Thursday 01/20/2000
Jan. 20, 2000
CLEMSON, S.C. – Maryland holds a 74-42 lead in the series with Clemson. The Terps have dominated the series in College Park, winning 44 of the 52 games. The Tigers did win there over a top 12 Maryland team three years ago, and also won on Maryland’s Senior Day in 1992-93.
Clemson has won four of the last 10 of the series and three of them were against top 20 Maryland teams. That includes the 1997-98 season when Clemson won 78-65 in overtime at Clemson, the second largest margin of victory in an overtime game in Clemson history. The Tigers outscored Maryland 13-0 in the overtime period. Clemson also had a double digit victory at Clemson over a seventh ranked Maryland team in 1996-97, 80-68.
Maryland won the first meeting at Clemson last year, also in overtime, 81-79. That is one of just two Maryland wins at Clemson in the last 11 years. Maryland’s 1999 seniors won three times at North Carolina, but just once at Clemson.
Clemson’s wins at Maryland took place in 1949-50 (60-55), 1961-62 (75-68), 1965-66 (81-69), 1975-76 (82-77), 1986-87 (80-79), 1989-90 (75-73), 1992-93 (81-73), and 1996-97 (76-70).
Last year Clemson lost to Maryland in both meetings. The game at Clemson was a thriller. Terrell McIntyre scored 25 points on 8-11 shooting, including 4-6 three-point shots, but it was not enough as the Terps won 81-79 in overtime. Clemson shot 57 percent from the field, yet lost the game, a contest that was played at a high level. Andrius Jurkunas had 18 in support of McIntrye. Clemson made just 10-19 free throws in the contest, a prime reason for the defeat. Terence Morris led Maryland with 26 points thanks to 9-12 shooting. Seve Francis added 18 for the Terps, who hit 10-24 three-point shots.
Clemson vs. Maryland Cole Fieldhouse Saturday, January 22, 2000 (4:00 PM)
Upcoming Clemson Schedule:
Quick Facts Clemson guard Will Solomon was eighth in the nation in scoring with a 22.3 average through games of January 17. He still leads the ACC in scoring with a 21.6 average and in three-point goals per game with 3.2.
Clemson has lost three games in a row to maryland after having won four out of five. Clemson last won at Maryland in 1996-97 by a 76-70 score. The Terps were ranked 11th in the nation heading into that game.
Two of the last four games between Clemson and Maryland have gone to overtime with each team gaining a victory.
Clemson center Adam Allenspach scored 24 points against Appalachian State. It was the highest scoring game by a Clemson center since Sharone Wright scored 25 against Wake Forest on Feb. 22, 1994.
The Tigers lead the ACC in rebound margin with a +7.8 figure. Clemson was 9th in the nation in rebound margin heading into this week’s play. Only two teams have beaten Clemson on the boards this year.
Only one team, Appalachian State (45.5) has shot over 45 percent against Clemson this year. Tiger opponents have shot just 38.5 percent against Clemson this year.
Will Solomon was named ACC Player of the Week on Monday, the 2nd time this year he has won the honor. He scored 43 points against Virginia last Saturday, most by a Clemson player in 30 years.
Maryland 77, Clemson 60 Steve Francis scored 32 points on 11-15 shooting, and also had eight rebounds and six steals to lead Maryland past Clemson 77-60 at College Park on Feb. 24. It was the second straight loss for the Tigers against a top five team. The Tigers had lost at number-one Duke in the Blue Devils Senior Night in the previous game.
Clemson had four players in double figures. Tom Wideman played perhaps his best game in an ACC contest this year, as he scored 14 points to lead all scorers. It was just the second time this year he led the Tigers in scoring. Wideman also did a fine defensive job on Terence Morris, holding the talented sophomore to 12 points and 3-9 field goal shooting. Wideman also had a career high three blocked shots.
Harold Jamison had a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds, including five off the offensive boards. It was the fourth straight double figure rebounding game for Jamison, who had just six shots from the field. Andrius Jurkunas had 12 points and six rebounds, while Terrell McIntyre added 12 points and six rebounds to go with three steals.
Maryland led 38-26 at the half, then Clemson cut the margin to seven at 42-35 with 16:10 left. But, Maryland went on a 10-0 run behind Francis, who had five dunks in the game. The lead varried between 19 and 11 points the remainder of the game.
