Home heroics: South Carolina upsets rival No. 25 Clemson in OT. Here’s what we learned
There’s something about the Palmetto Series that brings the best out of South Carolina and Clemson.
It was electric inside Colonial Life Arena Tuesday night, as South Carolina upset No. 25 Clemson, 91-88, in overtime.
“Really excited for the guys to have that kind of experience — great atmosphere,” USC head coach Lamont Paris said. “And then just to fight through all the adversity that we had ... we showed some real character in some of those moments, in regrouping and gathering to channel the right energy and the right focus that it took to win in that last extra five minutes.
“But this was fun. This is what college basketball is about.”
The Gamecocks (8-3) made three of their first five shots from the field in overtime, including a 3-pointer by Morris Ugusuk to start the extra period. They went up by seven after Jamarii Thomas laid the ball in after an offensive rebound.
USC led for the majority of the contest and beat their cross-state rival for the second time under Paris.
Clemson continued to fight back. Veteran guard Chase Hunter, who leads the Tigers with 16 points per game, did not score until the 16:58 mark of the second half. That’s when he turned it on, scoring all of his 27 points in the second half and OT.
Hunter banked in a 3-pointer with 0.3 seconds on the clock to send the game to overtime. He poured in 11 points, including two 3-pointers, in the final two minutes of the game to give Clemson a chance after USC went on a 7-0 run late. He scored five more in overtime.
With South Carolina up three points, Paris said the plan was to foul before Hunter had a chance to shoot, but the Gamecocks didn’t execute as planned.
“It didn’t cost us, ultimately,” Paris said. “It easily could have, but it didn’t cost us. So therefore, you’re able to grow.”
Senior Myles Stute knocked down a 3-pointer with 23 seconds left to give the Gamecocks a 79-75 lead before Hunter’s heroics.
Hunter had one last chance in overtime but missed a 3-pointer as time expired.
USC sophomore Collin Murray-Boyles led the way with 22 points, nine rebounds, two blocks and one steal. Senior Nick Pringle had 18 points and four rebounds. Stute also had 19 points and two blocks.
Clemson (10-3) went 9 of 11 across a stretch in the second half, but it wasn’t enough to take the lead as USC continued to fight back and score in the right moments.
The Tigers have now dropped two straight overtime heartbreakers after jumping into The Associated Press poll last week following a big win over Kentucky in the SEC/ACC Challenge.
“This was a quick turnaround for us, and that was an emotional loss to Memphis,” Clemson head coach Brad Brownell said. “It was hard. We’ve had a tough run.”
Behind Hunter (27 points), senior forward Ian Schieffelin led Clemson with a double-double of 23 points and 12 rebounds before fouling out late in regulation. Guards Jaeden Zackery and Jake Heidbreder both added 10 points.
The Gamecocks got their first Quad 1 win of the year by beating Clemson. They had previously failed in their first two attempts (Xavier and Indiana) earlier in the season.
South Carolina, now on a five-game winning streak, turns its attention to hosting Radford on Sunday.
Here are three observations from South Carolina’s OT win over rival Clemson on Tuesday:
Wild swings of momentum
The crowd was electric before the game, but they only got louder after Pringle scored two buckets early to ignite the USC offense.
Both teams went back and forth for the next several minutes before the Gamecocks went on a 11-0 run at the midpoint of the period to take a 24-10 lead. The entirety of the run came from Stute and Murray-Boyles. Stute started the run with two 3-pointers, and Murray-Boyles followed him up with two layups — his only points of the first half.
Though, Clemson immediately responded with their own 14-0 run to tie the game up at 24-24 with less than four minutes before the break.
It was back-and-forth throughout most of the second half. The Gamecocks began to run away with it down the stretch before Hunter found his stroke in the last couple minutes.
Defense rules the day
It’s expected that a rivalry game like this would be physical, but to say that would be an understatement. Clemson had a clear size advantage over USC, but it didn’t seem to matter as the Gamecocks matched up with the Tigers from a physicality standpoint.
Both teams came out with a focus on defensive intensity. It opened the door for those crazy runs in the first half. South Carolina forced six Clemson turnovers in the first half. Both teams shot less than 40% in the first half.
The physical play led to 16 fouls being called in the first half, including three on Murray-Boyles to put him in early foul trouble again.
Murray-Boyles committed a fourth early in the second half, making the Gamecocks have to run without him for a good chunk after the break. His fifth came with 50 seconds left in overtime. Pringle also fouled out late.
USC’s inside-out offense
Paris said after the win over USC Upstate that the Gamecocks are at their best when they’re playing inside-out, relying on their inside scoring to open up things for their offense. They came out Tuesday and stuck to that game plan.
After Pringle scored the first five points of the game, USC’s offense appeared to flow much better, opening things up for the Gamecocks to start 3 of 4 from 3-point range. Pringle had nine points before intermission.
The biggest beneficiary of this offensive scheme was Stute, who knocked down a season-high five 3-pointers. He struggled in the games prior, coming in shooting 28.9% from behind the arc.
“I trust my work. I’m in the gym every single day, and my team trusts me and counts on me to make plays,” Stute said. “And fortunately, I was able to see a couple of them go in. But more importantly, we came out with the W.”
“Regardless if he’s making or missing, he’s going to shoot the ball,” Murray-Boyles added. “He’s our one of our best shooters, and we have the trust in him to make shots. And we’re going to keep feeding him regardless if he’s missing or making them, because we have that much trust in him.”
Next four games
- Sunday vs. Radford, 2 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
- Dec. 30 vs. Presbyterian, 7 p.m. (SEC Network)
- Jan. 4 at Mississippi State, 2 p.m. (SEC Network)
- Jan. 8 vs Alabama, 7 p.m. (SEC Network)
This story was originally published December 17, 2024 at 9:40 PM.
