ATLANTA — K.J. McDaniels scored 14 points and Milton Jennings blocked a potentially tying 3-pointer at the buzzer, preserving Clemson’s 56-53 victory over Georgia Tech on Thursday night.
The Tigers (13-11, 5-7 Atlantic Coast Conference) extended their domination of the Yellow Jackets (13-10, 3-8), sweeping the season series and winning their seventh in a row overall.
Georgia Tech rallied from a 12-point deficit in the second half and had a couple of chances to force overtime. Chris Bolden missed badly on a drive with about 10 seconds to go, but the Yellow Jackets got another chance after Jennings made only one of two free throws. Mfon Udofia took off down the court, looking to get off a 3, and he appeared to have an open look when Daniel Miller delivered a pick to free up his teammate.
But Jennings came up from behind to strip it away, and the Tigers celebrated.
Marcus Georges-Hunt led Georgia Tech with 11 points. The Yellow Jackets nearly pulled out an improbable win after shooting just 17 percent from the field in the first half.
Clemson appeared to be firmly in control when Damarcus Harrison made an open 3 with 7:51 left, pushing the Tigers to their biggest lead of the night, 47-35.
But Georgia Tech ripped off a 12-4 run to make a game of it. Miller helped finish off the spurt when he blocked Devin Booker from behind on what appeared to be a clear drive to the basket, and the Yellow Jackets took off the other way. Bolden missed on a drive, but Robert Carter Jr. tipped it in to cut Clemson’s lead to 51-47 with 3:27 left, forcing the Tigers to take a timeout.
The home team couldn’t complete the comeback.
With just over a minute to go and the shot clock running down, McDaniels drove into the lane and tried to pass to a teammate under the basket. The Yellow Jackets got a hand on it, but the ball went right back to McDaniels. He flipped up a quick shot, just ahead of the 35-second buzzer, to give Clemson a 55-50 lead with 1:02 remaining.
The Yellow Jackets didn’t think McDaniels should’ve even been in position to make the fortuitous basket. Rod Hall threw the ball out of bounds after bumping with Carter, but the officials ruled that the Georgia Tech player deflected it. He protested vehemently, but Clemson kept possession — and took advantage of it.
The teams slogged through a first half of brutal offensive basketball, filled with airballs, blocked shots (Clemson had six), clunkers from close range, and open 3-pointers that wouldn’t fall.
Georgia Tech went nearly 8 minutes without making a field goal, made just 5 of 29 from the field — and still trailed only 20-15 at the break.
That’s because Clemson wasn’t much better. The Tigers hit only 8 of 29 (28 percent), failing to pull away even when the Yellow Jackets couldn’t make a thing.
In the end, the last of nine blocks by Clemson preserved the win, adding to a 63-60 triumph over the Yellow Jackets last month.
CLEMSON (13-11)
Hall 4-10 1-6 9, Roper 2-5 0-0 6, Harrison 1-4 0-0 2, Jennings 4-7 1-2 12, Booker 6-11 1-1 13, Filer 0-2 0-0 0, Sullivan 0-0 0-0 0, McDaniels 4-11 6-8 14, Nnoko 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-50 9-17 56.
GEORGIA TECH (13-10)
Udofia 2-9 2-2 6, Georges-Hunt 4-7 3-4 11, Carter 5-10 0-1 10, Miller 1-1 0-0 2, Bolden 2-8 3-4 9, Jordan 0-1 0-0 0, Poole Jr. 0-1 0-0 0, Reed 1-7 0-0 3, Holsey 3-8 3-4 9, Poole 1-3 1-2 3. Totals 19-55 12-17 53.
Halftime—Clemson 20-15. 3-Point Goals—Clemson 5-12 (Jennings 3-4, Roper 2-3, Hall 0-1, Harrison 0-2, McDaniels 0-2), Georgia Tech 3-13 (Bolden 2-4, Reed 1-4, Poole 0-1, Jordan 0-1, Udofia 0-3). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Clemson 30 (Booker 8), Georgia Tech 42 (Carter 11). Assists—Clemson 10 (Booker, Hall, Jennings, Roper 2), Georgia Tech 9 (Udofia 4). Total Fouls—Clemson 17, Georgia Tech 14. A—6,862.
NO. 12 LOUISVILLE 72,
ST. JOHN’S 58
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Russ Smith scored 21 second-half points, including 12 straight over a 3:03 stretch that put No. 12 Louisville ahead for good and helped the Cardinals beat St. John’s.
In a game of spurts for both teams — who traded the lead five times — Smith led the last and crucial one for Louisville. The junior guard’s dozen points led the Cardinals’ 14-5 run for a 46-38 lead.
Smith finished with 24 points for Louisville, which dominated the paint 32-16 and outrebounded St. John’s 45-37.
Peyton Siva added 12 points, Chane Behanan 10 and Gorgui Dieng 10 with a career-high 17 rebounds as the Cardinals (20-5, 8-4) bounced back from Saturday’s five-overtime loss at Notre Dame to climb into a three-way tie for second place in the Big East Conference.
Phil Greene IV scored 21 points for St. John’s (15-10, 7-6), losers of three of four.
NO. 13 OHIO STATE 69,
NORTHWESTERN 59
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Deshaun Thomas scored 22 points and No. 13 Ohio State used a late 12-0 run to beat Northwestern for the Buckeyes’ 32nd consecutive home win against the Wildcats.
Lenzelle Smith Jr. added 12 points — all in the first half — with Sam Thompson adding 11 and Amir Williams a career-high 10 for the Buckeyes (18-6, 8-4 Big Ten).
Pesky Northwestern (13-12, 4-8) led throughout the second half despite having only seven scholarship players due to injuries.
Tre Demps led the Wildcats with 16 points, Reggie Hearn had 12 and Dave Sobolewski 10.
No one would have been surprised to see the Buckeyes blow out the Wildcats. They held a 111-45 upper hand all-time against Northwestern, including 65-14 in home games. The last time a Northwestern team had won in Columbus was Feb. 24, 1977 — when the original Star Wars was up for best picture and the Cincinnati Reds reigned as World Series champs.
MINNESOTA 58,
NO. 20 WISCONSIN 53, OT
MINNEAPOLIS — Andre Hollins hit the go-ahead 3-pointer midway through overtime to finish with 21 points and lead Minnesota to a victory over No. 20 Wisconsin.
It was third straight game Wisconsin went to overtime.
Austin Hollins added 11 points for the Gophers (18-7, 6-6 Big Ten), who held the Badgers without a basket for about 11 minutes until Jared Berggren’s putback with 10 seconds left in the extra period. Hollins went 4 for 4 from the free-throw line over the final 18 seconds of overtime to seal it.
Sam Dekker scored 14 points and Ben Brust added 11 for the Badgers (17-8, 8-4).
LSU 64, SOUTH CAROLINA 46
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Johnny O’Bryant had a career-high 30 points and 10 rebounds as LSU won for the fourth time in five games with a victory over South Carolina, saddling first-year Gamecocks coach Frank Martin with a five-game losing streak — the longest of his college career.
O’Bryant, a 6-foot-9 sophomore, led the inside game for the Tigers (14-8, 5-6 SEC).
Lakeem Jackson scored 10 points to lead the Gamecocks (12-12, 2-9).