Clemson, SC -- For the first time this season, Virginia Tech found out what it was like to lose in the final seconds of a game. You can watch a lot of games and not see a finish like the one Virginia Tech and Clemson had, and when the buzzer sounded, the Hokies were on the wrong end of a 66-64 road loss to the Tigers.

With 15 seconds remaining and the Hokies up by three at 64-61, Clemson senior Olu Babalola, a 25% three-point shooter, made a three-pointer to tie the game at 64. Babalola was 1-9 from the field on the night before his game tying shot. Tech inbounded the ball and stormed down court, with Jamon Gordon penetrating into the lane. Gordon attempted a bounce pass to a slicing Carlos Dixon, but it was stolen away by Shawan Robinson with 5 seconds remaining. Hamilton charged to half court and threw a pass to senior center Sharrod Ford, who was open behind the defense and dunked as time expired, giving Clemson the two-point win.

With the loss, the Hokies drop to 14-12 overall and 7-8 in the ACC. Clemson improved to 15-13 overall with a 5-10 mark in conference play. Barring a win over Maryland coupled with a major run in the ACC tournament, the loss virtually eliminates Virginia Tech from the NCAA Tournament Bubble.

The Hokies did an amazing job to get back in the basketball game after getting down early. After taking a 32-23 lead into the halftime break, Clemson came out in the second half and extended their lead to 35-23 on a 3-pointer by Hamilton. With the way the Hokies had been playing on the road lately, things looked bleak.

However, freshman forward Deron Washington went on a big scoring streak, throwing down three dunks and scoring on a layup attempt to get Tech back into the game. From the 17:32 mark to the 14:05 mark, Tech scored 10 points. Washington had 8 of those points, and his play kept the Hokies in the game. Washington later hit a jumper at the 11:19 mark to get the Hokies within three at 43-40.

The game was nip and tuck from that point on. Clemson managed to extend their lead back to six points at the 7:23 mark on a shot by James Mays, but Tech roared back once again. Carlos Dixon, who tied a career high with 25 points, hit a baseline jumper with 1:35 to play that gave Tech their first lead of the second half, 59-58. After two Ford free throws put Clemson back up by one 60-59, Zabian Dowdell drained a baseline three-pointer to give Tech a 62-60 lead. Ford was then fouled again, and hit one of two free throws. After Carlos Dixon was fouled and connected on both free throws with 19 seconds remaining, the stage was set for Olubola’s huge shot and Clemson’s remarkable comeback.

The Hokies managed to lose this one despite out-shooting Clemson from the field. Tech shot 22-57 (39%) to Clemson’s 22-66 (33%). Tech also out-shot Clemson from three-point range. The Hokies connected on 6-13 shots (46%) while Clemson was awful from behind the arc, hitting just 7-26 shots (27%).

The real story in the game was rebounding. Tech was out-rebounded by Clemson 48-39. For the game, Clemson grabbed 20 offensive rebounds to 9 for the Hokies. Sharrod Ford led Clemson in scoring with 18 points. He also had 11 rebounds. The only other Clemson player in double figures was Vern Hamilton with 11 points. Besides 25 points from Carlos Dixon, Tech got 12 points from both Zabian Dowdell and Deron Washington. Washington also led Tech in rebounds with 7. The Hokies continued to get little scoring from their bench. Marquie Cooke was the only Tech reserve to score, finishing with five points.

The Hokies return to the hardwood when they host Maryland in Cassell Coliseum on Saturday afternoon for Carlos Dixon’s Senior Day. The game is scheduled to tip-off at 4pm and will be televised by Raycom/Jefferson Pilot.

Video Heartbreaker: Clemson hits a three, steals and dunks for the win (WMV file, 1.85 MB)

VIRGINIA TECH (64)

                          fg    ft    rb             
                   min   m-a   m-a   o-t   a  pf   tp
D Washington        27   6-9   0-0   2-7   0   5   12
C Dixon             40  7-18   8-9   1-5   3   1   25
C Collins           28   3-8   2-2   1-5   0   2    8
Z Dowdell           37  4-10   2-4   0-3   3   3   12
J Gordon            33   1-8   0-0   1-9   4   3    2
S Harris             4   0-0   0-2   0-0   0   0    0
M Cooke             15   1-2   2-2   0-1   1   1    5
A Calloway           6   0-0   0-0   0-0   0   2    0
J King               7   0-1   0-0   0-1   0   1    0
C Tucker             3   0-1   0-0   1-1   0   1    0
  
_____________________________________________________
TOTALS             200 22-57 14-19  6-32  11  19   64
_____________________________________________________

Percentages: FG-.386, FT-.737. 3-Point Goals:
6-13, .462 (C Dixon 3-5, Z Dowdell 2-4, J 
Gordon 0-1, M Cooke 1-2, J King 0-1). Team 
Rebounds: 7. Blocked Shots: 2 (C Collins, D 
Washington). Turnovers: 14 (Z Dowdell 4, J 
Gordon 4, A Calloway 2, D Washington 2, C 
Dixon, M Cooke). Steals: 8 (M Cooke 3, C 
Dixon 2, D Washington 2, J Gordon).


CLEMSON (66)

                          fg    ft    rb             
                   min   m-a   m-a   o-t   a  pf   tp
O Babalola          22  2-10   2-2   5-7   1   2    7
S Perry             24   3-6   0-2   3-4   4   3    6
S Ford              36  5-12  8-11  5-11   0   1   18
V Hamilton          29   3-9   3-4   1-3   4   3   11
C Hammonds          32   2-6   0-0   1-5   5   3    6
C Moore             15   1-7   2-2   0-2   1   1    5
S Robinson          21  3-11   0-0   0-4   2   1    7
A Akingbala          5   0-1   0-0   2-4   0   1    0
J Mays              16   3-4   0-2   2-4   0   1    6
  
_____________________________________________________
TOTALS             200 22-66 15-23 19-44  17  16   66
_____________________________________________________

Percentages: FG-.333, FT-.652. 3-Point Goals:
7-26, .269 (O Babalola 1-3, V Hamilton 2-3, C
Hammonds 2-6, C Moore 1-7, S Robinson 1-7). 
Team Rebounds: 4. Blocked Shots: 5 (S Ford 2,
J Mays 2, C Hammonds). Turnovers: 13 (S Ford 
3, S Perry 3, A Akingbala 2, V Hamilton 2, C 
Moore 2, S Robinson). Steals: 10 (S Robinson 
3, S Perry 2, O Babalola, V Hamilton, J Mays,
C Hammonds, A Akingbala).


-----------------------------------
VIRGINIA TECH        23  41   -  64
CLEMSON              32  34   -  66
----------------------------------- 

Technical fouls: Clemson 1 (S Perry). A: 7,400. 
Officials: Gary Maxwell, Michael Stewart, Reggie 
Cofer

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