Hunter’s Late Heroics, Schieffelin Double-Double Not Enough in Defeat

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Chase Hunter’s (Atlanta, Ga./Westlake) late-game heroics on a 3-pointer with 0.3 seconds left sent Clemson University men’s basketball to overtime against South Carolina. Clemson fell in overtime 91-88.

The Tigers (9-3, 1-0 ACC) were led by Hunter’s 27 points, which were all scored in the second half and overtime. Ian Schieffelin (Atlanta, Ga./Grayson) totaled his sixth double-double of the season with 23 points and 12 rebounds before fouling out with three minutes to go in overtime.

Clemson trailed 34-26 at halftime but were down 24-10 with 7:23 left in the opening stanza. A 14-0 run over the next four minutes knotted the score at 24-24. However, South Carolina finished the half on a 10-2 run for its eight-point advantage. 

In the second period, Clemson exploded for 54 points, aided by Hunter’s 22 in the frame, which included a heroic bankshot with 0.3 seconds remaining to tie the score at 80-80.

Both Schieffelin and Viktor Lakhin (Anapa, Russia/CSKA-2/Cincinnati) fouling out of the game proved to be almost too much to overcome. The Tigers lost the extra period 11-8.

Jake Heidbreder (Floyds Knobs, Ind./Floyd Central) added a season-high 10 points off the Tiger bench, in addition to Jaeden Zackery’s (Salem, Wis./Westosha Central/Boston College) 10 points to round out Clemson’s double-digit scorers. Heidbreder also added three steals in the contest.

Clemson returns to the court on Saturday, Dec. 21 when it hosts Wake Forest for its ACC home opener. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. on ESPN.