Clemson falls in OT again to drop second straight to Gamecocks in Columbia

Chase Hunter forced overtime with a banked 3-pointer, but the Tigers couldn't come out on top. (Photo: Jeff Blake / USATODAY)

Grayson Mann - Staff Writer - Tuesday, December 17 2024

For the second time in four days, the Clemson men's basketball team headed to overtime. Chase Hunter’s bank shot gave the No. 25 Tigers life in Colonial Life Arena against the rival Gamecocks, and five extra minutes of hoops were needed again.

Against Memphis, the Tigers ran out of gas in overtime, suffering their second loss on the season.

The result in Columbia told a similar story.

Christian Reeves had an opportunity at the line to tie things up, hitting 1-of-2 instead at the charity stripe. The Gamecocks (8-3) held off the Tigers (9-3) in overtime, 91-88.

Despite Hunter's heroics at the buzzer, South Carolina was able to do enough to stave off several Clemson rallies.

The lead only changed four times, as the Tigers led several rallies to cut the Gamecocks’ lead to one or two possessions. In those instances, a mistake or two on Clemson’s end would put their efforts back into another chase.

Some of those efforts came on the Gamecocks’ advantage on the glass, holding a 35-28 lead over Clemson on the glass. South Carolina also tallied 11 offensive rebounds, snagging 13 second-chance points.

Much of how another overtime result told a similar story in Columbia, so did Clemson’s start in the first half.

Facing the Memphis defense, it took Brad Brownell’s offense nearly six minutes to acclimate to the intensity of Penny Hardaway’s defense, and to record their first basket.

The Gamecocks took a page out of Hardaway’s book, stifling the Tiger offense in the first half, holding them to 31 percent shooting from the field in the first 20 minutes.

Those first-half struggles were headlined by Hunter, who totaled zero points in the starting action.

Coming out of the locker room, his play held something different in store.

Hunter dropped 27 in the second half and overtime, as he and Ian Schieffelin led the Tiger offense, combining for 50 points in Columbia.

Schieffelin ended up fouling out with 3:49 left to play in the second half, who had been engaged in a battle with Collin Murray-Boyles, who also fouled out in the extended action.

That assortment of fouls led to plenty of trips to the foul line for both groups, as both programs combined for 55 shots at the charity stripe, with the Gamecocks leading the way with 34 to Clemson’s 21.

Despite the loss, the Tigers found another contributor off the bench to put together valuable minutes, only serving to stretch Clemson’s depth.