Clemson Survives Scare Against Mustangs to Face Louisville in Semifinal

The Clemson Tigers faced off against the Southern Methodist Mustangs in the Quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament for a date with Louisville tomorrow. Clemson was able to hold on and win a close on, 57-54, to advance into the Semifinal. Chase Hunter was the x-factor for Clemson, tallying 21 points, four rebounds and three blocks to help lead a stagnant Clemson offense to victory. 

Strong Start for Clemson Defense

The Clemson Tigers got off to a hot start in this one, taking an early 9-4 lead heading into the under-16 timeout. Jaeden Zackery was firing on all cylinders, scoring four points and playing strong defense in the first few minutes of the half. Out of the timeout, both teams struggled to score, with Clemson going over three minutes without scoring until Viktor Lakhin was able to get to the free throw line and give the Tigers a four-point lead. At the under-12 timeout, Clemson led 10-6, with the Mustangs unable to score for the final three minutes leading up to the media timeout. 

Clemson Offense Gets Going

Out of the media timeout, Clemson was finally able to get going on the offensive side of the ball. The strong effort on the defensive side of the ball started to lead to points on the other end of the court, as a steal by Jaeden Zackery led to a Chase Hunter layup to put the Tigers up by six points. As Clemson started to get hot, SMU finally found their stroke, knocking down back-to-back shots to cut the Tigers lead down to four. But Clemson’s star Chase Hunter was able to knock down his first deep ball of the night to give the Tigers their largest lead of the night, eight. 

SMU Continues to Fight

Heading into the under-4 timeout, the Mustangs continued to stay in this game with the Tigers, cutting the lead down to five. Out of the timeout, Chuck Harris’ stepback jumper made it a 24-21 ballgame, giving the Mustangs a chance to tie it before the end of the half. The Mustangs were unable to tie it up but only trailed 28-27 heading into the second half. Clemson went the final six minutes of the half without knocking down a field goal, which helped SMU get back in the game and give themselves a chance to win in the second half.

Strong Second Half Start for SMU

The Mustangs started the half off strong, scoring a quick four points to put themselves up by three early in the second period. SMU continued to play strong on both ends of the floor, as a defensive stop led to a Matt Cross hook shot to give the Mustangs a four-point lead heading into the under-16 timeout. Out of the timeout, Clemson started to fight back with a Del Jones and Chase Hunter layup to cut the Mustangs lead down to just one point heading into the under-12 timeout. 

SMU and Clemson Trade Punches

Out of the media timeout, Chase Hunter’s catch and shoot corner three put Clemson back on top 41-39. Hunter continued to play well in the second half as his step back jumper tied the score at 43 apiece with 10 minutes to go in the game. The Mustangs would fight right back with two tough buckets of their own as a Matt Cross hook shot and Boopie Miller layup would give SMU a four-point lead heading into the under-8 timeout. Out of the timeout, Ian Schieffelin was able to get the Clemson contingency in Charlotte humming with a tough and-one to cut the Mustangs lead down to one. 

Clemson Takes Late Lead

After being in foul trouble for most of tonight’s game, Viktor Lakhin came up big for the Tigers with 4:48 to go to give Clemson a one-point lead. Both teams went scoreless for almost two minutes until Ian Schieffelin’s free throws extended Clemson’s lead to four with two minutes to go. Clemson took a four-point lead with 50 seconds, but an egregious foul call on Chase Hunter put the Mustangs right back into it cutting the Tigers lead down to two. With 12.5 seconds left, SMU had the ball with a chance to win the game… and a missed three pointer by Chuck Harris gave Clemson a 57-54 win to face Louisville in the Semifinal.