Chase Hunter stepping up is "significant" for Tigers down the stretch

Chase Hunter scored 20 points, with 12 coming in the second half, to guide a third-straight ACC win.

by Brooks Thomason - Correspondent - Thu Feb 15 13:15:03 GMT-04:00 2024

With March quickly approaching, the stars must show out to punch their tickets to the Big Dance. Clemson’s last appearance in March Madness was the 2020-21 season, with a four-point loss to 10-seeded Rutgers. After Clemson’s controversial snub by the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Committee last season, the Tigers look to punch their ticket without any debate this season.

Last week, NCAA college basketball analyst Andy Katz named PJ Hall the nation’s top player. Hall was given much focus and attention directly after his achievement. The senior center is Clemson’s best player statistically, and he was limited to one attempt in the first half against Miami on Wednesday.

However, other players must step up with your star player being targeted by opposing defenses and not taking the volume of shots you would like. In comes senior Chase Hunter. Hunter’s first half was not his best, but he drained two 3-pointers to give himself eight at the half. The Tigers led 31-30 going into the break.

Clemson went on a bad scoring drought in the second half, going five minutes without a basket until Ian Scheffelin canned a three-ball. After that, the Tigers never looked back. Clemson ended the game on a 29-6 run to win by 17. Hunter was a big part of the run, accounting for 12 of the final 24 points for the Tigers, including a 7-0 run by himself.

Hunter, who averages 12 points per game and shoots 30% from three, ended the night with 20 points and went 5-of-8 from three, all-season highs for the senior point guard.

Chase’s performance helped Clemson earn another ACC victory and keep the Tigers’ momentum going into the season's final stretch before tournament play. Clemson has won three straight since their heartbreaking loss to Virginia by one point. Key players have stepped up on the small spurt for Clemson, and Wednesday, it was Hunter.

After the game, coach Brad Brownell commented on how vital Hunter was for their victory over Miami Wednesday.

“When he is making shots like that (3-pointers), and he's also getting by in the paint…A lot of guys can’t play at all three levels (like Hunter), and that is significant,” Brownell said.

Clemson’s win against Miami improved its record to 17-7 and 7-6 in ACC play. The Tigers will welcome NC. State (15-9, 7-6) next on Saturday. The Tigers have won six straight against the Wolfpack, and Hunter looks to carry his confidence into the next pivotal ACC game. In his last game against NC State, he notched 11 points and nine pivotal assists, which helped the Tigers win by 26 in the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament last year.