MEMPHIS, Tenn. — With PJ Hall and Ian Schieffelin sitting on the bench with three fouls and Joe Girard having one of the worst shooting games of his stellar career, Chase Hunter took matters into his own hands on Friday.

The Clemon guard buried a three-pointer from the left corner with 9:45 to go, capping a stretch in which he scored eight straight points. The three gave the No. 6 Tigers a 22-point lead at the time, as they cruised to a 77-56 victory over New Mexico in the first round of the West Regional in the NCAA Tournament.

“For me, I just wanted to make plays for my teammates,” Hunter said. “Obviously, I made some plays for myself. Like I said, I wanted to make plays for my teammates. We made some big plays down the stretch. We kept the lead big and we didn’t let them come back. That was big for us this game.”

The Tigers now advance to play No. 3 Baylor on Sunday at the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tenn. Clemson led for all but 30 seconds on Friday.

“I just thought we played at a very high level, super competitive spirit, togetherness, toughness,” Clemson head coach Brad Brownell said. “New Mexico comes in playing extremely well. Richard’s done an unbelievable job with their team.

“And we were ready. And I’m just happy that our guys were able to get past our last performance. Certainly, we’re excited to be here, be a part of this great tournament. And looking forward to another big match-up on Sunday, I guess.”

The win on Friday was Clemson first in the NCAA Tournament since its Sweet 16 run of 2018. It was also the program’s 12 all-time in 14 appearances in the Big Dance.

Hunter finished the afternoon with 21 points and six assists to lead Clemson, while Schieffelin produced his 10th double-double of the season with 16 points and 12 rebounds.

Hall finished the game with 14 points on 5 of 9 shooting. Girard missed his last 12 shots and finished with just seven points. He turned the ball over three times and his streak of 67 consecutive free throws came to an end. However, it did not happen until after he set the ACC record.

The Lobos (26-10) had pulled within 14 points before Hunter scored the Tigers’ next eight points to extend their lead to 22 points and all but put the game away.

“Going into this tournament we knew that wasn’t a goal of ours to get to the tournament. That was an expectation,” Hall said. “Especially the talent, the experience and the veterans on this team that we have, we were very excited to obviously get here. But now it’s time to continue to work.”

Clemson’s defense was the story of the afternoon. The Tigers held New Mexico to 30 percent shooting from the field and 3 of 23 from behind the arc.

The Tigers forced 13 turnovers overall and seven of those were steals. Clemson had a 19-6 advantage in points off turnovers.

“Coach (Brownell) put an emphasis on us on defense, we needed to force turnovers ourselves,” Hunter said. “Luckily, we did that in this game, and we capitalized off those. And it worked in our favor today.”

Clemson (22-11) expanded its halftime lead to 21 points early in the second half, as Schieffelin and Hunter got two baskets each, including a three from Schieffelin. Hunter’s layup with 17:13 to play put the Tigers up 51-30.

The Tigers used a 19-2 run during a 5:38 stretch in the first half to build a 30-11 lead at the 9:51 mark. Girard hit a couple of threes to pace the run, while Hall, Hunter and RJ Godfrey each had layups.

“We just came out fighting,” Hunter said. “Coach (Brownell) put an emphasis on us to come out fighting and even when we got that lead we kept saying lets keep the pressure on.

“They made a few runs and we combatted those runs and made plays. This team can do that. We can make those kinds of runs.”

The key for Clemson in the first half was its defense. The Tigers held New Mexico to 34.3 percent from the field, including 2-for-11 from three-point range.

Jack Clark, who played all 20 minutes in the first half, forced House into a bad shot just as the half was ending, as the Tigers led 42-28 at the break.

UP NEXT

Clemson advances to the second round of the West Regional and will play Baylor on Sunday.

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