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Tigers 1 and Done
By Zack Mauldin
Sports Editor
Updated: March 26, 2008, 10 a.m.

After a season spent looking forward to their first NCAA Tournament berth in a decade, the Clemson Tigers made their tournament appearance as short as possible.

The fifth-seeded Tigers gave up an 18-point first-half lead and eventually succumbed to the pesky Villanova Wildcats in the second half, losing 75-69 to end a successful season.

The Tigers led 36-18 with five minutes left in the first half, but the Wildcats fought back, taking their first lead of the game at 50-49 with under 12 minutes left in the second half.
Clemson tied the score at 66 with 1:55 to play, but Villanova hit nine of 10 free throws down the stretch for the win.

Freshman Demontez Stitt led the Tigers with 14 points. Junior KC Rivers scored 12, and freshman Terrence Oglesby scored 11.

“Basically, what a great season it was,” said senior James Mays, who fouled out of his last game as a Tiger against Villanova, along with sophomore Trevor Booker. “It’s going to hurt now, but not as hard later. When we look over all the things that we have accomplished, we’ll have a lot to be proud of.”