Clemson collapses late, loses at the buzzer at No. 21 NC State

Clemson was seconds away from earning its biggest win of the season. Instead, the Tigers collapsed down the stretch and suffered another tough road loss.

N.C. State’s Braxton Beverly made a 3-pointer at the buzzer to lift the 21st-ranked Wolfpack (16-4, 4-3 ACC) to a 69-67 victory against Clemson (11-8, 1-5) Saturday afternoon in Raleigh, N.C.

The Tigers led by six on two separate occasions in the final minute but made only two of eight free-throw attempts in the final 35 seconds in the heartbreaking loss.

Tigers leading scorer Marcquise Reed was 0-for-4 from the line in the final 13 seconds after entering the game as an 84 percent free-throw shooter.

When Reed missed his fourth consecutive free throw with seven seconds left, N.C. State’s C.J. Bryce grabbed the rebound. The Wolfpack were out of timeouts and Bryce pushed the ball up the floor before dishing it out to Beverly, who was well behind the 3-point line. Beverly let the ball fly with about a second remaining and the buzzer sounded just before his shot swished through the net.

Clemson trailed by as many as nine points in the second half, but it appeared as though the Tigers were on their way to a win after Reed made a jumper to give Clemson a 65-60 lead with 51 seconds remaining.

The Tigers then got a stop and Clyde Trapp was fouled with 35 seconds left and the Tigers leading by five. Trapp made one of two free throws and then fouled Beverly, who also made one of two from the line to put Clemson’s lead at 66-61 with 25 seconds left.

After Tigers point guard Shelton Mitchell made one of two free throws, N.C. State’s Markell Johnson scored and was fouled. Johnson completed the three-point play to cut Clemson’s lead to 67-64 before Reed’s struggles at the free-throw line started.

Reed missed both attempts with 13 seconds remaining and the Tigers fouled Beverly on purpose to keep N.C. State from attempting a 3-pointer. But the plan backfired after Reed missed two more free throws, leading to Beverly’s game winner.

Elijah Thomas played well for the Tigers, finishing with 18 points and six rebounds on eight of 11 shooting from the field. Reed led Clemson with 19 points but was only 5-for-17 on field-goal attempts.

Johnson (16), Bryce (15) and Beverly (12) all finished in double digits for the Wolfpack.

This story was originally published January 26, 2019 at 4:16 PM.