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West Virginia, Clemson to meet in the NIT final
By Dennis Waszak Jr., AP Sports Writer
Wednesday, March 28, 2007 | No comments posted.
NEW YORK - Darris Nichols caught the inbound pass, took a step back and launched a high, arcing shot over Jamont Gordon's outstretched hands.
He couldn't see where the ball was going until it swished through the net as the buzzer sounded, sending his West Virginia teammates into a wild celebration and the Mountaineers into the finals of the National Invitation Tournament.
“He had a hand in my face and then I saw it go in,” a beaming Nichols said. “It was a great screen and a great pass.”
And a great way to keep his team's season going. Nichols' 3-pointer lifted West Virginia to a 63-62 victory over Mississippi State in the semifinals of the NIT at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night.
“I knew we needed a 3 to win it, so I just stepped back,” Nichols said.
West Virginia (26-9) will take on Clemson (25-10) in the finals on Thursday night after the Tigers held off Air Force 68-67.
Nichols finished with 17 points and Frank Young added 16 to help the Mountaineers advance to the NIT finals for the first time since winning the title in 1942. West Virginia had lost its last three appearances in the semifinals, and it appeared headed for another defeat - falling behind by 14 in the second half - until Nichols' clutch shot.
“We said we were not going to take a 2, but we would win the game,” Mountaineers coach John Beilein said. “The first option was Darris, and the second would have been Frank. If they guard one, you know we felt good about either one.”
With 2.1 seconds left and Mississippi State leading, Bulldogs coach Rick Stansbury was on the court screaming for a timeout before Alex Ruoff inbounded the ball to Nichols, but the coach wasn't seen by the officials. After Nichols' winning shot, Stansbury slammed the table.
“It was a great play,” Gordon said. “(Nichols) set me up like he was going to come off a double screen and he just faded away. I got screened a little bit and he knocked down the shot.”
Although the Mountaineers were already celebrating, the postgame handshakes were delayed briefly as the officials huddled around the courtside monitor to check if any time remained after Nichols' basket. After about 3 minutes, the officials ruled the 3-pointer good, and no time was left.
Dietric Slater had 18 points and nine rebounds to lead Mississippi State (21-14). Gordon added 11 points, and Charles Rhodes had 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Clemson had to sweat out its victory over Air Force despite leading by 13 points early in the second half.
“All of our guys made big plays down the stretch to hold them off,” coach Oliver Purnell said. “I thought we really showed some mental toughness and the desire to win this thing.”
After Trevor Booker's dunk at 16:08 gave Clemson a 39-26 lead, Air Force responded with a 25-12 run - capped by consecutive 3-pointers by Tim Anderson and Nick Welch - to tie it at 51 with 6:56 remaining.
“We dug ourselves in a little bit of a hole,” Air Force coach Jeff Bzdelik said.
Clemson was able to get the lead back up to 10 at 65-55 on David Potter's 3-pointer - only his seventh of the season - with 2:12 left.
Air Force wasn't finished. After K.C. Rivers' two free throws made it 67-60 with 45 seconds left, the Falcons' Matt McCraw made two foul shots of his own 12 seconds later.
The Tigers had a chance to put the game away, but Vernon Hamilton made just one of two free throws with 31.2 seconds remaining, and Rivers missed two with 14.5 seconds left. Clemson finished 7-of-17 from the foul line, but Air Force was just 6-of-14.
“We made some mistakes at the end,” Purnell said. “We are still missing free throws, but we are making the plays to hang in there.”
Welch made a layup with 4.2 seconds left, and Dan Nwaelele stole the ball from Cliff Hammonds and hit a 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds left to make it 68-67.
“We were just trying to deny the opposing team from going long,” Nwaelele said. “The guy passed the ball and I tried to go get it and I got it. I tried to jump into him to initiate contact, but it wasn't there and the shot went in.”
The Falcons didn't have enough time for a final play as Potter took the inbounds pass from Hamilton and dribbled out the clock.
Clemson, which tied the 1986-87 Tigers for most wins in a season with its fourth straight victory, reached the NIT finals for the second time - and first since losing to California in 1999. After being snubbed for the NCAA tournament, the Tigers are motivated to bring an NIT title home.
“It would mean a lot to me because it would kind of get this bitter taste out of my mouth of everything that's happened before,” said Rivers, who led the Tigers with 19 points.
Welch, who missed the last 5:57 of the first half when he was elbowed in the nose, scored 16 points to lead Air Force (26-9). McCraw added 15 for the Falcons, who had their three-game winning streak stopped after reaching the NIT semifinals for the first time in program history.
