Clemson Holds Off SMU, Advances to ACC Semifinal
Chase Hunter led all scorers with 21, with 15 of those coming in the second half, to lead the way for the Tigers (27-5, 19-2). Jaeden Zackery added 11, while Ian Schieffelin would finish with nine points and 12 rebounds.
After trailing for much of the second half, the Tigers took a 52-51 lead with just under five minutes left on a short jumper by Viktor Lakhin. After SMU missed the front end of a one-and-one on the other end, Schieffelin connected on two free throws to put Clemson up three at 54-51.
A bucket by Chase Hunter would then give Clemson a 56-52 lead with under two minutes to play and the Tigers would never trail again.
Clemson shot only 38% from the floor and just 19% from beyond the arc.
Lakhin was limited to just 19 minutes due to foul trouble and finished with only seven points and two rebounds.
Matt Cross led the Mustangs (23-10) with 13 points while Boopie Miller finished with 10.
Clemson went the final six minutes of the first half without a field goal, clinging to a 28-27 lead going into halftime. The Tigers led by as many as eight in that first half.
SMU scored the first four points of the second half to take its first lead of the game and did not relinquish it until a Chase Hunter three-pointer with just over 11 minutes remaining in the game tied it at 41-41.
It Was Over When
Chase Hunter sank a free throw with 2.1 seconds left to put the Tigers up three for the final margin.
Shooting Woes
Clemson just could not get anything going from the perimeter. The Tigers hit on just 4-of-21 from beyond the arc, with Chase Hunter and Zackery combining to make three shots from long distance.
The Mustangs weren’t any better, shooting just 1-of-14 from beyond the arc.
Injury Report
Dillon Hunter left with an injured finger and was not on the bench to start the second half. He never did return to the game.
Up Next
Clemson will play No. 2 seed Louisville in the semifinals on Friday night. Tipoff is set for 9:30 p.m. inside the Spectrum Center.
