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 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 forward had been in an 0-for-25 dry spell 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 spark 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 blocks.
Tech, which plays Thursday at Miami, avoided falling into sole possession of last place in the ACC. There is a four-way tie among the Hokies, Georgia Tech, Boston College and Wake Forest.
"It was a win we needed. It gives us something to build on," Hokies coach Seth Greenberg said.
Tech, playing less than 48 hours after a 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 (11-11, 3-5) closed the gap with a 15-3 run to keep the fans on the edges of their seats until 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 two-point lead when McDaniels went to the line for two shots. He missed the first, then intentionally missed the second. Clemson guard Tanner Smith grabbed the rebound but misfired on a jumper 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.
"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 one-on-one with Finney-Smith to try to fix a glitch in his release. The player had been shooting from behind his head and sometimes pushing down on his follow-through, causing a flat, less accurate shot.
There was a noticeable difference. He scored on five of eight field goal attempts, including two of three from behind the 3-point arc.
"It's not fixed," Greenberg said of Finney-Smith's shot, "but I think obviously it was remarkably better."
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