Hokies hold off Tigers

BLACKSBURG — Virginia Tech freshman forward Dorian Finney-Smith caught a pass near the right corner, drove the baseline and scored on a backdoor layup 26 seconds into Saturday’s game against Clemson at Cassell Coliseum.

He felt like a new man. That one basket seemed like all it took to recharge him.

Finney-Smith, affectionately called Doe-Doe by his teammates and coaches, broke a dreadful shooting slump with 12 points and eight rebounds in the Hokies’ 67-65 win over the Tigers.

“I just felt like I just opened up and got loose. I was playing tight for the past six games. After I got that layup, it was just a big relief,” Finney-Smith said.

The 6-foot-8, 192-pound Finney-Smith was mired in an 0-for-25 shooting slump and had scored three points total in the previous six games. But with his newfound confidence, he gave Tech (13-10, 2-6 ACC) the jolt it needed to break a four-game home losing streak, its longest in a decade.

“When Doe-Doe is scoring the basketball, it definitely makes us flow better as an offense,” said sophomore guard Jarell Eddie, who had a team-high 15 points, six rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots.

Tech, which plays again Thursday at Miami, avoided falling into sole possession of last place in the ACC standings. There is now a four-way tie for last place between the Hokies, Georgia Tech, Boston College and Wake Forest.

Tech’s win over Clemson (11-11, 3-5) could be just what it needs to get out of its slump. It had lost seven of its previous eight games before facing the Tigers.

“It was a win we needed. It gives us something to build on,” Hokies coach Seth Greenberg said. “That’s a tough, physical team that’s going to win some games, and they’re a little bit more mature than us.”

Tech, playing less than 48 hours after its Thursday night home loss to Duke, led by as many as 17 points in the first half and was ahead 64-50 with 5:30 left, but Clemson closed the game on a 15-3 run to keep the fans on the edges of their seats up to the final buzzer.

Tigers freshman forward K.J. McDaniels, who finished with 14 points, five rebounds and five blocked shots, scored six points in the final 1:57. His game-tying dunk attempt with three seconds remaining was disrupted by Eddie, who stopped the shot but was whistled for the foul.

Tech held a slim two-point lead when McDaniels went to the line for two free throws. He missed the first, and then intentionally missed the second. Clemson guard Tanner Smith rebounded the second miss but mis-fired on a jumper attempt at the buzzer.

“It was pretty intense, but we overcame it. I knew we were going to fight through it and handle the pressure and come through with a win,” said Hokies freshman guard Marquis Rankin, who matched his career high with eight points.

Tech saw a lot of encouraging signs in its win, none bigger than Finney-Smith’s offensive outburst.

The freshman, who had been held scoreless in five of the previous eight games, reached double figures for the first time since scoring 14 against North Florida on Dec. 19.

“It was great to see Doe-Doe get that thing in there early. You could just see the weight of the world was off his shoulders,” Greenberg said.

Greenberg has been working with Finney-Smith one-on-one to try to fix a glitch in his release. The player had been shooting from behind his head and also sometimes pushing down on his follow through, causing a flatter, less accurate shot.

He and Greenberg worked on his shot for 45 minutes Friday night, and Finney-Smith arrived at the arena early on game day to put in some extra work.

There was a noticeable difference during the game. He scored on a variety of shots, making 5 of 8 field goal attempts, including 2 of 3 from behind the 3-point arc.

“It’s not fixed,” Greenberg said of Doe-Doe’s shot, “but I think obviously it was remarkably better.”