Clemson Tigers Avoid Collapse, Defeat Pittsburgh Panthers in Overtime Thriller

The Clemson Tigers came into Saturday looking to win their seventh game in ACC play so far this season and to extend their modest winning streak to three games.

It has been a solid start to the campaign or the Tigers.

They entered their matchup with the Pittsburgh Panthers with a 14-4 overall record and 6-1 mark in the conference. However, this game was a challenging one on paper.

Things couldn’t have started much better for Clemson in the first half, with the team taking a 10-point lead into halftime. The Tigers played excellent defense, holding Pittsburgh to under 40% shooting from the field and under 30% from beyond the 3-point line.

On offense, Clemson was outstanding. They shot 62.5% from 3-point range and hit 10 of them in the first half. Chase Hunter led the way with 13 points and hit four deep shots.

The sizable difference from beyond the arc helped produce the lopsided score to start the game. It was one of the better halves of basketball on both ends of the court for Clemson, especially considering it was on the road.

While the first half was excellent for the Tigers, the second half was not.

After lighting it up from 3-point range in the first half, Clemson hit just two in the second half.

Fortunately, their defense continued to play fairly well in this one, but the 26 points they scored in the second half weren’t ideal.

After a strong run by the Panthers just after the midway point of the second half and some clutch shots from both teams down the stretch, this one ended up going into overtime.

Luckily, the Tigers figured it out again on the offensive end of the court.

After scoring just 26 points in 20 minutes during the second half, they scored 12 in just five minutes of overtime.

In the win, Hunter led the way with 20 points and Ian Schieffelin notched another double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds.

Even though the second half wasn’t good for Clemson, they still were able to escape with a big road win against a quality opponent.

Next up for the Tigers will be a showdown on Tuesday night back at home against the Syracuse Orange.

The Orange are not off to a good start this season, playing poorly both overall and in the ACC. While a letdown can always happen, Clemson should be a sizable favorite in this one.