Chase Hunter's clutch shot keys Clemson OT win at Pitt

Chase Hunter made key plays late in the win. (Photo: Charles Leclaire / USATODAY)

Grayson Mann - Staff Writer - Saturday, January 18 2025

Clemson and Pittsburgh entered Saturday’s action both needing an important boost to their resume, and an extra period of basketball was needed to determine who secured that crucial win.

Chase Hunter would be the one to have the last word, draining his fifth 3-pointer with 12 seconds to go in overtime.

The Tigers did not look back, overcoming an offensive implosion in the second half and doing just enough in overtime to escape Pittsburgh with a 78-75 win.

That victory gives Clemson (15-4, 7-1 ACC) an extra boost to its resume. With the win over the Panthers, Clemson is now 3-2 in NET metric Quad 1 games.

Hunter again led the way for the Clemson offense, and did most of his damage from deep. The ACC’s leader in three-point percentage made five of his nine shots from beyond the arc, including multiple long-range heaves that found their way in.

Hunter led the way with 20 points in what looked to be an explosive outing from the Tiger offense, as the unit went 10-16 from deep to open up the first 20 minutes.

Four Clemson starters logged double figures, but those statistics will be overshadowed by what was an offensive implosion in the second half.

Of those three starters, Ian Schieffelin battled bumps of bruises of his own to put together a punishing double-double. Schiffelin’s 15 points and 11 boards complimented the unit well down the stretch, pushing back on the Panthers’ physical comeback.

In the final 13 minutes of regulation, the Tigers had only four makes, with nearly five minutes in one stretch coming between made shots.

Dillon Hunter was a positive bright spot off the bench in the victory, shooting 4-5 on the day, contributing 10 points to the offensive effort. His 27 minutes were incredibly valuable, but one fatal mistake came in the final 90 seconds, where Hunter came out of a timeout and was unable to break a Pittsburgh defense set, leading to a shot clock violation.

The Tigers’ season high in three-pointers made was 13 against Florida State coming in, and that record was topped on the afternoon, with 14 made threes, with Chauncey Wiggins’ trey in overtime being a tying shot. That number took a final boost with Hunter’s clutch 3-pointer, giving the Tigers the edge and the win.

Clemson led by as much as 14 in the second half, aiming to convincingly pick up a NET Quad 1 win on the road. Pittsburgh (12-6, 3-4) wasn’t ready to bow out of the fight, and rallied to tie things up with under eight minutes to play.

After such a fiery first half, the Tiger offense significantly cooled off, which gave the Panthers enough to find their spark.

A major factor in Pittsburgh’s rally was its advantage on the glass, especially when it came to second-chance points. The Panthers collected 23 points off of those opportunities, exerting their size and physicality on a group that is used to overwhelming their opposition.

Where the Panthers flexed its muscles in overtime, the Tigers got back to their brand of basketball in overtime, going 3-3 in their final shots in the extra minutes.

Wiggins added 11 points, moving Clemson to 9-0 in games where he logs double figures.

The Tigers improved to 1-2 in overtime finishes this season.

Clemson will return home to make it four in a row against Syracuse on Wednesday, January 22nd, at 7:00 p.m. on the ACC Network.

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CHASEEEEEEE HUNTERRRRR

📺 The CW pic.twitter.com/JkXHAAJuny
— Clemson Basketball (@ClemsonMBB) January 18, 2025

OT Dubs 👊

Clemson moved to 15-4 by defeating Pitt, 78-75. Clemson shot 50% or better from the field and from 3-point land as @chunt3r2 notched 20 points and @ian_schieffelin had a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds@ClemsonMBB | @ClemsonTigers | #ClemsonGRIT pic.twitter.com/N3ZMjkY3kx
— ACC Digital Network (@theACCDN) January 18, 2025