McClinton Wins 3-Point Competition
April 2, 2009
DETROIT, MICH. – The University of Miami’s Jack McClinton won the men’s three-point championship at the 21st Annual College Slam Dunk and Three Point Championships in Detroit on Thursday evening at the Palace of Auburn Hills.
McClinton finished with 22 points in the final to cruise past the hometown favorite Erik Kangas of Oakland, who tallied 17 points in the final round.
Players shot from five different locations around the perimeter, receiving a point for each three-pointer made – with two-points earned when sinking the final three-point attempt – the “money ball” – from each location.
The two-time All-ACC First Team selection was among eight of the nation’s top three-point shooters selected to compete in the competition that aired on ESPN as a prelude to the NCAA Final Four. Joining McClinton was Jimmy Baron (Rhode Island), John Grotberg (Grinnell), Craig Moore (Northwestern), Matt Lawrence (Missouri), Alex Ruoff (West Virginia), Booker Woodfox (Creighton) and Kangas.
McClinton was among three competitors to finish with more than 20 points in the opening round, finishing third with 22 points. The top four scorers – Baron (25), Kangas (23), McClinton and Moore (19) advanced to the semifinals.
In the semis, McClinton tallied 15 points to tie for second place with Baron, but advanced to the finals due to tiebreaker rules. The players were still tied through the first two tiebreakers, however McClinton made it through on the third tiebreaker – he hit more shots from the final position.
He then went on to outshoot the women’s three-point champion – Furman’s Melissa Liebschwager – 17-15. She led the nation in three-point field goal percentage this season (.470).
McClinton is the ACC’s all-time leader in three-point field goal percentage (.440) and has led the league in three-pointers per game in three-straight seasons and in three-point field goal percentage twice – including a league-leading 3.2 three-pointers per game at a .453 clip in 2008-09.
In addition, the Baltimore-native closed his career with a UM-best 35-game three-point streak – including hitting a career-high tying seven treys versus North Carolina and at Providence – and holds the Miami records for career three-pointers (286), single-season three-pointers (101 in 2008-09), three-point field goal percentage in a game (1.000) and career three-point field goal percentage (.440).
