No. 18 Clemson picks up confidence-building 72-70 win behind Gabe DeVoe's career-night
ATLANTA -- Clemson’s biggest game of the season was played Sunday evening in Atlanta.
In its second game without Donte Grantham and in an environment where Georgia Tech had beaten three ranked teams already, No. 18 Clemson needed a win to build confidence after its worst loss of the season at No. 2 Virginia.
The Tigers overcame an early 12-point deficit with gutsy play down the stretch and willed its way to a much-needed 72-70 win.
Gabe DeVoe’s career-high 25 points led the way for Clemson. Shelton Mitchell’s 17 points of his own after going scoreless at Virginia were also huge for a Clemson offense that struggled at times.
But when the game was on the line, Marquise Reed’s play rose to the occasion, yet again. Reed scored all of his 13 points in the second half, including Clemson’s last six points to close the game out.
His go-ahead layup with the game tied at 70 with 25 seconds left lifted Clemson to its sixth ACC victory of the season.
“I can’t really say the play, but it was just spacing. I saw I had a four-man on me and I just tried to make a play,” Reed said after the game. “I just tried to keep playing with poise.”
This is the ninth time Clemson has started 6-3 in conference play in 64 seasons.
“We just hung in there,” Clemson coach Brad Brownell said. “We battled back. Gabe DeVoe was great in the first half, obviously made a bunch of deep threes against the zone and that kept us in the game until we settled in a little bit and scored in different ways. Marcquise was very good in the second half."
“Just a really hard-fought, tough win for our guys. I’m really proud of them.”
The Tigers came out struggling on offense early. They looked lost on offense at times thanks to Georgia Tech’s one-three-one zone and for the second straight game, Clemson allowed a 7-0 run out of the gate.
But when Clemson needed an answer in the first half offensively, DeVoe was there. The lone senior on the floor for the Tigers went on a 9-0 run and 7-0 run all by himself at different points in the first half to keep the game from getting away from Clemson.
DeVoe’s previous career-high of 21 points came earlier this season at home against Texas Southern. His 18 points at halftime helped Clemson cut a 12-point Georgia Tech lead to just two at the break.
“He’s battle-tested,” Brownell said of DeVoe’s play.
The Yellow Jackets came out shooting very well from the floor building their early lead. At one point, the Yellow Jackets were shooting 71-percent. Abdoulaye Gueye was a problem for the Tigers in the first half on both ends of the floor.
His size and length inside frustrated Clemson and he proved to be a mismatch offensively. Gueye had 10 points and three rebounds in the first twenty minutes.
Trailing 36-28, Clemson went on a 15-2 run through the half taking a 43-38 lead before Gueye scored the Yellow Jackets first bucket in the second half with 15:38 remaining. Georgia Tech started 0-for-4 from the field in the second period as Clemson’s defense started to settle in.
From there, the game went back and forth after Georgia Tech was unable to put the Tigers away. The Yellow Jackets were led by Josh Okogie, an All-ACC type of player and Georgia Tech’s best threat offensively. His 24 points led the Ramblin' Wreck.
With Clemson nursing a three-point lead with 11 minutes to go, Reed made two game-changing plays on the defensive end. On consecutive possessions, Reed collected two steals which led to breakout layups on the other end giving Clemson a 56-49 lead.
“Those pick-sixes bit us in the butt,” Georgia Tech coach Josh Pastner said. “As well as we took care of the ball, those were two big turnovers because it’s back-to-back.”
The story of the game was Clemson’s ability to shoot the ball from long range against the number one 3-point percentage defense in the ACC. The Yellow Jackets had only allowed opponents to shoot 27.6 percent from behind the arc, but Clemson hit 48 percent with ten made threes.
Seven of those threes came in the first half alone, keeping Clemson in the game. The Tigers didn’t score their first 2-point field goal until 8:49 remained in the first half.
With 2:33 left, Elijah Thomas fouled out of the game and Clemson watched an 8-point lead dwindle away with a minute remaining.
Was this going to be the game - without Grantham - this team would collapse down the stretch?
Reed’s poise and play-making ability kept this season’s narrative the same.
“I just had to stay poised and find my rhythm,” Reed said.
Clemson is now 5-1 in games decided by five points or less, which leads the ACC. This team has continued to make strides after last season’s misfortunes and now does it without Grantham.
The win was pivotal for the Tigers in so many different ways even though they are only coming off of one loss. For them to just get a win without Grantham should elevate their confidence moving forward as they continue to find their way.
“We needed it from the standpoint that it makes you feel good that this group can go win a road game,” Brownell said. “Without Donte Grantham, we can go on a road and win in a place that’s hard to win in front of a good crowd.”
That sentence had to feel good for Brownell to say after picking up his 17th win this season, the same number of wins Clemson had total last season.
“Hopefully what this does is that it will give confidence to the guys that need it on our team. Reed doesn't need it. Shelton Mitchell and Gabe DeVoe don’t need it, they’re fine. But some of the other guys on our team need some confidence. To play in a game like this where it’s close, nip-and-tuck and winning it, that certainly helps.”
The Tigers now have another quick turnaround as they prepare to face North Carolina on Tuesday night back home in Littlejohn.