MEMPHIS, Tenn. — RJ Godfrey took a deep breath and then made perhaps the two biggest free throws of his life Sunday at the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tenn.

“I just knew Jesus was with me at the time and also I just remembered what Coach Reynolds was telling me. ‘It is about rhythm and routine’ and stay out of my head,” Godfrey said.

Playing for PJ Hall, who fouled out with 36 seconds to play, Godfrey’s second free throw with 29 seconds remaining gave the sixth seeded Tigers a four-point lead. Then after a Baylor miss and foul, Joe Girard sealed a 72-64 victory over No. 3 Baylor with two foul shots of his own, advancing Clemson in the NCAA West Regional.

Godfrey made two more free throws with eight seconds to play to end the day’s scoring.

“My brain has never been in that position,” Godfrey said laughing. “It was empty. It was so peaceful. So, when I shot it, I knew both of them were going in. I was a thousand percent those four shots were going in.”

The win advanced the Tigers to the Sweet 16 for the first time in six years. It is the program’s fifth appearance overall.

Clemson head coach Brad Brownell is the first head coach in the program’s history to take the Tigers to two Sweet 16 appearances.

“Obviously, I am ecstatic about the win. Just super happy for my players,” Clemson head coach Brad Brownell said. “These guys have been battling all year. And I couldn’t ask for a better group of guys to coach. They’ve been just fantastic.

“We obviously had a hot start to the year. Like most teams, had a couple of bumps in the road, but these guys never doubted it. We never quit. We just kept working. And we came into this tournament pretty determined and pretty confident. Just glad to see it paid off.”

Chase Hunter led Clemson with 20 points and six assists, while Girard finished the game with 13 points and three assists. Forward Ian Schieffelin tallied 11 points and six rebounds.

Godfrey finished with eight points and had five rebounds.

Clemson’s win over Baylor marked the Tigers’ first win over a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament since Clemson beat No. 3 BYU on the way to its only Elite Eight appearance in 1980.

The Tigers never trailed on Sunday night. In its two NCAA Tournament games so far, they have led for all but 30 seconds.

Schieffelin made an unbelievable no-look shot with two seconds on the shot clock, while being fouled with 6:33 to play. Though he did not make the free throw to complete the three-point play, it did give the Tigers a 15-point, 61-46, with 6:33 to go. It was the last field goal of the game for the Tigers.

The Tigers (23-11) could not hold the lead, though. Baylor went on a 9-0 run over the next 2:45 to cut the lead to six, 61-55, with 3:56 to play. Dennis, who led all scorers with 27 points, keyed the run for the Bears.

But Baylor could not get over the hump, as Clemson made its last nine free throw attempts to hold them off.

“I think it was just making sure we got big baskets when we needed them, getting big stops when we needed them,” Hunter said. “We knew they were a great team. They were going to go on runs. They have great players like we do. But as leaders in the team we made sure we got in the huddles, made sure we got stops and made big baskets when we needed them.”

Hall picked up his third foul with 17:26 to play with the Tigers up 10. However, with their star player on the bench they were still able to extend their lead.

Jack Clark’s dunk after breaking the Bears’ press gave the Tigers a 48-34 lead with 13:50 to go.

The game’s best play came at the end of the half. Hunter double-pumped a three-pointer as the horn sound to end the first half, giving the Tigers a 35-25 lead the break. His three came after Baylor’s Ja’Kobe Walter missed his three.

Walter finished the night with 20 points, but he was just 5 of 11 from the foul line.

Hunter scored 11 points in the first half on 4 of 7 shooting. He was 3-for-4 from behind the arc.

Clemson built is lead thanks to good defense once again. They forced seven turnovers in the opening 20 minutes, including three steals. The Bears were just 8 of 24 (33.3 percent) from the field and 3-for-9 from behind the arc.

“Coach Brownell gave us a great game plan, and we executed it pretty great,” Schieffelin said. “We didn’t let them get going early. And they struggled. We limited them to 25 points in the first half. We stuck to the game plan, and it worked well.”

The Tigers connected on 6 of 11 three-pointers to start the game and were 13 of 25 from the field. Clemson missed all six of its three-point attempts in the second half.

Clemson had a 10-point lead despite Hall and Schieffelin sitting on the bench with two fouls. Schieffelin played 12 minutes and Hall played 10 in the first half.

Baylor (24-11) finished the night making just 38 percent from the field and 6 of 24 (25 percent) from three-point range. They made 16 of 30 threes against Colgate in the opening round.

FOUL TROUBLE

Once again, Hall could not stay out of foul trouble. He played just 10 minutes in the first half and he picked up his fourth foul with 7:11 to play in the game.

Hall was in foul trouble in the Tigers’ win over New Mexico, too. He fouled out with 36.2 seconds to play Sunday night. Hall finished the game with 11 points and three rebounds and played just 20 minutes.

UP NEXT

Clemson will play Arizona next week in the Sweet 16 Round of the NCAA Tournament in Los Angeles. The two play on Thursday, but no time has been announced.

A limited number of signed footballs from Clemson’s 2022 class are still available.  Get yours while supplies last!  Visit Clemson Variety & Frame or purchase online!