Clemson’s men’s basketball team wasn’t going to be able to help its NCAA Tournament case much Saturday, but a loss to a sub-200 team in the NET rankings would add another ugly blemish to the Tigers’ postseason resume.
Chase Hunter made sure that didn’t happen.
Hunter scored a career-high 26 points, including the go-ahead free throw with just 4.5 seconds left, and Clemson held on for an 82-81 win over Florida State at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
“What a great win,” Clemson coach Brad Brownell said. “Just some big-time baskets down the stretch when we really needed them.”
Hunter Tyson added 27 points for the 24th-ranked Tigers, who trailed for most of the final 2 minutes, 37 seconds before rallying for their 10th win in 11 games. Clemson (18-4, 10-1 ACC) did it without guards Alex Hemenway (foot) and Brevin Galloway (lower body), but the Tigers got a boost from the return of Hunter, who scored 19 of his points in the second half after missing the previous three games with a foot injury.
His last three made the difference.
FSU (7-15, 5-6) led 81-79 with 8.5 seconds left after Cameron Corhen split a pair of free throws. After Brownell called a timeout to draw up one last play, Hunter drove the length of the floor and was fouled while making a layup. He added the free throw to convert the three-point play with just 4 ticks left, and the Seminoles’ final shot missed the mark.
“I told him to attack the rim, and if one of the shooters is open, pass it to him, let’s shoot it in, and let’s win the game. And if not, there’s more space for you,” Brownell said. “Go attack the basket and tie it. You might draw contact and get an and-1.”
PJ Hall contributed 17 points and 10 rebounds, helping the Tigers overcome 18 turnovers and a season-high 13 pointers made by the Seminoles. Clemson, which already has a pair of Quad 4 losses to its name, also avoided what would’ve been a Quad 3 setback in the process.
Matthew Cleveland led four FSU players in double figures with 18 points.
Clemson trailed 34-33 at the half despite 17 first-half points from Tyson. The Tigers’ senior forward knocked down three 3-pointers as part of Clemson’s 11-0 run to start the game and started 4 of 4 from deep.
The Tigers led by as many as 14 in the first half, but Darin Green Jr. heated up for FSU, knocking down a trio of 3s in the opening 20 minutes en route to his 14 points. The Seminoles also forced Clemson into 11 first-half turnovers, scoring 12 points off of them.
That coupled with Clemson missing its last nine shots resulted in the Tigers going the final 6 minutes of the half without a basket. FSU eventually caught up on Caleb Mills’ 3 with 1:28 left before the break, and Baba Miller’s ensuing layup gave the Seminoles the halftime lead.
FSU, which shot 50% from the field in the final 20 minutes, led by as many as seven in the second half, but Hunter’s layup tied the game at 71 with 2:37 left. Mills immediately responded with one of FSU’s seven second-half 3s to put the Seminoles back in front, a lead they maintained until Hunter’s heroics in the final seconds of a physical back-and-forth affair that saw 48 fouls called.
Clemson shot 22 of 29 from the free-throw line while FSU was 14 of 20 from the charity stripe.
“(Hunter) put his head down, put his shoulder into the guy and created some contact,” Brownell said. “And then finished through the contact. Big-time play.”
With the win, Clemson maintains its place atop the ACC standings heading into Tuesday’s game at Boston College.
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