No. 19 Clemson bounces back with 72-63 win over No. 18 Miami

CLEMSON -- No.19 Clemson quickly bounced back after a heartbreaking loss at N.C. State with a 72-63 victory over No. 18 Miami.

This was the first time that the Tigers and Hurricanes had ever played a basketball game as ranked opponents and the two teams delivered for the packed Littlejohn crowd.

It was a quick turnaround for the Tigers, who are now 15-2, 4-1 in ACC play. The loss dropped Miami to 13-3, 2-2 in conference play.

Clemson is now 8-2 against Miami in Littlejohn. Brad Brownell also took over possession of third all-time in wins as Clemson’s head coach surpassing Oliver Purnell. The victory over Miami was the 11th win for Brownell coached teams over ranked opponents.

The Tigers could have come out deflated after N.C. State snapped their 10-game win streak. At times, the Tigers looked fatigued on the court but were able to dig in and finish the game with their grit.

“Fantastic finish by our guys today,” Brad Brownell said following the win. “Showed a lot of heart, toughness, and grit in this game.”

Brownell was most proud of how his team continued to battle at N.C. State when every time he looked up it felt like they were getting knocked into a corner. This afternoon, Clemson continued to get up off the mat.

“We’re not so talented that we can just go out there and play just ok and beat these teams,” Brownell said. “We have to play well. We have to give great energy and effort. We have to be prepared and focused, and it helps having older players because that’s what enables us to do it more often.”

Overall, Clemson struggled shooting 22-of-50 from the field, but their consistency from behind the arc was more than enough to overwhelm the Hurricanes. The Tigers were dialed in from distance all afternoon, shooting 12-of-21 (57-percent) from three-point range.

With a minute remaining and Clemson holding a 60-57 lead, Marcquise Reed and Donte Grantham knocked down two threes on consecutive possessions to ultimately give Clemson the win.

Reed, who hadn’t scored since the opening five minutes of the game, looked relieved when his shot went down. Grantham looked ecstatic following his. Reed scored 11 points in the last 2:16 and Grantham supplied the exclamation point.

The two led the way for the Tigers. Grantham finished with 18 points, shooting 4-for-4 from three, and grabbed six rebounds. Reed had 16 points, seven rebounds and shot 8-for-8 from the free throw line.

The Hurricane’s were led by Lonnie Walker IV’s 16 points. Walker’s monster jam on Aamir Simms trimmed Clemson’s lead to 42-40 forcing Brad Brownell to call a timeout with 13:31 left to play.

With the game tied at 44, Mark Donnal sent a Miami layup into the bleachers waking up Clemson’s crowd. He hit two threes on Clemson’s next two possessions pushing Clemson’s lead to six.

Donnal finished with 12 points and five rebounds in 15 minutes off the bench.

“It’s something that I do in practice all the time,” Donnal said. “All the guys know I can shoot and that I can do that on any given day. It was just about my teammates finding me in the right position at the right time.”

Miami had its chances late to tie the game, but struggles at the free throw line kept them from doing so. The Hurricanes had a few one-and-one chances at the line but kept missing the front end.

The Hurricanes ended the afternoon shooting 9-for-18 from the free throw line. Clemson made 16 of its 17 attempts after shooting a disappointing 15-of-22, 68.2 percent, from the line in Raleigh.

Brownell’s group didn’t get back from their tough game in Raleigh until 2:30 Friday morning. With only an afternoon to prepare for the Hurricanes, he decided that the team wouldn’t spend any time shooting jump shots or free throws at practice.

“It’s funny, we didn’t do anything,” Brownell said. “We watched 30 minutes of N.C. State clips to teach from, ate a sandwich together, went back in and went through some Miami things.

"We got them off their feet, away from basketball.”

The Tigers brought the energy they needed to bring to defeat a good Miami team. They were able to drive-and-kick, which wore down Miami’s defense moving the ball around. Clemson had 13 assists on the afternoon while Miami only had five.

Clemson’s 12 three-pointers were the most Miami had allowed so far this season.

The Tigers now look forward to the challenge of facing No. 20 North Carolina in Chapel Hill on Tuesday night at 7:00 P.M. Clemson is 0-58 all-time on the road at North Carolina, an NCAA record.

The gauntlet doesn’t stop there. The Tigers’ next five opponents, including today’s game against Miami, are a combined 54-11 (vs. Miami, at North Carolina, vs. Notre Dame and at Virginia).

This may seem like a daunting task, but Grantham repeatedly said after the game that this team can do anything.

“Anything is possible with this team,” Grantham said.