Texas A&M
CLEMSON
Aggies Defeat Clemson in NIT First Round
Mar 16, 2005 | Men's Basketball
March 16, 2005
Freshman center Joseph Jones scored a season-high 25 points to lift Texas A&M to its first postseason win in 23 years, an 82-74 victory over Clemson in the first round of the NIT Wednesday night.
Jones dominated inside against Clemson's burly frontcourt in the second half, going 7-for-9 from the field for 19 points, including three powerful two-handed dunks. He also grabbed seven rebounds.
Acie Law added 12 points and seven assists, and Bobby Leach had 13 points for the Aggies (20-9), who were making their first postseason appearance in 11 years. A&M will face DePaul in the second round on Saturday at 1 p.m. in Rosemont, Ill.
Freshman guard Cliff Hammonds scored a season-high 26 points to lead Clemson (16-16), which lost in its first postseason game since the 1999 NIT.
Led by first-year coach Billy Gillispie, Texas A&M has made the nation's biggest turnaround with a 13-game improvement from the miserable 7-21 finish last season.
Wednesday's victory gave A&M its first taste of postseason success since a win in the 1982 NIT over Detlef Schrempf-led Washington. To put that in perspective: no one on the Aggies' roster had even been born yet and Gillispie was starting his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Southwest Texas State.
The Aggies got an emotional lift from the crowd of 8,532 -- not bad during spring break -- that showed up to see A&M's first postseason game since a first-round NIT loss to New Orleans in 1994.
But Clemson gave A&M fits early on with its smothering full-court pressure and an amazing shooting display by Hammonds.
The Aggies were forced into 12 turnovers and Hammonds scored the Tigers' final 10 points of the first half, including back-to-back 3s, to give Clemson a 42-34 lead.
A&M rallied with a 15-2 run early in the second half, started by Law's fallaway 3 at the shot-clock buzzer and ended with his layup that was goaltended to give the Aggies a 51-46 lead. Antoine Wright sparked that run with three steals that led to seven points, including his nifty behind-the-back pass to Jones that resulted in a three-point play.
The 6-foot-9, 245-pound Jones took over from there, scoring 14 of A&M's next 19 points to hold off a late charge by Clemson. Mostly because of Jones' bulldozing moves in the lane, the Aggies shot 67 percent in the second half.
The Tigers just couldn't build on their strong performance in the ACC tournament, which included a first-round win over Maryland before narrowly missing out on a huge upset of North Carolina in the next round.
Clemson needed every one of Hammonds' points with senior Sharrod Ford, Clemson's leading scorer and rebounder, struggling against Jones in the worst game of his senior season. In the final game of his career at Clemson, Ford had just three points on 1-for-2 shooting and three rebounds before fouling out with 7 minutes left.
Shawan Robinson, who scored 41 points during Clemson's ACC tournament run, finished with just eight points.
QUOTES:
Texas A&M Head Coach BIlly Gillispie:
"This was a good win for us. It was an ugly game, but that is the way we like it. I was flabbergasted with the way we tried to break the pressure in the first half. We were trying to do too much individually, but we played good defense and made free throws and that dug us out. We are lucky because we didn't put 40 minutes together. Clemson played harder than anyone we have played all year. I think they will be a 25-win team in two years."
On the crowd: "I never hear the crowd at game but I heard it tonight. They really made a difference for us tonight. I think if we play this game anywhere but here, we are done. Both teams played with energy, but if we played anywhere else, we get beat. The fans provided the energy off the court and we provided it on the court. We are a hungry team, we have been a hungry team, and we will stay a hungry team."
On only nine points by Antoine Wright and the night by Joseph Jones: "Antoine struggled offensively all night long but Clemson did a great job of guarding him. That is why Joe was able to do what he did in the second half. They pressured on the perimeter and that is why Joe got so many touches. Antoine was the difference in the game defensively. Just because he doesn't score, doesn't mean he can't help us win."
A&M Guard Acie Law:
On playing better in the second half: "Our season was on the line and we are not ready for it to be over. We had to clean up our play. Clemson played hard, but we had a bigger will tonight. The crowd has been big for us all year and they were a big boost tonight."
On the Aggies chances through the rest of the tournament: "I think we are very dangerous. When we play like we did in the second half, we can play with anybody in the country. Not just the teams in the NIT, anybody in the country.
On Joseph Jones's big night: "Our game plan every night is to get Joe going. We try to play inside out and when he gets it going it opens it up for us on the perimeter."
Clemson Head Coach Oliver Purnell:
"Obviously, we are disappointed. We had a tough start and a tough second half. Sharrod (Ford) getting into foul trouble really hurt us. It was a hard fought game and we have to give A&M credit. They solved our pressure in the second half and punished us on the other end. We had no answer for their inside game in the second half and they did a much better job of taking care of the ball. We did a good job on Wright, but Sharrod not having a big game negated that."
A&M NOTES:
*A&M improves to 20-9, its first 20-win season since 1986 (20-11). It's the seventh 20-win season in school history.
*The win is A&M's first in postseason play since the 1982 NIT, when the Aggies beat Washington, 69-65, in the second round in Seattle. A&M had lost five straight postseason games (4 NIT, 1 NCAA).
*A&M is now 2-0 in NIT home games. The Aggies beat Lamat, 60-58, in the first round of the 1982 NIT.
*A&M's 13-win improvement from last season (7-21) is the best in the country this season.
*Joseph Jones scored a career-high 25 points. His previous high was 23 against Houston.
*Chris Walker scored 10 points, the second best of his career. He scored 12 earlier this season against UT-Permian Basin.
*Antoine Wright did not attempt a three-point field goal for the first time in his career.
*Bobby Leach scored 13 points. A&M is 9-0 when Leach scores in double figures.
*A&M is 19-0 when any player besides Wright, Law and Jones scores in double figures.
*A&M had 38 points in the paint, its most since it had 44 against Houston in late December. The Aggies are 14-1 when they score at least 32 points in the paint.
*A&M (26) and Clemson (32) combined for 58 fouls, the most in Reed Arena history. The previous mark was 56 by A&M (30) and Missouri (26) in 2001 and A&M (24) and Houston (32) earlier this season.
