California 61 Clemson 60
Cal’s Geno Carlisle had been blocked, but not beaten. Clemson’s Andrus Jurkunas had rejected his shot, but, just as Carlisle’s Bears wouldn’tgive up, neither did he.
He tracked down the ball and drove again. And this time, he got it: the game-tying basket, game-winning foul shot, the NIT championship. He got the whole thing.
Carlisle’s acrobatic drive tied the score, and his free throw with four seconds left gave the Golden Bears a 61-60 lead. And when Terrell McIntyre’s last-second heave for Clemson rimmed out, it touched off a wild celebration.
Bears center Francisco Elson grabbed the mammoth Cal flag and waved it in the air. Carlisle was mobbed by his teammates at midccourt, then broke down in his father Clarence’s arms and wept like a child – or a champion.
His Cal team (22-11) – just one year removed from NCAA probation and a postseason ban – had just capped an up-and-down season with a huge up: an NIT title in front of 10,864 at the Garden. It was the Bears’ first postseason title since an NCAA crown 40 years ago.
The Bears played without second-leading scorer Tom Kilgore (14.2 ppg, out with bum ankle), but managed to rally from at least seven down for the third time in this NIT, thanks to Carlisle. The senior point guard had been suffering through one of the worst games of his career, missing 14 of his first 17 shots. But it was the last one that counted.
“It’s kinda funny. The last two games have been two of my worst games of the season. I was praying before the game that God would shed some light and let us win the game,” said Carlisle, who finished with a team-high 16 points.
“And after I got my shot blocked, everything went in slow-motion. It’s kinda funny how God works. It was an opportunity to seal the game, and I got the basket. [And] the free throw was for everything we’ve worked for.”
It was that free throw that lifted them past a game Clemson (20-15) team. The Tigers had overcome missing 12 of their first 14 shots in the first half. They had survived a 6:59 scoring drought in the second. But Carlisle’s heroics proved just too much to handle.
The Tigers didn’t get their first field goal until 5:41 had passed. Their second didn’t come until after they had already fallen behind 15-6. But Clemson forward Harold Jamison (13 points, 14 rebounds) helped spark a 25-10 run for a 30-25 lead.
They still led 43-40 in the second half when the Bears finally responded with a run of their own. Cal ran off nine straight points, and their stingy 2-3 zone held Clemson scoreless for 6:59. By the time McIntyre penetrated and dished to Will Solomon for a left-corner 3-pointer, there was just 6:50 left and they trailed 49-43. But Clemson responded with a 16-7 run.
McIntyre’s pullup gave the Tigers a 59-56 edge, and they still led 60-58 after a Jurkunas free throw with 29.8 seconds left. But Carlisle’s heroics took care of that.
“We wanted to put the ball in Geno’s hands. I just felt he deserved a chance to win the game for us,” said coach Ben Braun. “I figured he’d get the free throw at least. He got greedy. He got to the free throw line and got the basket, too. And, y’know what? That’s OK.”