CLEMSON, S.C. - Damarcus Harrison wasn’t worried when Clemson trailed Belmont with less than four minutes left in the National Invitation Tournament quarterfinal Tuesday night.
After all, Harrison said “we’d been there lots of times before.”
And the Tigers pulled off their latest late-game rally, outscoring the Bruins 12-2 down the stretch for a 73-68 victory - its 12th consecutive home NIT victory. Harrison had 14 of his 16 points in the second half, including a three-pointer and a 10-foot jumper that gave the Tigers (23-12) the lead for good.
Things looked bad for the Tigers after Craig Bradshaw hit two consecutive threes for a 66-61 lead with 3:52 to go.
“We didn’t give up,” Harrison said. “We’ve been able to grind it out all year.”
Indeed, 11 of Clemson’s 14 victories since Atlantic Coast Conference play began have come by eight points or less. Just two days earlier, Illinois had wiped out Clemson’s large lead and was up 49-48 when Rod Hall’s driving bucket with 9.3 seconds left pulled it out for the Tigers.
Clemson Coach Brad Brownell thought his club’s experiences at the end - not all of them good - helped this time. He said during a couple of late timeouts that his players didn’t look bothered or confused but focused on finishing the task.
“We’re fine,” Brownell said was the sense he got. “We’ve been in this situation a number of times.”
Bradshaw’s long-range buckets seemed like they’d be the difference. But Belmont (26-10) was 0-of-4 shooting the rest of the way.
“At some point late, they upped their pressure,” Bruins Coach Rick Byrd said.
Hall began the rally with a three-point play, and Harrison followed with five consecutive points to put Clemson ahead 69-68. After a Belmont turnover, Hall hit a driving layup for a 71-68 lead and the Bruins could not respond.
Clemson fans rushed the court when the horn sounded, Brownell getting on the microphone to thank supporters who sold out the past two games at Littlejohn Coliseum. “Let’s go win the championship,” he told them.
Clemson reached Madison Square Garden in its last NIT appearance, falling to West Virginia in the tournament finals seven years ago. The Tigers will face SMU or California next Tuesday night.
Bradshaw had 21 points to lead Belmont. J.J. Mann had 20 points for the Bruins, whose 12 three-pointers were the most Clemson had allowed this season.
MINNESOTA 81, SOUTHERN MISS 73
MINNEAPOLIS - For the second time in three years, Minnesota is headed to the NIT semifinals.
After a slow start, the Gophers ran past scrappy Southern Miss, then held on for a victory in the quarterfinals of the consolation tournament Tuesday night.
The Gophers trailed by nine early in the first half, but a late surge put them up 44-40 at the break. They never looked back, although there were a couple of anxious moments in the final minute.
The top-seeded Gophers made up for a poor rebounding night by shooting 50 percent from the field and turning the ball over only 10 times.
Austin Hollins finished with a game high 32 points, including going 10-for-10 from the free-throw line to keep Southern Miss at arm’s length.
NAIA VANGUARD (CALIF.) 70, EMMANUEL (GA.) 65
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Preston Wynne scored 20 points, Chris Gorman added 18 and sixth-seeded Vanguard of California beat No. 8 seed Emmanuel of Georgia to win the program’s first national championship.
Keith Mason added 10 points and 13 rebounds for Vanguard (32-6), a school of about 1,500 students located in Costa Mesa, Calif., that was making its first tournament appearance since 2006.
Michael Stanley had 19 points and 13 rebounds for Emmanuel (33-4), which had never won an NAIA Tournament game in three previous trips. Patrick McCrary added 10 points and nine rebounds.
Quarterfinals glance
TUESDAY’S GAMES Clemson 73, Belmont 68 Minnesota 81, Southern Miss 73
TODAY’S GAMES All times Central Louisiana Tech (29-7) at Florida State (21-13), 6 p.m.
California (21-13) at SMU (25-9), 8 p.m.
Sports, Pages 22 on 03/26/2014