'We didn't get the job done'

Clemson

TAMPA, FLA. — As Cliff Hammonds stared at the locker-room floor early Saturday morning and tried to piece together his final game at Clemson, he couldn't shake the feeling that he could have done something more.

In his mind, the Tigers should have been more inspired after Villanova put together a flurry late in the first half to trim an 18-point deficit to 12. Hammonds thought the Tigers, making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1998, should have responded in the opening minutes of the second half — push the lead back to 18 or 20, and maybe the Wildcats go away for good.

It didn't happen that way.

No. 12 seed Villanova capped an unthinkable day of upsets in Tampa by taking control in the second half, swiping the lead and pushing it to eight before fighting off the No. 5 seed Tigers near the end.

As the unquestioned leader of a team that accomplished rare and special things this season, Hammonds figured he could have supplied something to help Clemson snap out of its lull. He just didn't know what it was, and the inability to identify it drew him to tears.

"It's something that's going to eat at me for the rest of my life," he said. "I'm the so-called leader of this team, and we didn't come out ready to fight. That's something I'm not going to be able to live down."

The blame was spread in plenty of directions as Clemson looked back on the defeat that ended Hammonds' college career, as well as those of forwards James Mays and Sam Perry.

After looking brilliant in the first 15 minutes, suffocating the Wildcats with their pressure defense and scoring at will while building a 36-18 lead, the Tigers simply were not able to respond when Villanova elevated its play to a higher level.

Missed shots were Clemson's undoing statistically in the second half; the Tigers went 7-of-28 from the field; missed 14 of 16 shots from 3-point range; and made just 14-of-23 free throw attempts.

But beyond that soundtrack of leather clanging against metal was the inescapable feeling that Clemson could not and did not match Villanova's intensity when the Wildcats made it a game again.

It was true on the offensive end, where the Tigers seemed disjointed and tentative when Villanova began trapping on the wings and off screens. And it was true on the other end, where the Wildcats made 11-of-17 shots after halftime.

The Tigers' offense, so crisp in the first half, deteriorated into a succession of missed tries from long range.

And the defense, so effective before halftime thanks to the full-court press, couldn't guard the Wildcats when it became a halfcourt game.

After a 3-pointer by Demontez Stitt gave Clemson the 18-point lead with 5:02 left in the first half, Villanova went on a 25-8 run over the next 10 minutes to change everything.

"We let up a little bit with our pressure at the end of the first half," Mays said. "We didn't jump back on them in the second half. ... And it was a fight ever since."

No doubt Villanova had plenty to do with Clemson's struggles. The Wildcats play in the Big East, perhaps the toughest conference in the nation. They had rallied from large deficits before this season, and they were making their fourth consecutive trip to the NCAAs.

"You saw a team that was a little more determined than this Clemson team," Hammonds said. "Normally you can't say that."

Villanova's tactic of fronting the post worked masterfully, as Mays and sophomore center Trevor Booker combined for more turnovers (6) than shot attempts (5). They totaled 10 points before fouling out.

"I've got to give Villanova all the credit in the world," said Clemson coach Oliver Purnell, who remains winless in four trips to the NCAA Tournament. "We talked about them before the game. They're a tough, resilient team. They certainly showed that by hanging in there, (taking) control in the second half. I thought their trapping defenses in the halfcourt really frustrated us."

The Tigers were more than frustrated after this one. Minutes after it was over, Purnell tried doing the impossible in the locker room — consoling a team that was inconsolable.

Having recently agreed to a big raise and a contract extension through 2014, Purnell will welcome back a team missing three players who were the team's best defenders and most influential personalities.

He told them to remember all the good things that happened this year — the 24-10 record; the third-place finish in the ACC; the snapping of a 22-game losing streak to Duke; the spot in the ACC Tournament final against North Carolina.

And yes, the program's first visit to the NCAA Tournament in a decade. A visit that ended far sooner than anyone in that locker room anticipated.

"I felt we had a team that could make a championship run," Hammonds said. "We didn't get the job done like we set out to do. There's nothing but disappointment. That's all I feel right now."

Reach Larry Williams at lwilliams@postandcourier.com and check out the new Clemson blog at charleston.net/blogs/ tiger_tracks/