No. 19 Clemson hoops stays hot, rallies past NC State in overtime
Clemson basketball’s hero from Saturday’s win at Miami struggled throughout the Tigers showdown with N.C. State Tuesday night.
Aamir Simms, who scored 25 points against the Hurricanes over the weekend, was scoreless late into the second half against the Wolfpack.
Luckily for Clemson, Brad Brownell had a new hero emerge. Transfer guard Nick Honor scored 21 points, including a clutch 3-pointer to send the game to overtime, to lead the Tigers to a 74-70 come-from-behind win over N.C. State Tuesday night. After Honor’s 3-pointer with 38 seconds left tied the game at 62, Clemson outscored N.C. State 12-8 in the extra period to secure the win.
With the win, No. 19 Clemson improved to 9-1 (3-1 ACC), while N.C. State fell to 6-2 (2-1). The Tigers return to action Saturday at UNC.
“Fortunate to win,” Brownell said after the game. “I thought they really punched us in the mouth. ... Give my guys a lot of credit down the stretch. I thought we played really well at the end of the game to finish it and really executed in overtime. Guys stepped up.”
PJ Hall, Clyde Trapp step up for Tigers
The Tigers trailed by as many as nine points in the second half before rallying.
With Simms struggling with his shot (he finished 3-11 from the field) the Tigers relied on others to step up. Clyde Trapp contributed 11 points and seven rebounds, while freshman P.J. Hall added eight points and two boards in 13 minutes.
Hall had one of the biggest buckets of the game, hitting a hook shot with the Tigers up by 2 and 10 seconds left in overtime to make it a two-possession game.
“I was yelling at him, ‘Back him down and shoot your hook’ and he did,” Brownell said. “Hopefully he’s going to do that a bunch in his career for us. He’s that kind of player.”
Clemson’s depth helps against NC State
In addition to scoring 25 points against Miami, Simms also hit the game-winner late. He didn’t get on the board until the 9:32 mark of the second half against the Wolfpack.
But Brownell has said all year that depth is his team’s strong point. That was once again the case Tuesday.
Clemson played 10 players, with nine of those playing at least 13 minutes. The Tigers continue to find different ways to win.
“I hope that’s part of why we’re a good team is we have some different weapons,” Brownell said. “I think you have to have that to have a good team. Got to have multiple guys that can make a big play, make a shot, have a big night. We kind of need everybody.”
This story was originally published January 5, 2021 at 9:20 PM.