Clemson made just 36 percent of its field goals and 57 percent from the line. Maryland won the rebounding battle by just one. Clemson had 21 turnovers, its third highest total of the season, but forced 17. Still, points off turnover were 25-15 in favor of the Terps.
Allenspach Records Career High Clemson center Adam Allenspach scored 24 points in Clemson’s loss to Appalachian State on January 19. That was his career high scoring effort and it was in fact the highest scoring game for a Clemson center since Sharone Wright scored 25 points at Wake Forest on Feb. 22, 1994. Allenspach connected on 7-11 field goals and 10-12 free throws.
His free throw shooting stats were also a career high. He made his last nine free throws of the game and is now shooting 74 percent from the line for the year, best on the Clemson team. The native of Parkland, FL is trying to become the first Clemson center to lead the Tigers in free throw shooting since Ed Brinkley shot 77.8 percent in 1956-57. That is the only free throw shooting percentage over 75 percent for a season by a Clemson center in history.
Allenspach has had three straight double figure scoring games and is averaging 17 points per contest over the last three games. He also had eight rebounds against Appalachian State and has had 26 rebounds over his last three games. With his 7-11 shooting against Appalachian State, Allenspach is now shooting exactly 50 percent for his career (162-324). He is also shooting 71 percent from the line for his career.
Appalachian State 72, Clemson 60 Tyson Patterson scored 23 points, had six rebounds, five assists and four steals leading Appalachian State to a 72-60 victory over Clemson on January 19. It was the first victory for Appalachian State against Clemson. The Mountaineers made 45.5 percent of their shots from the field, the high percentage against Clemson this year.
For the 15th time in 17 games, Clemson led the rebounding (36-33), but the Tigers had six more turnovers than the opposition. Clemson shot just 32.7 percent from the field, including 4-24 on three-point shots.
Andrius Jurkunas was 0-9 from the field, but had a career high 12 rebounds.
Appalachian State scored the first seven points of the game and never fell behind. Clemson tied the game at nine and 11 and the score was 20-19 with 6:07 left in the half. But, the Tigers went cold and Appalachian State scored behind the play of Patterson and center Corey Cooper, who was 6-8 from the field for the game. Buzz Peterson’s team had a 35-26 lead at intermission.
The lead grew to 16 at 42-26 in the first four minutes of the second half. Clemson, behind Solomon’s only two three-point goals of the game, and some inside scoring by Allenspach, cut the lead to 46-41 at the 12:42 mark. But, that was as close as Clemson got. The Mountaineers stretch the lead back to 54-43 at the 8:50 mark on a jumper by Rufus Leach. They held a double-digit lead most of the rest of the game.
Jurkunas at his Best vs. Maryland Andrius Jurkunas has played some of his best basketball as a Clemson Tiger against Maryland. For his career he has scored 62 points in seven games against the Terps, more than any other conference school. He is 21-41 from the field against Maryland (.512) and is 10-21 on three-point shots (.476). He also has 10 blocked shots against Maryland in his career, more than any other school.
Jurkinas had 18 points against Maryland last year in a game at Littlejohn Coliseum, his high total for the season and his high figure against an ACC team for his career. He made 6-9 shots from the field, including 5-8 three-point shots in Clemson’s 81-79 overtime loss. He hit a three-point goal in the final second of regulation to send the game into overtime. In the game at College Park last year he had 12 points, hitting 2-4 three-point shots.
As a freshman, back in 1995-96, Jurkunas had 14 points at Maryland on 5-9 shooting. For his career in three games in Cole Fieldhouse, Jurkunas is 10-21 from the field, 4-11 on three-point goals and has scored 30 points.
Five Tigers Have Missed 20 Games due to Injury
Clemson has not had a full compliment of scholarship players for a single practice, never mind a game this year. That certainly has hindered Clemson’s preparation for games, as walk-ons, managers and even graduate student manager Bruce Martin have helped out in practice. Five different players have missed action this year for a total of 20 games due to injury. That does not include the seven games Pasha Bains missed at the start of the season due to the NCAA transfer rule.
