Allie Lawhon

Men's Basketball

Clemson Battles Back to Beat SMU 57-54 to Reach ACC Tournament Semifinals

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Chase Hunter scored 21 points, Jaeden Zackery added 11 points and No. 3 seed Clemson battled back to beat No. 6 seed SMU 57-54 on Thursday, March 13, for its ninth straight win to reach the 2025 T. Rowe Price ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament semifinals.
 
Ian Schieffelin chipped in with nine points and 12 rebounds for the Tigers (27-5), who are seeking their first ACC Tournament title. Clemson has previously appeared in the championship game in 1962 and 2008.
 
Matt Cross led SMU (23-10) with 13 points, while Boopie Miller added 10.
 
SMU led most of the second half, but Viktor Lakhin’s jumper in the lane 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-point attempt with 17 seconds left and the shot clock winding down. The Mustangs called timeout with 12.5 seconds left, but Chuck Harris missed a corner 3-pointer. There was a battle for the rebound before the ball went out of bounds. It was initially ruled that 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 left in the contest. Cross’ full-court heave at the buzzer fell short for the Mustangs.
 
Takeaways
SMU: Cross picked up his fourth foul midway through the second half, but the Mustangs didn’t waver 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. 2 seed Louisville, a 75-73 winner over Stanford, in the ACC semifinals.
 
Of Note
  • Clemson advances to the ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament semifinals for the second time in the past three seasons. Clemson moves on to the semifinals for the 15th time.
  • The Tigers improve to 24-70 all-time in the ACC Tournament and 6-13 when tournament games are played in Charlotte.
  • Neither team had a lead larger than eight points throughout the game. The Tigers and Mustangs swapped leads six times and were tied on four occasions.
  • Chase Hunter led all scorers with 21 points on Thursday night, including five made 3-pointers.
  • Jaeden Zachary paced the Tigers defensively with three steals, while Hunter added three blocks.
  • Clemson’s Ian Schieffelin finished one point shy of a double-double, logging nine points and 12 rebounds.