LITTLEJOHN COLISEUM: All the talk early this week regarding Clemson basketball was about the showdown with Duke Saturday night at Littlejohn Coliseum. Dick Vitale would be making his return to the airwaves, and the Tigers and Blue Devils would be battling for first place in the ACC.
All the Tigers needed to do was take care of business at home Tuesday night against Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets, however, were having none of that. They stung the Tigers in triple overtime 89-86 breaking the Tigers’ six game winning streak and handing them their second ACC loss of the season.
The Tigers trailed 87-84 late in the third overtime when Chase Hunter came up with a steal and layup to cut the deficit to one with :29 left to play. Tech missed a pair of free throws with :13 seconds left, and the Tigers had the ball and a chance to finally close out the Yellow Jackets.
Hunter pushed the ball into the frontcourt but lost his footing and turned it over with three seconds left. . The Tigers fouled and Tech made a pair of free throws for an 89-86 lead.
After a timeout, the Tigers inbounded the ball and got it into the frontcourt for another timeout with barely any time coming off the clock. So, there was still time to catch, dribble and shoot.
The ball went into Hunter, and he got a good look at the basket with a second left, but he missed and the Yellow Jackets came away with the upset win to split the season series.
Clemson had other chances to put this one in the win column.
The Tigers had a five point lead in regulation with :59 to play, but a second chance three-pointer made it a two-point game with :39 left. After a missed Clemson three with seven seconds left, Tech’s Duncan Powell grabbed an offensive rebound off his own missed three and scored at the buzzer to send the game into overtime.
The Tigers had the ball last in the first overtime but Hunter missed on a three-pointer with two seconds remaining. In the second overtime, Clemson led by two with :32 to play. Tech tied the game on a dunk with :15 left. Hunter, again, got the hero opportunity for Clemson but missed a three pointer with two-seconds to play.
Offensive rebounds by Georgia Tech were a big factor in the win. The Yellow Jackets grabbed 24, the most Clemson has allowed all season, and converted them into 29 second chance points. That helped Tech overcome a 12-25 performance from the foul line.
Clemson finished with a dozen three-point baskets but otherwise made just 16 other shots on a 36% shooting night. The Tigers were 18-21 from the line.
Hunter, who played 52 minutes, led Clemson with 28 points. Ian Schieffelin added 23 points and eight rebounds. Tech’s Naithan George, who played all 55 minutes, matched Hunter with 28 points.
The Tigers fall to 18-5 overall and 10-2 in the ACC and drop back into a tie for second in the league with Louisville, which also lost to Tech last Saturday.