Clemson outs Duke; North Carolina escapes
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Trevor Booker scored 18 points, Cliff Hammonds added 17, and Clemson -- the perennial pushover in the Atlantic Coast Conference -- stunned No. 7 Duke 78-74 on Saturday to reach the tournament title game for the first time in 46 years.
The third-seeded Tigers (24-8), who had lost 22 straight to the Blue Devils (27-5), pulled away in the second half to spoil a much more familiar North Carolina-Duke rematch in the championship. Instead Clemson, which has never won the ACC title, will get a shot at the top-ranked Tar Heels today.
The athletic Tigers, who have improved all season and should make their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 10 years, exploited Duke's weakness inside when it mattered.
Rugged James Mays, who scored 16 points, had two 3-point plays in an 11-4 run that snapped a 56-56 tie.
Second-seeded Duke cut the lead to 71-69 on Greg Paulus' 3-pointer with 48 seconds left. But then Clemson, a 63 percent free-throw shooting team, made 3 of 4 from the line.
K.C. River's transition dunk after DeMarcus Nelson turned the ball over iced it, setting off a wild celebration for the Tigers, who had been 14-54 in the ACC tournament before beating Boston College on Friday.
N. Carolina 68, Va. Tech 66: Tyler Hansbrough hit a fadeaway jumper off an offensive rebound with 0.8 seconds left to help No. 1 North Carolina (31-2) beat Virginia Tech (19-13) in the ACC semifinals.
Hansbrough finished with 26 points and 9 rebounds for the top-seeded Tar Heels, who trailed almost the entire way against a team they had routed last month.
A.D. Vassallo scored 17 points to lead the fourth-seeded Hokies, who couldn't get off a shot on their final possession and watched a possible NCAA Tournament bid-clinching win painfully slip away.
The Tar Heels rallied from an 8-point deficit in the second half before getting the ball with 21 seconds left in a tie game. Ty Lawson drove in for a runner that bounced off the rim, but Hansbrough chased down the rebound and launched a quick 15-footer from the right side that swished through the net.
Virginia Tech had one more chance, but Deon Thompson batted Malcolm Delaney's inbounds pass from the baseline as the clock expired.