CLEMSON — It might have been Senior Day at Littlejohn Coliseum on Saturday, but it was a sophomore that ultimately won the game for Clemson.

Ace Buckner made two free throws with three seconds to play, as the Tigers hung on to beat Georgia Tech, 79-76.

Graduate transfer Nick Davidson and senior Butta Johnson led the Tigers with 15 points each, while transfer Carter Welling dropped in 13 points. The Yellow Jackets got a game-high 28 points from Jaeden Mustaf and 20 points from Kowacie Reeves, Jr. Akai Fleming added 18 points in a losing effort.

Georgia Tech ended its season on a 12-game losing streak.  

The Tigers (22-9, 12-6 ACC) had an opportunity to end the game with 14 seconds to play following a free throw by Dillon Hunter. Leading 77-74, Hunter missed his second attempt from the foul line, but Welling rebounded the ball and tried to put it back with 11 seconds to play, but the ball fell off the cylinder, allowing Tech to have one more opportunity to force overtime.

However, Tech’s Mustaf settled for a layup with four seconds to play. On the ensuing play, Bucker was fouled with three seconds to go and made both free throws for a 79-76 advantage. Mustaf’s desperation three from half court was not close, as the Tigers hung on for the three-point win.

Clemson took a 72-69 lead on a Johnson floater from the left side with 2:22 to go. After a Tech made free throw, he drained a three-pointer from the left corner with 1:38 to play for 75-70 lead.

The Tigers trailed 47-37 after a Mustaf layup, but Carter Welling drained a three-pointer and then dropped in a junior skyhook to cut the lead to five. Butta Johnson followed with a triple of his own, as Clemson quickly erased the 10-point deficit and trailed 47-45 with 13:48 to go.

Johnson then gave the Tigers their first lead since the 13:25 mark of the first half thanks to a steal, layup and a and-one. The three-point play put the Tigers up 48-47 and capped an 11-0 run with 12:50 to play.

BAD FIRST HALF

The Tigers trailed 39-33 at the break in what was an ugly 20 minutes of basketball for them.

After grabbing a 14-8 lead in the early stages, Clemson had a stretch where it did not score for five minutes and 27 seconds. During that time, the Yellow Jackets went on a 12-0 run to gain control of the game.

Tech (11-20, 2-16 ACC) led by as many nine points in the first half, 27-18, with 7:21 to play in the half. The Yellow Jackets were shooting 69 percent from the field at that point, but cooled off to finish at 50-percent (14-28). The Jackets were also 5 of 10 from 3-point range as Jaeden Mustaf had 11 first-half points and was a perfect 4-for-4 from the field.

Clemson, on the other hand, was 11 of 31 (35 percent) from the field and 4 of 15 from three (27 percent). Nick Davidson scored 12 first-half points and was 5 of 7 from the field. However, the rest of the team was a combined 6-for-24 from the field and 2-for-11 from long range.

UP NEXT

Clemson will travel to Charlotte, N.C., on Wednesday to play in the ACC Tournament. The Tigers’ opponent will be announced later tonight.