No. 19 Clemson survives against Virginia Tech

CLEMSON — Hunter Tyson made only one of his five 3-point attempts in the second half against Virginia Tech, but it was a big one.

The Clemson senior knocked down a 3-pointer with 9.9 seconds remaining to lift the Tigers to a 51-50 win over the Hokies Saturday evening at Littlejohn Coliseum.

With the win, Clemson improves to 16-4 (8-1) and remains alone atop the ACC standings.

“He’s one of our best players and he’s been in it. I just felt like he was going to make a play today,” Clemson coach Brad Brownell said. “He had the option – he could shoot the 3, he could drive, he could throw it to PJ. … But I told him, ‘If you’re open, shoot it.’ It was a big time shot.”

Both teams struggled on offense, with Clemson shooting 38 percent from the field and Virginia Tech at 34.6 percent. But PJ Hall and Tyson did enough for Clemson to find a way to escape.

Hall finished with 20 points and 8 rebounds, while Tyson added 12 and 9, including the big shot late.

“PJ, I thought he was fantastic all game, just playing with confidence and positive energy for our team,” Brownell said. “What a hard game. Both teams I thought just defended like crazy and just competed.”

Clemson once again played without two of its starting guards in Chase Hunter and Alex Hemenway. Hunter is second on the team in scoring at 14 points per game, while Hemenway averages 9.8.

With them out, Josh Beadle and Dillon Hunter were called upon to play critical minutes.

Dillon Hunter in particular stepped up, finishing with 6 points, 3 rebounds, an assist and a steal. He also played well defensively. Fellow freshman Chauncey Wiggins also played big minutes for the Tigers.

Even after Tyson’s shot, Virginia Tech still had time.

The Hokies ran a play that ended with their top shooter Hunter Cattoor getting an open look, but his 3-pointer fell short. The final horn sounded after a scramble for the rebound and some banging under the basket.

“This was a great win. I want to thank our crowd. I think our crowd certainly was a big factor in the win,” Brownell said. “If we don’t have a great crowd tonight we may not get through it. Shoutout to them and thank them for helping us get a hard-fought win today.”

Up next, the Tigers will host Georgia Tech on Tuesday at 9 p.m. as they look to stay in first place in the ACC.