By Will Vandervort.

In the finals seconds of regulation during Clemson’s 70-63 victory over Georgia Tech on Saturday, Brad Brownell chose not to call a timeout. Instead, he let his senior point guard try and break down the Yellow Jackets’ defense and make a play in the lane with a last-second shot.

Hall has done that for his head coach countless times in his four years at Clemson and on this day, Senior Day, why not let his senior go win the game.

“I was going to call timeout,” Brownell said. “I really was. I had made up my mind that I was going to call timeout, but then at the end of the day when I am watching it unfold and the clock is starting to go down, I was like, ‘What are we going to do? Are we going to try and get the ball inside or are we going to try and get the ball to Rod in a situation where he is going to do exactly what he is getting ready to do right now. Why risk throwing the ball inbounds? Why let them change defenses? Why let him talk to his players about what he wants them to do defensively?’

“My guy has the ball and he has done it a hundred times, let him go.”

The Tigers cleared out the lane and let Hall go, but it was one of the few times in his career where the play did not work. Hall instead lost the ball with three seconds to go as he tried to make a play in the lane.

The Yellow Jackets recovered the loose ball but time expired before they could get off a desperation heave from half court.

“I missed dribbled the ball,” Hall said. “Once I spin it kind of came out. I did not tuck the ball hard enough as I should and it just came out of my hand.”

But Hall, like he has done so many times in his four years at Clemson, he made up for his mistake. In overtime, when Clemson needed a big basket in the extra session to take control of the game, Brownell called on Rod Hall, again.  And this time he delivered.

With Clemson (16-12, 8-8 ACC) clinging to a four-point lead with less than 90 seconds to play, the Tigers cleared the lane once again for Hall, who drove it and made a layup with the shot-clock winding down to extend the Tigers lead to 66-60 with 1:17 left in overtime.

“I knew I was going to redeem myself once I got a chance to make a play,” the senior said. “I just flushed that out of my system and moved on to the next play.”

That’s Rod Hall. That’s what he has done his entire career at Clemson. He doesn’t let one play get to him. He forgets easy and he competes hard. That’s why Brownell let him have the ball in his hands at the end of regulation and that’s why, in a key moment in overtime, he had his hands on the basketball once again.

“He’s going to fight, that’s what he does,” Brownell said. “He’s not the most talented, not the fastest, not the strongest, but he does compete.”

In his next to last regular season game in Littlejohn, playing maybe in front of the Clemson crowd, on Senior Day nonetheless, Rod Hall scored 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting, while making 4-of-5 free throws and dishing out four assists in 41 minutes.

“Georgia Tech tried to wear him down today with two guards on him, but he was solid.”

Yes he was. But what did we expect. That’s Rod Hall.