CLEMSON, S.C. – Georgia Tech came to Littlejohn Coliseum on Tuesday night trying to rewrite its ACC road resume, on deadline, and erase the sting of its loss at Maryland.
All Clemson did was conjure up more of the same.
Andre Young hit a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer, which proved almost as demoralizing as the Cliff Tucker shot that ruined Tech's trip to Maryland on Feb. 20.
Young's shot changed everything this time, stealing all the momentum of what had been a close game and set the stage for Clemson's 91-80 win.
Young hit another 3-pointer 27 seconds into the second half, giving Clemson its largest lead to that point, 47-41, and a taste of taking over the game. Demontez Stitt followed with a 3-pointer and, before Tech could gather itself, the Tigers were off on a 22-7 run that opened up their lead to 18 points.
That was more than enough to send Clemson's home crowd into a tizzy and demoralize a shaky road team.
Georgia Tech (19-10, 7-8) finished its ACC road schedule at an abysmal 1-7, with its sole road win in the conference at underachieving North Carolina.
The Yellow Jackets have to hope their final home game against Virginia Tech, the ACC tournament and statistics like RPI and strength of schedule are enough to get them into the NCAA tournament.
Clemson (21-8, 9-6), which entered the game ninth in the ACC in 3-point shooting percentage at 33.6, went sharpshooting Tuesday night. The Tigers were 12-for-26 from 3-point range (46.2 percent). Even post-man Trevor Booker got in on it with only his eighth 3-pointer of the year.
Booker finished with 21 points and nine rebounds on his senior night for Clemson. Stitt had 20 points.
Tech was led by Glen Rice Jr. with 17 points and eight rebounds. Derrick Favors had 16 points and seven rebounds.
Georgia Tech led by as many as six points in the first half but couldn't shake the Tigers, who used a 13-4 run to catch up.
Zachery Peacock made a steal to thwart what looked to be Clemson's final possession of the half, but Peacock rushed to get off a half-court shot, even though he had 2.6 seconds left. He walked, giving Clemson the ball, and Young made his 3-point dagger to give 44-41 halftime lead.
Clemson shot 51.6 percent from the floor in the first half, and 6-for-12 from 3-point range, both eye-popping numbers against a Tech defense, which had entered the game third in the nation in field-goal percentage defense at 37.5 percent.
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