Clemson Loses Close Call To Georgia Tech, 111-108

Jan. 24, 2001

By PETE IACOBELLI AP Sports Writer

CLEMSON, S.C. – Alvin Jones scored 26 points, Shaun Fein had seven of Georgia Tech’s school-record 17 3-pointers and the Yellow Jackets survived Will Solomon’s 41 points to beat Clemson 111-108 on Wednesday night.

Solomon had a chance to tie the game at 110-all with 16 seconds left and front-rimmed his shot. He had a three-point try with 5 seconds to go that also missed the mark in a wild finish.

Fein finished with 23 points for Georgia Tech (11-7, 3-4 Atlantic Coast Conference), which bettered its long-range goal mark of 16 accomplished twice in 1996 – against North Carolina and Boston College.

And they needed every one of them to hold off the Tigers (10-9, 1-5), who got a season-high effort from Solomon, the league’s leading scorer, and were within 105-104 on Pasha Bains’s 3-pointer with 1:18 to go.

But Jones, who had six of Georgia Tech’s last 16 points, got fouled as teammate Marvin Lewis made a short jumper. The senior center hit both free throws and the Jackets were up 109-104.

It was the most points Tech scored since the getting 111 two seasons ago in an overtime victory at Florida State.

Jones’ inside play pushed the Yellow Jackets to a 97-81 lead with 6:47 left. Clemson then went off on a 20-6 run to set up the finish.

Tony Stockman added 20 points for the Tigers, who had a season’s best 14 3-pointers.

Georgia Tech probably won’t have a hotter shooting half this season than the first 20 minutes. The Yellow Jackets started 10 of 14 from 3-point range and led 39-22 with 9:16 to go.

During one stretch, the team made five consecutive 3s – two by T.J. Vines, two by Halston Lane and one by Fein.

The Jackets ended the half with 13 3-pointers, one shy of their season high set in November against Wofford. They shot 62.1 percent (18 of 29) overall.

Solomon looked like he was going to keep Clemson close by himself. The junior had 26 points and hit three 3-pointers during Georgia Tech’s run of long-range success.

The Tigers, who shot 58.6 percent (17 of 29) in the opening period, got themselves back in it with a 13-2 run that closed the gap to 54-48.

Dwon Clifton’s 3-pointer with 22.7 seconds left cut Georgia Tech’s halftime lead to 59-53.

Clemson was minus starting point guard Ed Scott, home with a temperature of 104 degrees, and center Adam Allenspach, who had missed three of the past four games with a bad back.