with a 76-66 decision in the third-place game of the 1982 Great Alaska Shootout. Today’s game is also being played for third place.

About the Huskies Washington dropped to 5-4 after yesterday’s 69-60 setback to #17 Alabama in semifinal action Thursday in the Puerto Rico Holiday Classic. The Huskies advanced to the winner’s bracket on Wednesday with a 67-47 victory over American (PR).

The Huskies opened the season with a 73-61 loss to UTEP but rallied to win three straight games over New Mexico State, Portland State and Wichita State. Washington the lost at Gonzaga and at home vs. St. Louis before stopping to win at Florida International on the way to San Juan. Senior forward Will Perkins leads the team in scoring and rebounding with 13.3 points and 8.4 rebounds but he was injured Thursday vs. Alabama. Thalo Green, another senior forward, is second on the team in scoring with 13.1 points per game.

In the Semifinal Clemson made a late charge at Cincinnati but the comeback bid came up short and the Bearcats went on to claim an 88-80 win over the Tigers on Thursday to advance to the championship of the Puerto Rico Holiday Classic. Cincinnati, ranked 20th by USA Today/ESPN, went ahead by as many as 18 points with 13:08 to play in the second half, but Clemson junior Will Solomon put the team on his back. At one point, Solomon scored 14 of Clemson’s 16 points that pulled the Tigers within two points of the Bearcats with 4:38 to play.

Cincinnati then flexed its muscle and went up by as many as 10 points before claiming an eight-point victory.

Kenny Satterfield led Cincinnati in scoring with 22 points and eight assists. Steve Logan, playing despite a sprained ankle, added 18 points. Solomon led all acorers with 32 points on 9 of 21 shooting that included five three pointers. He was 9 of 11 from the charity stripe with three assists and two blocks. Ray Henderson was perfect from the field on five attempts to score 12 points. Tony Stockman also added 12 points off the bench.

In the Opener Will Solomon scored 24 points, includind 21 in about an 13-minute span to lift Clemson to a 94-81 victory over Florida Atlantic in the opening game of the Puerto Rico Holiday Classic Wednesday in Bayamon, PR. Solomon was 7 of 18 from the field, including 4 of 12 from three-point range, and made 6 of 7 from the free throw line. Solomon did not make his first basket in the game until the 4:26 mark in the first half. He scored the first 21 of his 24 points in a 12:59 span.

Adam Allenspach posted yet another double-double against the Owls. He tallied 13 points and 13 rebounds for his fourth consecutive double-double. The last player to do that is Sharone Wright, who recorded five double-doubles his sophomore year in 1992-93.

In all four Tigers scored in double figures to give Clemson its highest offensive output in head coach Larry Shyatt’s three years. The previous high was 92 points against Georgia Tech on Feb. 28, 1999. In addition to Solomon and Allenspach, Pasha Bains scored 20 points (his second 20-point game this season) and Ed Scott added 13 points.

Florida Atlantic tied the game at 31, but Clemson rallied to outscore the Owls 16-9 in the remaining minutes of the first half to take 47-40 lead at the half. FAU pulled within four points early in the second half before stretching its lead to 21 points. A late rally pulled Florida Atlantic within 13 points, the final margin.

Solomon Pushing for All-Tourney, Player of the Week Honors Senior guard Will Solomon took it upon his shoulders to try to get Clemson a victory against 20th-ranked Cincinnati in Thursday’s semifinal game. He scored 32 points including 14 of Clemson’s 16 that pulled the Tigers within two points of the Bearcats with 4:38 to play. Clemson llost 88-80.

Solomon now has 56 points in the two games in the Puerto Rico Classic. He had 24 in the opener against Florida Atlantic. That is an average of 28.0 points per game.

Solomon Tops 1,000 Point Mark Solomon became the 27th Clemson player to top 1,000 points as a Tiger. He needed six points vs. Cincinnati to reach 1,000. He now has 1,026 and ranks 24th on the all-time scoring list. The next player on the list is Colon Abraham (1974-78) who is 23rd with 1,061 points.

Allenspach’s Streak of Double-Doubles Comes to End Senior Adam Allenspach watched as his streak of four double-doubles came to an end Thursday against Cincinnati. The Tigers’ lone senior scored only one point to go with five rebounds. The streak had reached four on Wednesday in the win over Florida Atlantic. He had 13 points and 13 rebounds against the Owls.

He had scored 17 points and grabbed 12 rebounds vs. Wofford last Saturday and had 15 points and15 rebounds at South Carolina and 20 points and 10 reboundsvs. Winthrop. The last Tiger to post four consecutive double-doubles was Sharone Wright, who last did it his sophomore year in 1992-93.Next on the list is Dale Davis, who had double-doubles six times in a row his senior year in 1990-91.

During the streak, Allenspach was clearly playing his best basketball of his Clemson career. Allenspach ranks third on the Clemson team in scoring with a 11.8 average (behind Solomon and Stockman) and is first in rebounding with a 9.3 figure. He is shooting 51.8 percent from the field and had been shooting 77.8 percent from the foul line until he went 1 for 8 from the line Wednesday vs. Florida Atlantic. He made 74 percent from the line last year, best by a Clemson center since the 1956-57 season.

Bains Hits 20 For Second Time Pasha Bains scored 20 points agasint Florida Atlantic on Wednesday. It was the second time this season the sophomore transfer from Wyoming connected for 20 points. He also had 20 points in the season opener vs. Hartford. Against the the Hawks, Bains was 7 of 12 from the field, inlcuding 6 of 9 from beyond the three-point arc. Against Florida Atlantic, he was 7 of 15 and was 3 of 8 on three-point tries. He also equaled a career best assist mark with five dishes. He previously had five assists last year against Furman.

Last Time In Puerto Rico Clemson made its last trip to Puerto Rico in 1996 for the San Juan Thanksgiving Shootout. The Tigers opened the tournament with a 78-71 win over Delaware thanks to the shooting of Merl Code who finished with 19 points after scoring 13 in the second half. Harold Jamison added 15 points with eight rebounds. The Tigers shot 52.5 percent for the game and had a 33-29 rebound advantage, including a 16-9 edge on the offensive glass.

In the Tigers’ second game, Clemson needed the heroics of Terrell McIntyre in the final seconds to get past Missouri. He connected for a three-point shot (21 feet, left side) with only four seconds to play to give Clemson a 47-45 victory. McIntyre was 2 of 10 from the field before that game-winning shot. Code again led Clemson on the scoreboard with 13 points.

The win propelled the Tigers into the tournament finale vs. Minnesota, a rematch of the two teams from the preceding season (a 79-66 Clemson victory). In San Juan, the Gophers and Tigers played a defensive battle in the first half with Minnesota claiming a 25-20 halftime lead, but Minnesota limited Clemson’s effectiveness on the inside and went on to a 10-point victory, 75-65. McIntyre finished with 23 points.