Final Stats
CLEMSON, S.C. – Clemson University men’s basketball came back from a ten-point deficit to defeat Georgia Tech 79-76 in its regular season finale on Senior Day in Littlejohn Coliseum.
Clemson will open play in the ACC Tournament on Wednesday, March 11 in Charlotte’s Spectrum Center. As the No. 5 seed, Clemson will open play at 9:30 p.m. on ESPN or ESPN2.
The Tigers (22-9, 12-6 ACC) were led by Butta Johnson (Huntsville, Ala./Grissom/UAB), who reached a season-high of 15 points and also tallied two steals. They also were led by Nick Davidson’s (Mission Viejo, Calif./Mater Dei) 15 points and Dillon Hunter’s (Atlanta, Ga./Westlake) five assists.
Clemson used a 4-1 run to bring the deficit to six at the end of the first half, after trailing by as much as nine. RJ Godfrey (Suwanee, Ga./North Gwinnett/Georgia) helped the Tigers regain momentum with eight points and six rebounds.
Despite trailing at the break, Clemson used an 11-0 run from 15:30 to 12:50 of the second half to storm back within two. Carter Welling (Draper, Utah/Corner Canyon/Utah Valley) led the charge, scoring 11 of his 13 total points in the second half.
Clemson forced 14 turnovers and recorded 10 steals to push past the Yellow Jackets. Ace Buckner (Dallas, Texas/La Lumiere School (Ind.) posted 10 points and helped extend the lead to Clemson’s largest of the game at six with 8:06 remaining.
Clemson shot 56.0% from the field in the second half, converting on 14 of its 25 shots.
Nine Tigers found the scoring column in the contest, and three reached double digits.
In the final three minutes, Clemson remained resilient and scored consistently down the stretch to maintain its lead and used a 6-3 run to finish the game at the free throw line. With four seconds remaining, Ace Buckner made two clutch free throws and lifted the Tigers to victory.
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Notes: Clemson finishes the regular season 22-9 overall and 12-6 in the ACC … with the 12-6 league record, it is just the seventh time Clemson has won two-thirds of its conference games and the third time under Head Coach Brad Brownell – all of which have come in the last four seasons … the Tigers improved to 81-69 in the 150th matchup against Georgia Tech – it was also Clemson’s 50th home win in the series … Clemson won its 96th game since 2022-23 – the second-most wins in the ACC during that time and the most in Clemson history in a four-year span … it was Clemson’s 55th ACC win in that span – continuing a program record for a four-year span the win was Clemson’s fifth halftime deficit overcome this season and also its third 10-point or more deficit overcome for victory this … Head Coach Brad Brownell won his 314th game at Clemson and 481st of his career … Clemson won its 13th game at home this season and is now 55-11 over the last four years in Littlejohn Coliseum … with the win Dillon Hunter tied Trevor Booker and David Potter (2006-10) with 93 career wins at Clemson – second-most in program history (the most is his brother Chase Hunter who finished with 110) … Butta Johnson finished with a season-high 15 points on 5-for-8 shooting, including 2-for-5 from three and 3-for-3 at the line … both Hunter and Ace Buckner each finished with five assists to lead Clemson … the five assists for Buckner were a career-best … Carter Welling and Nick Davidson totaled their 19th and 13th double-digit scoring games, respectively.
Nick Davidson, Jestin Porter, Dillon Hunter, RJ Godfrey and Butta Johnson
Brad Brownell
