MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Chase Hunter wanted to make an impact for No. 6 Clemson in the NCAA West Regional.

It is safe to say he did.

Hunter scored a team-best 20 points and dished outs six assists in leading the Tigers to a 72-64 victory over No. 3 Baylor, while punching their ticket to the Sweet 16 Sunday night at the FedEx Forum.

“I just wanted to come in and just impact the game,” Hunter said. “Being that I only scored two points against Boston College, and I really wasn’t on it defensively. I wanted to make sure I came in here and I was on it defensively, offensively, just really impact the game at all levels.

“I just wanted to come in this tournament and fight for my teammates. That’s what I did.”

He fought for his teammates by scoring 21 points and dishing out six assists in the Tigers’ first-round win over New Mexico on Friday night and then had a similar performance against Baylor.

Hunter’s biggest contributions came when he was not scoring. The senior, along with PJ Hall and Joe Girard, just tried to be encouraging in the key moments, especially when Baylor went on a 9-0 run and cut what was a 15-point lead with 6:33 to play to two points with 2:19 remaining.

“I think as a leader on this team, us three beings leaders on this team, we got in huddles and just we made sure we got stops and got baskets when we needed them,” Hunter said. “There were times in this game where they started coming back. We made sure we got a stop when we needed it. That’s what helped us prevail today.”

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.

“They’re an elite offensive team with good players and great coaching, and we just really challenged our guys this week,” Clemson head coach Brad Brownell said. “I do think we mixed a couple of things up that was good within our coverages, and I’m sure they missed a few that they normally make.

“We obviously were fortunate they missed some free throws. But our guys really competed. I think we were running out of gas at the end. Chase was exhausted. Joe was exhausted. So it was hard there at the end. But thankfully we were able to make one or two more plays to win.”

And now the Tigers (23-11) move on to Los Angeles on Thursday where they will play Arizona in the Sweet Round of the NCAA Tournament.

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