Hunter scores 21, No. 10 Clemson battles back to beat SMU 57-54 to reach ACC Tournament semifinals

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Chase Hunter scored 21 points, Jaeden Zackery added 11 points and No. 10 Clemson battled back to beat SMU 57-54 on Thursday night for its ninth straight win to reach the Atlantic Coast Conference semifinals.

Ian Schieffelin chipped in with nine points and 12 rebounds for the Tigers (27-5), who are seeking their first ACC Tournament title.

Matt Cross led SMU (23-10) with 13 points, while Boopie Miller had 10.

SMU led most of the second half, but Viktor Lakhin’s lane jumper gave the Tigers a 52-51 lead with 4:50 left in the game.

SMU had a chance to tie or take the lead after Hunter missed a 3 with 17 seconds left with the shot clock winding down. The Mustangs called timeout with 12.5 seconds left, but Chuck Harris missed a corner 3. There was a battle for the rebound before the ball went out of bounds. It was initially ruled the ball went off a Clemson player, but after reviewing the play officials ruled SMU touched the ball last.

Hunter was fouled on the inbounds play and made a free throw with 2.1 seconds. Cross’ full-court heave at the buzzer fell short.

Takeaways

SMU: Cross picked up his fourth foul midway through the second half, but the Mustangs didn’t waiver and stayed right with the Tigers until the end.

Clemson: Starting guard Dillon Hunter appeared to jam a finger late in the first half and did not return.

Key moment

Hunter drove through the lane, stopped and then hit a turnaround jumper to put Clemson up by four with less than two minutes remaining.

Key stat

SMU finished 1 of 14 from 3-point range.

Up next

Clemson moves on to face No. 13 Louisville, a 75-73 winner over Stanford, in the semifinals. SMU looks to be headed to the NIT.