Bohannon's late charge pushes Clemson to thrilling comeback win over Georgia Tech

Bohannon scored nine points in the second half to lead the Tigers.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Wed Mar 02 21:11:48 GMT-04:00 2022

CLEMSON – Naz Bohannon hit a layup and free throw with 14 seconds remaining as Clemson overcame a 13-point second half deficit to defeat Georgia Tech 68-65 at Littlejohn Coliseum Wednesday evening.

Bohannon scored all nine of his points in the final 6:28 of the game for the Tigers, who have now won three in a row and improve to 15-15 overall and 7-12 in the ACC. Georgia Tech falls to 11-19 overall and 5-15 in league play.

Clemson was led by the 19 points of David Collins, who also grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. Collins was the only Clemson player in double figures. Clemson has won 7 out of the last 11 against Tech, and Brad Brownell is now 18-8 against Tech all-time.

Facing a stiff Georgia Tech zone defense, the Tigers scored 42 of their points in the paint.

The teams played even through much of the first half, with three ties and five different lead changes. Al-Amir Dawes hit a layup at the 8:59 mark, putting Clemson ahead 20-19. That was the Tigers’ last lead of the half as Tech scored nine of the next 11 points and raced out to a 29-22 lead. Alex Hemenway ended that run with a 3-pointer that made it 29-25.

Twenty seconds later, Collins stole the ball and drove the length of the court for a dunk, making it 29-27 Tech with just 3:32 remaining in the half. The Tigers then went scoreless over the final 3:32 and Tech took a 33-27 lead into the break.

Twice during the first three minutes of the second the Tigers trimmed the Jacket lead to just one, but defensive lapses and offensive struggles started to cost the Tigers. With Tech leading 44-36, Michael Devoe hit a layup and Kyle Sturdivant hit a 3-pointer on a fast break, forcing Brownell to call a timeout with Clemson down 49-36.

The Tigers had two different stretches of almost three minutes without a bucket, but Ian Schieffelin made a layup and Dawes hit his first 3-pointer of the night a minute later. Georgia Tech was forced into a timeout with its lead down to just six at 55-49 with 6:59 to play. Out of the timeout, Naz Bohannon took his defensive rebound the length of the court for a layup that made it 55-51, and Collins followed that with a layup of his own under the basket that made it 55-53.

Then it was Dawes’ turn to get into the action, lofting a rainbow 3-pointer from the corner for the Tigers’ first lead of the first half at 56-55 with 5:12 remaining. The Jackets responded with five straight points, but Chase Hunter hit his first field goal of the night – a 3-pointer from the top of the key – and it was 60-59 Tech with 3:50 left to play.

Two minutes later, with the score tied at 61-61, Tech was called for an offensive foul and Bohannon continued his strong play by driving the lane and tossing a left-handed runner off the glass for a 63-61 lead at the 1:38 mark, forcing the Jackets to call their last timeout.

The Jackets scored on an old-fashioned 3-point play Deebo Coleman to retake the lead, but Bohannon’s runner off the glass at the other end was rebounded by Collins and put back for a 65-64 Clemson lead with just under a minute to play. With just 42 seconds remaining, Rodney Howard hit one of his two free throws tying the game at 65-65, setting up a final flurry.

Clemson closes out the regular season Saturday, hosting Virginia Tech in a 2 pm tipoff. The ACC Tournament starts next week.