Sophomore forward Hunter Tyson contributed eight second half points to help lead the Tigers to a second round win in the ACC Tournament over the Miami Hurricanes, 69-64. Tyson knocked down two huge 3-pointers for Clemson and grabbed two rebounds. The Monroe, N.C. native also took a huge charge for the Tigers in the first half with both teams battling back-and-forth for the lead.
Tyson finished the second round game with eight points on 3-of-5 shooting from the floor, including 2-of-4 from downtown in 17 minutes of game action. As a team, Clemson shot 18-of-19 from the free throw line. The 94% mark from the line is third best in school history (min. 15 attempts).
“Hunter is a confident player. That's a reason why we recruited him," said Brad Brownell after the Tigers' victory. “He was playing with confidence today. He gave our team energy.”
After registering four minutes of play in the first half, Tyson saw the Tigers head into the locker room down by a deuce to the No. 9 seed Miami. Tyson came out of the locker room and checked into the game at the 12:30 mark of the closing stanza. With under 11 minutes left, and the Tigers trailing by a point, Tyson registered his first points of the game; driving in from the three point line and finishing a soft touch off the rim to give Clemson a 36-35 lead.
After Miami converted a three pointer to cut the Clemson lead to three with 8:16 left in the game, Tyson responded with his own three pointer to stretch the lead back out to six for Clemson.
Tyson’s final basket came with under two minutes left in the contest with Clemson clinging to a six point lead. Al-Amir Dawes poked the ball away from the Hurricane player and found Tyson in transition, sinking his second trey of the half and clinching the game for the Tigers.
“I feel like I work very hard," said the sophomore forward after the second round game. “My teammates and coaches trusted me today, and I was able to make shots.”
Clemson will now advance to the ACC quarterfinal round for the first time since 2018. The Tigers will take on the No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament and the No. 4 team in the nation, the Florida State Seminoles. The two teams split both meetings this season, with Clemson claiming victory inside of Littlejohn Coliseum on Feb. 29.
