How Sweet It is! Tigers hold off Bears to advance to Sweet 16 |
MEMPHIS – Sweet 16!
Sixth-seeded Clemson held off a furious comeback by third-seeded Baylor, with unlikely hero RJ Godfrey hitting two free throws with 29 seconds remaining to help send Clemson to the Sweet 16 in Los Angeles with a 72-64 victory. Clemson will face Arizona in Los Angeles on Thursday (7:09 p.m./CBS). Clemson improves to 23-11, while Baylor’s season ends at 24-11. Chase Hunter played every minute and led the Tigers with 20 points, while Joe Girard added 13 and Ian Schieffelin 11. Clemson was 20-24 from the free throw line, while Baylor was just 16-26. Clemson was 6-17 from beyond the arc, and Baylor was just 6-24. "Obviously ecstatic about the win. Just super happy for my players. These guys have been battling all year. And couldn't ask for a better group of guys to coach. They've been just fantastic," head coach Brad Brownell said. "We obviously had a hot start to the year. Like most teams, had a couple of bumps in the road, but these guys never doubted it. We never quit. We just kept working. And we came into this tournament pretty determined and pretty confident. Just glad to see it paid off. "This was a big win for us. Baylor's obviously a very talented, well-coached team. So for us to play the way we did, I thought our defense was outstanding throughout. And that was a big key in both of our wins here in Memphis." Hunter said the Tigers made the big shots when it counted. "I think it was just making sure we got big baskets when we needed them, getting big stops when we needed them," Hunter said. "We knew they were a great team. They were going to go on runs. They have great players like we do. But as leaders in the team we made sure we got in the huddles, made sure we got stops and made big baskets when we needed them." The first half was bookended by 3-pointers, with Schieffelin starting things with one from the top of the key for a 3-0 lead. The Bears eventually tied the score at 5-5, but Clemson’s defensive intensity began to frustrate Baylor. RayJ Dennis hit a driving layup to bring the Bears to within three at 17-14 at the 11:55 mark, and when the Tigers started to pick up fouls, it looked like Baylor might make a big run. However, Jack Clark hit a 3-pointer, and Hall hit a turnaround jumper to put the Tigers up by eight at 22-14 with just over 11 minutes to play. Two Dennis free throws brought the Bears back to within three at 25-22, but Girard circled around for a long 3-pointer to put the Tigers ahead 28-22. Hall went to the bench with just over six minutes remaining, but the Tigers didn’t miss a beat. The Bears missed a 3-pointer with six seconds left in the half, and Hunter grabbed the rebound, raced down court, fought through contact, and drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer for a 35-25 Clemson lead at intermission. The Tigers kept a working margin of 9-to-14 points through the first part of the second half, even after Hall picked up his third foul in the early going. Hunter hit a pull-up jumper at the 8:44 mark to put the Tigers back in front at 55-43, but Dennis hit a 3-pointer on the other end to make it 55-46. During the play, a foul was called on the Tigers, awarding Baylor the ball with a chance to cut even further into the lead. Dennis went for another 3-pointer, but his shot was long, and Hunter pushed the ball up the court to Girard, who hit a short jumper to put the Tigers ahead 57-46. Following a timeout, Hall was re-inserted back into the lineup and promptly delivered a thunderous dunk that gave the Tigers a 13-point advantage at 59-46 with just over seven minutes to play. Dennis committed a turnover, and the Tigers pushed the ball back up the court and inside to Schieffelin. He was fouled on the double team but passed the ball over his head and into the basket for a 61-46 lead. Baylor turned up the defensive intensity at that point with the full-court press and promptly went on a 9-0 run over a span of 2:11 to trim Clemson’s lead to just six at 61-55 with just over four minutes to play. Clemson got the ball over halfcourt, and Hunter took matters into his own hands, catching the ball on the baseline and driving to the basket. He was fouled on the play and hit both free throws to make it 63-55. Baylor scored four straight to make it 63-59, the closest the Bears had been to the lead since early in the first half, but Hunter once again drew a foul on a drive to the basket. He hit one free throw, and Clemson led 64-59 with 2:35 to play. Baylor simply wouldn’t be denied and hit an old-fashioned three-point play to make it 64-62 just 20 seconds later. However, Hall hit two free throws to give Clemson a 66-62 cushion with just over two minutes remaining. With Clemson then clinging to a 2-point lead at 66-64, Hall was called for a foul on the offensive end, fouling out, sending Baylor to the line with a chance to tie. However, Ja’Kobe Walter missed both free throws, and RJ Godfrey grabbed the rebound and was fouled with 29 seconds remaining. Godfrey calmly hit both to make it 68-64, Girard hit two more ten seconds later, and Godfrey capped it off with two more with just eight seconds left to account for the final score. Clemson lost to Boston College in the second round of the ACC Tournament, but Brownell said he never doubted his team. "I said this before the tournament that we aren't playing as bad as everybody thinks we are, and that's why everybody picked us to lose. You've got to dig a little deeper. Conference play is different. It's hard because everybody knows each other. Coach Grant at Boston College, one of my former assistants, we have no secrets with those guys," Brownell said. "And they just pounded us. They beat us and we weren't ready to go. Some of it is them. And their match-up wasn't easy for us. But the Wake Forest game, we played really well and lost against a team at their place. "We were confident. We didn't feel like we were on a skid. In fact, I think we won six or seven games in the month of February. We had a quiet confidence about us coming here. The loss probably helped a little bit because it allowed me to get their attention after losing like that. They were embarrassed, disappointed. We had some very challenging practices on Saturday and Sunday leading into the tournament. And from that, I think our team just played very well. It was kind of nice to play some guys that you haven't seen, much like the non-conference where we had a lot of success." WELCOME TO THE #SWEET16 @ClemsonMBB 🐅#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/v2B4vcxM7B Clemson MBB is off to the Sweet 16 after beating Baylor. Guard Chase Hunter to TNT postgame: “We came here to fight. We came here to show who we are. I’ve got blood all over me, man. I’m ready for another one” pic.twitter.com/V4dYXzynDb Leave no doubt! pic.twitter.com/ZJ4Es7YZW7 CLEMSON IS FEELIN’ SWEET!!! pic.twitter.com/ur3iIB90UU WHY NOT US ⁉️ pic.twitter.com/u2KXfkkezS THE HYPE IS REAL 🗣️ Soaking it all in 😅 pic.twitter.com/T45iS9cQTZ All the love for Coach 🧡 pic.twitter.com/qSDQ1PCMBs
CLEMSON IS MOVIN ON.
🎥: @MarchMadnessMBB | #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/pIJ3W486te
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