Sat Mar 15 18:53:54 2008

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Clemson shocks Duke to reach ACC title game

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Charlotte, NC (Sports Network) - Trevor Booker scored a game-high 18 points and had seven rebounds as Clemson upset seventh-ranked Duke, 78-74, in the semifinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament at Charlotte Bobcats Arena.

Cliff Hammonds chipped in with 17 points, while James Mays donated 16 for Clemson (24-8), which advanced to play in the ACC Final for the first time since 1962 and will face top-ranked North Carolina on Sunday. The Tar Heels defeated Virginia Tech, 68-66, earlier on Saturday.

K.C. Rivers contributed 10 points in the win.

Greg Paulus scored 17 points -- including 14 in the first half -- for Duke (27-5). DeMarcus Nelson had 14 and Jon Scheyer 13 in the loss.

With Duke holding a 31-30 lead after one half of play, Clemson came out of the lockeroom for the second and reeled off nine straight, grabbing a 39-31 lead following a layup by Booker.

After a Terrence Oglesby jumper gave the Tigers a 43-34 edge with 16:02 left, Duke went on a 15-6 jaunt, tying the contest at 49-all following three consecutive free throws by Scheyer, who was hacked beyond the arc.

The teams continued to trade the lead for the next several minutes, but Clemson took control, grabbing a 56-54 edge with 8:29 left following a three by Rivers, then extended the advantage to 67-60 with 3:47 to go.

Despite Duke cutting the deficit to three with under two minutes to play, Clemson continued to make clutch free throws down the stretch and held on for the 78-74 victory.

In a closely played first half, Hammonds' three-pointer with 8:43 left tied the contest at 16-16, but Duke went on a 9-3 spurt to open up a 25-19 lead with just over five and a half minutes remaining in the stanza.

However, Clemson ran off seven in a row to take a 26-25 lead with 4:19 to go. The Blue Devils then got a layup and a pair of free throws from Paulus late and took a 31-30 advantage into the intermission.

Game Notes

Clemson, which has never won the ACC Tournament, improved to 16-54 all time at the event...Duke now has an 81-39 record in ACC Tourney matchups...Clemson shot 50.9 percent from the field, while the Blue Devils made 43.3 percent of their shots, including a woeful 23.1 percent from three-point range...Despite the loss, Duke has a commanding 100-24 record all-time against the Tigers.