Florida State blocks Clemson's rise to Top 5
Instead, the Tigers ended up face down in the sand.
Three nights after dismantling No. 3 Duke by 27 points, 10th-ranked Clemson crashed against unranked Florida State, blowing a 19-point second half lead in a 65-61 loss to the Seminoles at Littlejohn Coliseum.
And in a splash, Wednesday's night euphoria became Saturday night's heartbreak.
"We saw them getting weak and let them back in the game -- we gave them life," a stone-faced K.C. Rivers said. "We took our foot off the gas pedal."
When the Tigers did that, it simply ignited the Seminoles. Florida State outscored Clemson 23-4 over the game's final nine minutes and the Tigers repeatedly came up short on both ends of the floor.
FSU's Toney Douglas, the ACC's leading scorer, caught fire late after being held to just six points in the first half. Douglas finished with 23 points and seven rebounds as the Seminoles posted their first victory at Clemson since 2001, ending a seven-game losing streak at Littlejohn.
"We had some guys pressing and not taking good shots," Purnell said. "We didn't set good screens and we missed some shots. I thought it was a combination of poor offense and not stopping them like we did in the first half. Florida State, give them credit because they hung in there and that's what you've got to do."
Clemson slipped to 19-3 overall and 5-3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference while FSU moved to 18-5, 5-3.
With the possible exception of Raymond Sykes, who went five-for-five from the field and had 10 points and six rebounds, no one was productive for the Tigers. Leading scorer Trevor Booker managed just 11 points and Rivers and Terrence Oglesby both struggled to find their shot. Rivers had 10 points, but hit just 4-of-10 shots, while Oglesby was 2-of-9 with a season-high six turnovers.
The Tigers looked impressive early, forcing 12 FSU turnovers in the first half en route to a 30-22 lead. But by game's end, Clemson had surpassed the Seminoles with 18 turnovers to FSU's 17.
"We had chances and we didn't come through," Rivers said. "That's life, that's basketball. You see what the ACC is like, you've got everybody beating everybody. Somebody big in the ACC goes down every day, somebody goes down in the NCAA รณ whoever's in the Top 25, it doesn't matter. That number doesn't mean anything."
Clemson will attempt to rebound on the road. The Tigers travel to Boston College on Tuesday before playing at Virginia next Sunday.
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1 comment:
Saw it coming, just couldn't stop it....
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