Clemson senior Gabe DeVoe saved his best for last, even in defeat

Clemson guard Gabe DeVoe did not come this far to have his college career end like this.

The Shelby native, who was finally starring for the Tigers as a senior, was not about to let his final game in a Clemson uniform end in an embarrassing loss in the Sweet 16 against Kansas.

DeVoe nearly single-handedly brought Clemson back from a 20-point second-half deficit against the Jayhawks before Kansas held on for an 80-76 victory to advance to the Elite 8.

DeVoe did all that he could to extend Clemson’s NCAA Tournament run, scoring a career-high 31 points on 10-for-17 shooting in his final game as a Tiger.

“I just tried in any way possible to give my team a chance to win at the end. Really tried to rally the guys in the first half when we got down, just continued to fight,” DeVoe said. “Made some big stops down the stretch, gave us a chance, but we just weren't able to get over the hump.”

At one point in the second half, DeVoe had more points (20) that the rest of Clemson’s team combined (19), but the Tigers still trailed 54-38 with 14:49 remaining.

He got some help down the stretch but still scored 11 points in the final eight minutes of the game.

“He was Gabe. He made a lot of big shots. He was talking,” point guard Shelton Mitchell said. “You see how Gabe played this tournament, he led us and did a lot of different things for us.”

DeVoe scored 22 points in each of the first two games of the NCAA Tournament to lead the Tigers into the Sweet 16 for the first time in more than 20 years.

His career at Clemson did not end the way he hoped for, but he did all that he could to keep Clemson’s run in March alive.

“Gabe has grit. If you look at Gabe’s career, he constantly, every year got better and better. He had to fight every year. He never gave up,” senior Donte Grantham said. “I think that’s just his mentality of I’m going to keep going. I’m not going to let the odds beat me. I’m going to keep fighting, and I think tonight was a prime example.”

This story was originally published March 23, 2018 at 11:18 PM with the headline "Clemson senior Gabe DeVoe saved his best for last, even in defeat."