Here is the injury rundown so far this year:
Edward Scott missed the first three games of the season with abroken foot, an injury he suffered in preseason. He has missed thelast two games with a cartilage tear in his chest. Andrius Jurkunasmissed four games from Nov. 27 to December 4 with a broken right(shooting) thumb. He wore a soft cast for the next six games, theinjury has affected his shooting ability. Chucky Gilmore missedthree games with a concussion suffered in practice prior to theSouth Carolina State game. Dustin Braddick, who started the firsteight games of the season, had surgery to repair tendon and otherproblems with his right ankle. He had surgery on December 19 andJanuary 3 and missed six games in a row. He returned to the lineupfor eight minutes against Appalachian State. Ray Henderson missedtwo games due to knee problems and a pulled groin muscle inNovember. He has been bothered by a cartilage injury in his chest.It forced him to miss the second half against Furman and the secondhalf against Virginia. He had knee surgery in October.
Solomon’s Outburst vs. Virginia 4th Best Scoring Game in NCAA Will Solomon 43 point scoring game against Virginia on January 15 ranks in a tie for the fourth highest scoring game in the nation this year. The top figure is the 61-point outing by Eddie House for Arizona State against California on January 8th. Solomon’s point total against the Cavs is the highest by a college player in the South or east. House actually has the top two scoring games htis year. Solomon’s point total tied Courtney Alexander (ironically a former Virginia player) who scored 43 for Fresno State against UAB on December 11.
Highest Scoring Games in Division I 1999-2000
Scott Absence Affects Turnovers Clemson has struggled in terms of turnovers the last two games, committing 43 in losses to Virginia and Appalachian State. Starting point guard Edward Scott has been out of the lineup due to a cartilage injury in his chest, an injury he suffered at Florida State. Prior to Scott’s injury, Clemson had gone six straight games committing 15 turnovers or less. The Tigers averaged 12.2 turnovers a game during that stretch with Scott in the lineup.
In the five games Scott has missed this year due to injury, Clemson has committed 90 turnovers, 18 per game. In the games he has been in the lineup, Clemson has averaged 14.8 turnovers a game.
Scott’s presence affects Will Solomon turnover total. In the five games Scott has not played, Solomon has 27 turnovers, 5.4 per game, including 13 in the last two games when Solomon has to double up as shooting guard and point guard. In the 12 games Scott has played, Solomon has 41 turnovers, 3.4 per game.
Free Throw Shooting Improved One area Clemson has improved in of late and for the season overall is free throw shooting. Clemson is shooting 67 percent from the line for the year. If the season ended today that would be the best by a Clemson team since the 1997-98 team shot 68 percent, but the third best in the last 13 years. Clemson has not shot 70 percent from the line for the course of a season since 1986-87 when Horace Grant’s 25-6 Tigers shot 71.6 percent.
Clemson has shot at least 70 percent from the foul line in four consecutive games, including 80 percent against Appalachian State on 24-30 attempts. Over the last four games Clemson is 64-83, a .771 figure. Clemson is 44-61 from the line in ACC play, 72.1 percent.
Both of these free throw shooting areas are drastically improved from last year. The Tigers shot 62 percent from the line overall and 62.5 in ACC play a year ago. Terrell McIntyre was the only Tiger to shoot over 70 percent from the linelast year. Three Tigers are over 70 percent and another (Will Solomon) is at 69.4 percent for the season.
Holt Cuts Locks, Improves Game Reserve guard Walker Holt has picked up his game of late. The freshman from Greensboro, NC had a career high 12 points on 5-7 shooting against Appalachian State on January 19. He had those 12 points in 20 minutes. He had not scored over three points in a game all year prior to that contest.
Holt’s performance included a midcourt shot at the end of the half that swished through the nets, the longest shot made by a Clemson player in the history of Littlejohn Coliseum. That fact is according to longtime Clemson SID Bob Bradley and 32-year play-play man Jim Phillips, who have seen almost every game in the history of the Coliseum. Wake Forest’s Rod Griffin made a shot just inside midcourt against the Tigers in 1978, but that is the closest long bomb anyone can remember.
Holt’s improvement could be traced to the “buzz cut” his teammates gave him on the road trip to North Carolina on January 5. Holt had long curly locks prior to that and the trim has had the opposite affect it had on Sampson (not Ralph, but mythology).
Since he had the locks cut, Holt has played 51 minutes, has shot 6 of 9 from the field, including 3-4 on three-point shots. He is 2- 2 from the line, has seven rebounds and four assists to go with 17 points. Prior to the haircut, Holt had played 88 minutes in 10 games, scored just four points, had eight assists and nine rebounds. He was 2-9 from the field.
