In a triple overtime thriller, the Clemson Tigers were unable to hold against Georgia Tech at Littlejohn Coliseum on Tuesday night, losing 89-86 and snapping their six-game win streak.
Remnants of the Jan. 16, 2024 matchup between these two teams, which finished in a Georgia Tech win in double overtime, eerily followed a game script very similar to the one of Tuesday night’s. Both matchups saw an explosive performance from Yellow Jackets guard Naithan George, who scored 28 in last night’s game, and an eventual win from the away team.
“We just had a couple of tough plays that didn’t go our way,” head coach Brad Brownell said after the game. “And then, obviously, we couldn’t rebound, just couldn’t rebound the ball.”
Grit After Dark proved to have some struggles for the Tigers (18-5, 10-2 ACC), who shot 32%, the worst shooting percentage from the field that they have this season. Inversely, the team hit 12 threes, which allowed them to remain in control for a majority of the game.
The Tigers also received the final shot in all three overtimes, all finding the hands of Chase Hunter. However, the graduate guard was unable to sink any of his chances.
“I just missed a shot I usually take 1,000 times,” Hunter said after the loss. “It’s just a missed shot.”
Countless amounts of times, Clemson found the three-pointer to be its best friend throughout the win. The biggest sequence occurred following an and-1 from George. The Tigers would go back-to-back possessions of nailing a three, done by Ian Schieffelin and Jake Heidbreder, respectively, to take a 5-point lead late in the second half.
Clemson was up at the break with a narrow 1-point lead. When beginning the half, Brownell and his team found themselves on multiple scoring droughts, allowing the Yellow Jackets to get back into the game and take control of the contest.
Center Viktor Lakhin fouled out late in the second half, allowing the Yellow Jackets to take over in the paint. While Clemson led at the half in the rebounding category, the team was outrebounded 56-46 when the game had ended.
“We didn’t play well enough to win,” Brownell said. “I’ve talked about how defensive rebounding has been a problem for us, a little bit, at times in the year. We kept talking about it at every timeout and halftime and, ultimately, I told the guys that ‘it’s going to cost us a game’, and it cost us a game.”
Chase Hunter led the scoring for Clemson with 28 points, seven rebounds and five steals, playing 52 minutes in the loss. He would hit four three-pointers.
Schieffelin would follow closely behind with 23 points and eight rebounds, playing 42 minutes. Chauncey Wiggins scored 15 and recorded six rebounds as well.
The Tigers will remain at home this week, hosting the No. 2 Duke Blue Devils on Saturday night.
“We are going to learn from this game and look into them,” Hunter said about the Blue Devils. “We will be prepared for that game.”
