It was Senior Day at Littlejohn Coliseum. RJ Godfrey, Dillon Hunter, Butta Johnson, Nick Davidson, and Jestin Porter walked the court with their families before tipoff. All five started. And with 15:30 left in the second half, it looked like their last game at Littlejohn was going to end the wrong way.
Clemson trailed by 10. The offense looked stuck. Jaeden Mustaf was cooking anybody the Tigers put in front of him, Georgia Tech was shooting 50% from the field, and if you walked out at that point, nobody would have blamed you.
You would have missed everything.
Clemson ripped off an 11-0 run over the next three minutes and four seconds to grab a 48-47 lead. From there it was a back-and-forth war with 13 lead changes, but the Tigers (22-9, 12-6 ACC) survived 79-76 to close the regular season and lock up the No. 5 seed in the ACC Tournament.
Look at the box score and this game makes no sense. Georgia Tech won the shooting battle (50% to 45%), won the free throw battle (86% to 77%), won the rebounding battle 34-28. They should have won the game. But 14 turnovers will kill you, especially when the other team converts them into 25 points. Clemson only turned it over 9 times and Georgia Tech got just 11 points off those. Right there. That’s your ballgame.
Butta Johnson hit the shot that decided it. Three with 1:38 left, Clemson up 75-70, and suddenly Georgia Tech needed two possessions just to tie. Johnson had 15 points on the night, shot 5-of-8, and went perfect from the free throw line. He wasn’t looking to take over all night. But on Senior Day, in his last game at Littlejohn, when it was time to make a play? He made the play.
Nick Davidson did his damage without anyone really noticing until you check the stat sheet. Same guy who went for 25 against Boston College back in January. Friday he had 15, shooting 6-of-8 overall and 3-of-5 from deep. Never forced a bad look. Fouled out late, but the damage was already done by then.
Here’s what really won this game though. The bench scored 29 points. Carter Welling had 13 with 2 blocks and 2 steals in 22 minutes off the bench. Ace Buckner gave them 10 points and 5 assists. While Georgia Tech was winning for most of the night, Clemson’s bench kept it close enough for that 11-0 run to matter. Without those 29 points, this game is over by halftime.
And then there’s Dillon Hunter’s stat line, which is one of those things you have to explain to people who only look at points. He went 0-for-5 from the field. Scored 3 points. But he had 5 assists and didn’t turn the ball over once in 23 minutes running the point. Two steals. A block. In a game that came down to turnovers, Hunter didn’t commit one. That matters more than any shot he could have made.
Mustaf was a nightmare for Clemson all night. He had 28 on 8-of-14 and went 11-of-12 from the line. Kowacie Reeves Jr. was even better, shooting 9-of-12 for 20 points. But outside of those two, nobody else on Georgia Tech (11-20, 2-16) could do much. The rest of the roster combined for 28 points on 9-of-26 shooting. You can have two guys go off and still lose when the other seven can’t hold onto the basketball.
Clemson trailed for over 23 minutes of game time. Down 39-33 at the half. But something clicked after the break. The Tigers shot 56% in the second half, went 5-of-11 from three, and looked like a completely different team than the one that went into the locker room down six.
After falling short at North Carolina earlier this week, Clemson needed this one. They got it. Brownell, Godfrey, and Hunter addressed the crowd after the final buzzer. All five seniors sat together in the interview room. 22 wins. That’s a proper sendoff.
Up next: the ACC Tournament. Clemson is the No. 5 seed and will face the winner of Stanford/Syracuse on Wednesday, March 11 at 9:30 p.m.