Virginia 98, Clemson 91 Virginia overcame theincredible scoring of Clemson guard Will Solomon in registering a98-91 win over the Tigers in Littlejohn Coliseum on January 15.Solomon scored 43 points, including 29 in the second half, but hecould not overcome the balance of Pete Gillen’s Cavaliers.
Solomon connected on 14-21 shots from the field, including 8-12 three-point goals. The three-point goal total tied a Clemson single game record. Solomon also contributed nine rebounds in the contest.
Aiding Solomon in the scoring column were Pasha Bains, who both shot 5-11 from the field and both scored 16 points. Chucky Gilmore scored just four, but he had a career high 12 rebounds and led the team in assists with four and in blocks with three. He did not turn the ball over in 31 minutes.
Turnovers were a problem for Clemson, however. The Tigers had 25, while Virginia had just eight and that counteracted Clemson’s +18 rebound margin. Virginia scored nine more points off turnovers than Clemson for the game and that was more than the margin of victory.
Virignia had four players in double figures, while three more players had at least seven. Chris Williams and Donald Hand had 18 points apiece. Hand had five assists and no turnovers. Solomon held him to 4-13 shooting. Virginia shot 26-32 from the foul line, including 17-21 down the stretch. Freshmen Roger Mason and Majestic Mapp were a combined 10-11 from the line inside the last four minutes of the game.
Virginia jumped out to a 50-32 lead at intermission, the most points scored in a half against the Tigers all year. It was a 22-point lead for the Cavs at 64-42 early in the second half when Clemson got going. Bains and Solomon combined for 20 of Clemson’s first 22 points of the second half. Clemson cut the margin to 66-56 with 5:18 left on a three-point goal by Solomon.
The margin dropped to 74-69 with 3:20 left on a three-pointer by Andrius Jurkunas. The Tigers cut it to 89-85 with 50 seconds left, but Virginia refused to yield at the foul line. Solomon kept Clemson close with 12 points in the last 1:31, but the Tigers could not get closer than four.
The 98 points were the most points scored against a Larry Shyatt coached team, in fact the most points scored against Clemson in six years. Despite the scoring, Virginia connected on just 41.7 percent of its shots, the 16th straight opponent who failed to reach 45 percent shooting against the Tigers.
Solomon Three-point Goal Streak at 21 Clemson guard Will Solomon has made at least one three-point goal in each game this year and has a streak of 21 straight with at least one three-point goal over two years. This is the third longest streak of its kind in Clemson history. His streak started with the last four games of 1998-99, all NIT games, and has continued through the first 16 games this year.
Terrell McIntyre holds the recordwith 26 games in a row set over the 1997-98 and 1998-99 seasons. Chris Whitney, now with the Washington Wizzards, had a 25-game streak, the last 25 games of his career.
In fact, Whitney and McIntyre have the top four streaks in Clemson history. So, Solomon is just the third different Tiger in history to have a streak of at least 20 in a row. Solomon has 78 three-point goals for his career, 26 last year and 52 this season. Solomon tied the Clemson single game record for three-point goals with eight against Virginia. He had at least three three-point goals in each of the seven games in the month of December has had multiple three-point goals in 15 of the first 17 games this season.
Clemson Consecutive Game Streak with a Three-Point Goal
Solomon Leads ACC in Scoring, Minutes, 3-Pt Goals
Will Solomon leads the ACC in three categories. His 21.6 scoring average is best in the league and 8th in the nation (through games of Jan. 17) , while his 3.25 three-point goals per game also is first in the league. Solomon also leads the ACC in playing time, averaging 35.9 minutes per game.
Solomon is attempting to become just the fourth Tiger in history to lead the ACC in scoring. Butch Zatezalo paced the league twice, with a 23.0 average in 1967-68 and with a 25.8 average in 1968-69. He did not lead the league as a senior. Horace Grant led the league as a senior in 1986-87 with a 21.0 scoring mark, while Terrell McIntyre led the conference last year with a 17.9 figure.
Solomon’s 21.6 scoring average is the highest by a Clemson player since Zatezalo’s figure in 1968-69. The Clemson record for a season is a 28.3 figure by Bill Yarborough in 1954-55. Yarborough did not lead the league that year because of Virginia’s Buzz Willinson’s 32.1 average, a figure that is still the ACC record.
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