Florida State 67, Clemson 66

TAMPA, Fla. - Al Thornton&#39;s free throw with 1.5 seconds remaining capped a 25-point, 11-rebound performance and gave Florida State a 67-66 victory Thursday over Clemson in the opening game of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.<br> <br> Thornton, the ACC&#39;s leading scorer and runner-up for conference player of the year, carried the ninth-seeded Seminoles (20-11) down the stretch. His block at one end of the floor denied Clemson what looked like a sure basket, then drove the baseline on the other end for a dunk that tied the game for the last time.<br> <br> Florida State advanced to Friday&#39;s quarterfinals against top seed North Carolina. The Seminoles also bolstered their case for a berth in the NCAA tournament, while No. 8 seed Clemson (21-10) may have eliminated itself from contention by losing for the 10th time in 14 games after starting season 17-0.<br> <br> Jason Rich scored 12 points for Florida State, which rallied from a 66-61 deficit with a 3-pointer from Toney Douglas and Thornton&#39;s dunk. Clemson&#39;s Cliff Hammonds turned the ball over with 8.3 seconds left, and the Tigers&#39; K.C. Rivers fouled Thornton in the lane with the Florida State star trying to get off a potential game-winning shot.<br> <br> Thornton, coming off a career-high 45-point performance in an overtime victory over Miami, missed the first free throw but made the second.<br> <br> Trevor Booker led Clemson with 18 points and nine rebounds. Hammonds finished with 16 points and Vernon Hamilton added 13 for the Tigers.<br> <br> Clemson swept the season series between the teams, winning 68-66 in Tallahassee on Jan. 3 and 71-58 at home on Feb. 7, when Florida State lost Douglas the Seminoles&#39; floor leader with a broken bone in his right hand.<br> <br> The sophomore point guard missed his team&#39;s next five game, and Florida State lost four of them to put their prospects for a spot in the NCAAs in doubt. Douglas returned the regular season finale against Miami and played without a protective wrap on his hand Thursday.<br> <br> Thornton made seven of his first nine shots and finished 9-for-16. He had 18 points at the half, and his long 3-pointer put the Seminoles ahead 38-36 at the break. There were 12 lead changes in the second half, with neither team leading by more than five.

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