Tigers’ season ends in a crash

TAMPA, Fla. — No one could have predicted that Clemson’s NCAA tournament fate would be dictated as much by destination as determination.

The Tigers could not survive Tampa’s house of higher-seed horrors.

Twelfth-seeded Villanova capped a remarkable string of upsets during Friday’s first-round games at St. Pete Times Forum, rallying from a 16-point first-half deficit to stun No. 5 seed Clemson 75-69.

“It was just upset city,” senior forward James Mays said.

No site had ever played host to more than two lower-seeded victories since the tournament field expanded in 1979.

Yet upsets of fellow No. 5 seed Drake and No. 4 seeds Connecticut and Vanderbilt sent event officials scrambling to the record books for confirmation, and CBS — the network with coverage rights — posted a story on its Web site entitled “Tremors in Tampa” and asking whether Clemson would be next.

It took a half before the Tigers (24-10) succumbed to the mysterious underdog undercurrent, as the Wildcats (21-12) advanced to Sunday’s 12:10 p.m. game against 13th-seeded Siena, where a berth in the Sweet 16 will be at stake.

After a lethargic second-half start allowed Villanova to whittle a 12-point halftime deficit to five, junior guard K.C. Rivers’ backdoor layup with 17:23 remaining marked the beginning of the end to Clemson’s turnaround season.

The Tigers hit just one field goal the next 12:15, a stretch in which everything that could have gone wrong did for the Tigers.

The guard trio of K.C. Rivers, Cliff Hammonds and Terrence Oglesby combined to make 5-of-25 3-pointers.

Rivers led the Tigers with 15 points while freshman point guard Demontez Stitt added 14.

On the rare occasion they squeezed the ball into the post, the Tigers managed only missed free throws as big men Trevor Booker and James Mays went a combined 4-of-13 from the free-throw line.

“We really weren’t able to score in the second half, so we weren’t able to get into our pressure,” coach Oliver Purnell said.

“It’s very important that you don’t fall in love with the 3, which we did.”

Booker, who avoided his recent run of foul trouble in the ACC tournament, collected four in the second half and was disqualified with 6:44 remaining.

Compounding the offensive struggles was Clemson’s inability to slow Villanova.

Paced by standout sophomore guard Scottie Reynolds (game-high 21 points), the Wildcats made 12 of their first 15 second-half shots to go ahead 63-55 with 6:11 left.

Hammonds then rolled in a put-back jumper with 5:08 remaining to end Clemson’s field-goal drought.

The Tigers clawed back and tied the game at 66 via a pair of Stitt free throws. But Villanova forward Dante Cunningham sank two at the line with 1:37 left, and the Wildcats would not look back.

Oglesby threw away a pass and missed a driving layup on consecutive possessions.

The Wildcats drained five more free throws before Rivers ended a streak of 11 consecutive missed 3-pointers by Clemson with 7.5 seconds remaining.

That pulled the Tigers within 73-69, but Corey Stokes iced the game for the Wildcats with two more foul shots, halting Clemson one win short of tying the school record.

The Tigers connected on just 7-of-28 shots (25 percent) in the second half, while Villanova went 11-for-17 (64.7 percent).