The 1996 ACC Championship between Wake Forest and Georgia Tech is one of the most memorable championship games in conference history. The Deacs came in as the defending champs and were led by superstar big man Tim Duncan. But Bobby Cremins and Georgia Tech held the top seed of the tournament and had a freshman phenom in Stephon Marbury. Both stars would put on a show.
Wake led by as many as 18 in the 2nd half and held a 71-60 advantage with just 2:22 to play, but Marbury's clutch late-game heroics fueled a Yellow Jackets run that cut the lead to just one point with 18 seconds left. Duncan, who had a monster game of 27 points, 22 rebound and 4 blocks, stepped to the free throw line with his team ahead 75-74. He missed both free throws and all of a sudden Marbury had a chance to win it for Georgia Tech. Marbury let the clock tick down and made his move to the right side, but Wake's defense put the clamps in him and forced a tough shot that would clank out of bounds and give the Deacs their second consecutive ACC Tournament title.
6 июл 2021
