Tampa subregional

Daniels picks sweet time to shine

After sitting out a stretch with foul trouble, the senior helps send the Tigers to the Sweet 16.

By BRIAN LANDMAN, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published March 24, 2003

TAMPA -- For 5:41 late in the second half, Auburn senior star Marquis Daniels sat on the bench.

In that time, his less-heralded, less-experienced teammates not only erased a two-point deficit, but built a 57-54 lead against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.

"When he's not on the court, we really have to focus on playing team basketball; let the offense come wherever it is," Auburn coach Cliff Ellis said. "In one sense, Marquis was probably a marked man out there today and when he was off the court, there was nobody marked. It really opened up the floor for us to do some things offensively."

But with 3:43 left, Ellis realized it had to be Daniels' time.

"When I came in, Coach Ellis told me, 'You're going to have to finish it out,' " Daniels said. "I just wanted to be strong down the stretch and finish it out for us."

He did.

He grabbed an offensive rebound and hit a short jumper, then a reverse layup, then hit 3 of 4 free throws in a 64-second span to give the Tigers an insurmountable 64-56 lead with just 46 seconds left.

"We just wanted to focus in on playing great defense and rebound," senior guard Derrick Bird said. "We just played together as a team. Marquis came back in and put us on his back again and just made some big points."

Daniels finished with a team-high 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the field and 4-of-7 from the line (he missed two meaningless freebies with 7 seconds left) to go with four rebounds and three steals.

"It's a great feeling," Daniels said. "It's hard to describe. I'm happy for myself as well as the younger guys. Many guys that play college don't get to go to the Sweet 16, let alone go to the tournament.

"It's such a great feeling to go to the Sweet 16 and have a chance to win it all."

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