A game of beat the clock: when a 35-second possession ticks toward zero, teams scramble to salvage a scoring opportunity--while deftly executing a plan, course. (College Basketball).

With less than 2 minutes remaining and Georgia ahead by nine, the moment has arrived for the Bulldogs to kill as much of the 35-second clock as possible--and, in the process, drain the remaining life from Alabama. Georgia has done just about everything correctly in this game, but there has been one troublesome aspect of its performance: On four prior occasions, the shot clock passed the 10-second mark; on three, the Bulldogs did not manage to get off a shot.

This time, though, they are in ideal position. Junior point guard Rashad Wright has the ball at the top of the key. Center Steve Thomas alertly slides to the right elbow to screen. Wright dashes off the pick and down the right side of the lane, drawing the defense away from power forward Chris Daniels, who awaits a quick pass across the lane. But Wright loses control, and the ball bounces over the end line. Instead of Daniels slamming to clinch the game, Georgia must scratch through a harrowing final minute to escape with a 74-69 victory.

"I hope my guy Rashad knows how to handle that, because we've gone over it and over it," Georgia coach Jim Harrick says of that play sequence. "He understands time and score; he knows who to go to, when to get them the ball. He's much better, but he still makes mistakes."

How often a team deals with late-clock situations depends on how rapidly it runs its offense and the might of the opponent's defense. With the importance of every possession magnified in tight late-season and tournament games, good late clock management can determine the course of a season.

It is important enough that most teams assign a staff member to constantly monitor the shot clock and alert players when it reaches a critical stage. Xavier coach Thad Matta is a step ahead on this. Just as some people awake at the same time each day whether or not they set an alarm, Matta has an internal shot clock.

"For whatever reason, I have it in my mind," Matta says. "Maybe it's because when I was (coaching) at Butler, I used to watch the shot clock as one of my jobs. Now, I don't even have to look. I know that there's 15 seconds on the shot clock."

When the shot clock is running down, teams have three options: