Noles

FSU's late free throw boosts its NCAA bid

Florida State star senior Al Thornton had it all scripted out. All you had to do was check out his shoes.

By BRIAN LANDMAN
Published March 9, 2007

TAMPA - Florida State star senior Al Thornton had it all scripted out. All you had to do was check out his shoes.

He had printed in black letters enough motivational mottos to fill almost all of the once-pristine white spaces on his Nikes before Thursday's game against Clemson:

"Next Step." "Make history." "Whatever it takes." "NCAA '07."

He then made those words a reality, scoring a game-high 25, including the second of two free throws with 1.5 seconds, to give the Seminoles a dramatic, hard-fought 67-66 win that might carry them to their first NCAA bid since 1998.

"I think we deserve to be in the NCAA Tournament," said FSU coach Leonard Hamilton, who believed similarly last season only to see his team bypassed. ... But we have to earn that right."

The Seminoles 20-11, the No. 9 seed, have that shot in today's quarterfinal against top-seeded North Carolina (25-6) thanks in large part to Thornton.

No. 8 seed Clemson (21-10), which beat FSU in both regular-season meetings, took a 66-61 lead in the waning minutes before FSU sophomore point guard Toney Douglas answered with a 3-pointer.

Then Thornton tied it with a dunk off a baseline drive with 1:39 left. The FSU fans among the announced 22,269 (although there were a few thousand empty seats) erupted.

"When the game is kind of getting out of hand, I try to impose my will," Thornton said.

With the score tied at 66, Clemson junior guard Cliff Hammonds turned the ball over at midcourt to give FSU a chance with 8.3 seconds left.

During a timeout, Hamilton made sure the ball would be in Thornton's hands the whole time. Thornton chose to drive toward the basket and drew a foul from K.C. Rivers as he pulled up in the lane.

"You usually don't get that call," Thornton said. "The refs were letting us play throughout the game. I thought it was going to go to overtime. I was kind of shocked I did get the call."

Then Thornton, an 82 percent free-throw shooter, missed the first.

"I was kind of nervous there. I've never been in that type of situation before (in college)," he said. "I knew (the second) was a shot I had to make. So I had to calm down, take a deep breath and relax. The game was on the line."

And he followed the script he had penned and took the "Next Step."

Brian Landman can be reached at landman@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3347.

FG FT Reb

FLORIDA ST. Min M-A M-A O-T A PF PTS

Thornton 38 9-16 5-7 5-11 0 3 25

Echefu 20 3-4 0-0 0-1 0 3 6

Swann 27 3-6 0-0 2-2 2 0 8

Mims 9 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Rich 36 6-11 0-0 0-4 1 2 12

Allen 15 2-4 0-0 0-0 0 1 6

Breeden 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Douglas 35 3-10 1-2 1-3 3 1 8

Reid 20 1-2 0-0 1-4 0 1 2

Totals 200 27-55 6-9 11-27 6 11 67

Percentages: FG .491, FT .667. 3-Point Goals: 7-16, .438 (Swann 2-3, Allen 2-3, Thornton 2-4, Douglas 1-3, Rich 0-1, Mims 0-1, Echefu 0-1). Team Rebounds: 2. Blocked Shots: 4 (Douglas 2, Thornton, Echefu). Turnovers: 14 (Thornton 6, Douglas 2, Mims 2, Rich, Allen, Breeden, Reid). Steals: 6 (Swann 2, Echefu 2, Thornton, Rich). Technical Fouls: None.

FG FT Reb

CLEMSON Min M-A M-A O-T A PF PTS

Rivers 38 4-10 0-0 3-10 1 3 9

Mays 26 1-5 1-2 3-5 3 3 3

Booker 37 9-14 0-2 5-9 1 2 18

Hamilton 36 6-12 1-2 1-3 5 1 13

Hammonds 33 6-12 0-0 0-0 3 3 16

Tyler 11 1-1 0-0 0-1 0 2 3

Sykes 4 0-0 2-2 1-1 0 0 2

Potter 7 1-2 0-0 0-0 0 1 2

Morris 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Perry 6 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0

Totals 200 28-56 4-8 14-31 13 16 66

Percentages: FG .500, FT .500. 3-Point Goals: 6-14, .429 (Hammonds 4-9, Tyler 1-1, Rivers 1-4). Team Rebounds: 2. Blocked Shots: 7 (Booker 4, Mays 3). Turnovers: 15 (Hammonds 5, Hamilton 3, Mays 3, Rivers 2, Morris, Potter). Steals: 5 (Hammonds 2, Mays 2, Hamilton). Technical Fouls: None.

Florida St. 38 29 - 67

Clemson 36 30 - 66

A-22,269. Officials-Les Jones, Sean Hull, Mike Wood.

FSU67

Clemson66

FSU 67

Clemson 66

[Last modified March 9, 2007, 01:08:30]