Coming into Tuesday night’s ACC-Big Ten Challenge matchup against the Penn State Nittany Lions, Clemson was coming off a weekend spent at the Emerald Coast Classic, where it finished 2-1 with its loss being to No. 25 Iowa by three points. 

Littlejohn Coliseum had a great turnout Tuesday for a much-needed win against a tough Penn State team. The Tigers (6-2) did just that, defeating the Nittany Lions (6-2) in a nail-biter by a score of 101-94 in double overtime.

It was all Penn State early on in the game. The Nittany Lions jumped out to an early lead on the Tigers, and capitalized off a lot of Clemson’s early missed shots and turnovers. The Tigers had seven turnovers and were 11-of-25 (44%) from the floor at halftime.  

Alex Hemenway had two crucial 3-pointers that quickly put the Tigers back into the game and gave the team a much-needed momentum shift. Hemenway led the team at halftime with six points and was 2-of-3 from 3-point range, with one rebound.

A recent hot topic has been the status of junior center PJ Hall. Hall is still recovering from a knee injury he suffered over the summer while also healing from foot surgery he had in the spring. 

Hall started his first game of the season Tuesday and also made two crucial 3-pointers to keep the Tigers in reach of Penn State in the first half. 

Penn State was very aggressive from outside the arc and had six 3-pointers in the first half alone. The Tigers trailed 35-29 heading into the locker room.

Hunter Tyson got involved early in the second half, scoring the first points for the Tigers by draining a 3.

Ben Middlebrooks made two key layups that helped the Tigers fight their way back to eventually take their first lead of the game. Middlebrooks finished the game 3-of-5 from the floor with eight total points.

Hall and Hemenway helped the Tigers extend their lead on the Nittany Lions late in the game. Penn State did not give up that easy and came back to tie the game at 58 with just under five minutes to go in regulation.

It was a battle until the end with neither team taking more than a three-point lead in the final minutes. With just under a minute to go in regulation, Tyson drained a 3-pointer to give the Tigers a seven-point lead. However, Clemson made some costly errors by missing many free throws late in the game, and Penn State was able to keep the game close.

The Tigers were unable to hold off Penn State in regulation, and Andrew Funk of the Nittany Lions tied the game at 71 with five seconds left to send the game into overtime.

In overtime, the Tigers jumped out to a lead when Chase Hunter drained a 3-pointer. However, on the next play, Hunter fouled out of the game and was unable to finish the remainder of overtime. Penn State took the lead with just under two minutes remaining.

Hall tied the game at 83 with five seconds remaining in overtime to send the game into double overtime.

Hemenway drained a 3-pointer on the first possession of double overtime. With just over a minute to go, Tyson put down a vital jumper, and on the very next play, Brevin Galloway went on the fast break down the court to give the Tigers a six-point lead.

The Tigers went on to defeat Penn State, 101-94, in double overtime.

Clemson will return to the court this Friday when it faces Wake Forest in Littlejohn Coliseum at 7 p.m.