Chase Hunter finished with 26 points and delivered the game-winning points with 4.5 seconds left to help No. 24 Clemson secure an 82-81 comeback victory over host Florida State on Saturday night in Tallahassee.
With the Tigers (18-4, 10-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) trailing by two, Hunter drove from one end of the floor to the other, scored a layup and made a free throw on the foul by Seminoles guard Matthew Cleveland.
Florida State (7-15, 5-6), which dropped its second game in a row, was unable to muster a potential game-winner as time expired.
The win was Clemson’s third in a row since suffering its lone conference loss to Wake Forest over a week ago.
The Tigers survived the Seminoles’ upset bid after blowing an early 14-point lead and trailing for much of the entire second half.
Cleveland led Florida State with 18 points and had four rebounds and four assists.
The Seminoles appeared ready to put the game out of reach after Chauncey Wiggins missed a game-tying 3-pointer with 11 seconds left. But PJ Hall claimed a rebound and drew a foul. Hall made both free throws to cut the Tigers’ deficit to 80-79.
Cam Corhen had a chance to extend the Seminoles’ lead back to three, but he made only one of two free throws with eight seconds left, leaving the door open for Clemson to attack the basket.
Hunter Tyson led Clemson with 27 points and hit three of his six 3-pointers to help the Tigers score the first 11 points of the game over the first two minutes and 47 seconds of the game. Hall finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
The Seminoles didn’t score until leading scorer Darin Green Jr. connected on a jumper with 15:28 left in the first half.
Green sparked the Seminoles, who erased the deficit just before halftime and took their first lead 34-33 with 58 seconds left in the first half on a layup by Baba Miller, who had 11 points.
Caleb Mills finished with 15 points for the Seminoles and Green totaled 14 points and five assists.
–Field Level Media