Dawes' hot-shooting leads Tigers over Pitt in regular-season finale

Dawes reacts to an early 3-pointer in the win over Pitt. (Photo courtesy ACC)

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Sat Mar 06 14:10:04 GMT-04:00 2021

CLEMSON – The sophomore sent the seniors out on a high note.

Al-Amir Dawes scored 21 points and was 5-of-8 from 3-point range on Senior Day as Clemson heads into the postseason with a 77-62 victory over Pitt in the final regular-season game at Littlejohn Coliseum.

Clemson has won eight in a row in the series with the Panthers after losing the first three. The Tigers have won six in a row at home. Five different Tigers hit a 3-pointer as Clemson was 12-of-25 from beyond the arc. Hunter Tyson scored 16 points and Aamir Simms added 12 as the only other Tigers in double figures.

Clemon had 45 points off the bench. Clemson will a No. 5 seed in next week's ACC Tournament, taking on the winner of 12-seed Pitt and 13-seed Miami in a 2:30 p.m. start on Wednesday.

Clemson improves to 16-6 overall and 10-6 in the ACC while Pitt falls to 10-11 overall and 6-10 in league play.

"What a good group. We're 16-6, and these guys have regrouped unbelievably well," head coach Brad Brownell said. "They bounced back following the hiccup in January and have played great basketball since then. We shot really well today and made 12 threes. Give Pitt a lot of credit. They shot the ball well, too. We were able to pull away in the second half with great execution.

"We won this game with some tremendous offense. We made shots and executed really well. This was a great way for the seniors to end their Littlejohn careers."

Brownell said he was pleased with the play of Dawes, Jonathan Beahre and Tyson.

"I thought Al was in a great place, mentally as much as making baskets. His physicality and toughness were really good, and he was a big factor in the game," Brownell said. "Jonathan did a great job defensively. His length was definitely a factor. Hunter, guarding late in the shot clock and scoring against the zone, was effective. They both did an outstanding job."

The Tigers came out blazing in the first half, with Simms hitting a quick 3-pointer just 30 seconds into the game. Clemson’s 3-point shooting – two by Clyde Trapp and one by Nick Honor – helped the Tigers move out to a 16-8 lead, but Pitt quickly trimmed the lead to just five at 16-11.

The Tigers then got hot and got three 3-pointers from Dawes and went on a 13-2 run that saw Clemson extend the lead to the largest of the first half at 29-13 with 8:23 to play before intermission. Then it was the Panthers who got hot, going on a 14-3 run that cut the lead to just 32-27 with a little over four minutes to play in the half. The Tigers tried to pull away but Pitt’s defensive intensity and hot-shooting made it 38-36 Tigers at the half.

Simms once again started the scoring in the second half with a short jumper, and Dawes followed with another 3-pointer that made it 43-36, but the Panthers once again came roaring back and pulled to within two at 43-41 at the 16:43 mark.

Dawes scored on a free throw and a jumper and Hunter Tyson hit a 3-pointer as the Tigers once again tried to pull away, eventually moving the lead back to 10 at 54-44. Pitt hit two free throws that made it 54-46, but Tyson hit another 3-pointer, Dawes made a free throw, and then Trapp turned a steal into a feed to Dawes on the fast break, and the layup pushed the lead back to 16 at 62-46.

Justin Champagnie then tried to get hot, but the Tigers had an answer at every turn, and when PJ Hall grabbed an errant ball and laid it in under the basket Clemson had a 68-50 lead with 7:25 to play. Pitt was never able to mount a serious threat after that, and Dawes’ 3-pointer in the final seconds put an exclamation point on the victory.

Clemson-Pitt box