“To go out like we did, yeah, we did lose, but our perseverance and our heart definitely showed on the floor out there,” McCraw said.
He couldn't see where the ball was going until it swished through the net as the buzzer sounded, sending his West Virginia teammates into a wild celebration and the Mountaineers into the finals of the National Invitation Tournament.
“He had a hand in my face and then I saw it go in,” a beaming Nichols said. “It was a great screen and a great pass.”
And a great way to keep his team's season going. Nichols' 3-pointer lifted West Virginia to a 63-62 victory over Mississippi State in the semifinals of the NIT at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night.
“I knew we needed a 3 to win it, so I just stepped back,” Nichols said.
West Virginia (26-9) will take on Clemson (25-10) in the finals on Thursday night after the Tigers held off Air Force 68-67.
Nichols finished with 17 points and Frank Young added 16 to help the Mountaineers advance to the NIT finals for the first time since winning the title in 1942. West Virginia had lost its last three appearances in the semifinals, and it appeared headed for another defeat - falling behind by 14 in the second half - until Nichols' clutch shot.
“We said we were not going to take a 2, but we would win the game,” Mountaineers coach John Beilein said. “The first option was Darris, and the second would have been Frank. If they guard one, you know we felt good about either one.”
With 2.1 seconds left and Mississippi State leading, Bulldogs coach Rick Stansbury was on the court screaming for a timeout before Alex Ruoff inbounded the ball to Nichols, but the coach wasn't seen by the officials. After Nichols' winning shot, Stansbury slammed the table.
“It was a great play,” Gordon said. “(Nichols) set me up like he was going to come off a double screen and he just faded away. I got screened a little bit and he knocked down the shot.”
Although the Mountaineers were already celebrating, the postgame handshakes were delayed briefly as the officials huddled around the courtside monitor to check if any time remained after Nichols' basket. After about 3 minutes, the officials ruled the 3-pointer good, and no time was left.
Dietric Slater had 18 points and nine rebounds to lead Mississippi State (21-14). Gordon added 11 points, and Charles Rhodes had 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Clemson had to sweat out its victory over Air Force despite leading by 13 points early in the second half.
“All of our guys made big plays down the stretch to hold them off,” coach Oliver Purnell said. “I thought we really showed some mental toughness and the desire to win this thing.”
After Trevor Booker's dunk at 16:08 gave Clemson a 39-26 lead, Air Force responded with a 25-12 run - capped by consecutive 3-pointers by Tim Anderson and Nick Welch - to tie it at 51 with 6:56 remaining.
“We dug ourselves in a little bit of a hole,” Air Force coach Jeff Bzdelik said.
Clemson was able to get the lead back up to 10 at 65-55 on David Potter's 3-pointer - only his seventh of the season - with 2:12 left.
Air Force wasn't finished. After K.C. Rivers' two free throws made it 67-60 with 45 seconds left, the Falcons' Matt McCraw made two foul shots of his own 12 seconds later.
The Tigers had a chance to put the game away, but Vernon Hamilton made just one of two free throws with 31.2 seconds remaining, and Rivers missed two with 14.5 seconds left. Clemson finished 7-of-17 from the foul line, but Air Force was just 6-of-14.
“We made some mistakes at the end,” Purnell said. “We are still missing free throws, but we are making the plays to hang in there.”
Welch made a layup with 4.2 seconds left, and Dan Nwaelele stole the ball from Cliff Hammonds and hit a 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds left to make it 68-67.
“We were just trying to deny the opposing team from going long,” Nwaelele said. “The guy passed the ball and I tried to go get it and I got it. I tried to jump into him to initiate contact, but it wasn't there and the shot went in.”
The Falcons didn't have enough time for a final play as Potter took the inbounds pass from Hamilton and dribbled out the clock.
Clemson, which tied the 1986-87 Tigers for most wins in a season with its fourth straight victory, reached the NIT finals for the second time - and first since losing to California in 1999. After being snubbed for the NCAA tournament, the Tigers are motivated to bring an NIT title home.
“It would mean a lot to me because it would kind of get this bitter taste out of my mouth of everything that's happened before,” said Rivers, who led the Tigers with 19 points.
Welch, who missed the last 5:57 of the first half when he was elbowed in the nose, scored 16 points to lead Air Force (26-9). McCraw added 15 for the Falcons, who had their three-game winning streak stopped after reaching the NIT semifinals for the first time in program history.
“To go out like we did, yeah, we did lose, but our perseverance and our heart definitely showed on the floor out there,” McCraw said.
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