RJ Godfrey swallowed hard and closed his eyes as he prepared to shoot the second free throw with 29 seconds left.
Maybe he was praying.
Maybe he was thinking of going to California.
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Whatever it was, it was the perfect mental image for a 55-percent free-throw shooter to drain two on that trip, and then two more to basically ice it with eight seconds left.
Up big for much of the game, it was only fitting that Clemson had to earn this one in the end.
And only so telling that they earned it with their star, PJ Hall, on the bench after he fouled out.
After watching a 15-point second-half lead shrink to two, Clemson held off Baylor in the final minute and sealed its trip to Los Angeles with a 72-64 triumph in Memphis Sunday night at FedEx Forum.
Clemson went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line in the final 29 seconds.
Nails.
Just a few days ago this team entered the NCAA Tournament facing questions and scrutiny after losing three of their previous four.
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Now the sixth-seeded Tigers are in the Round of 16 for the second time in the last seven seasons, and suddenly Brad Brownell is looking like a bit of a rock star as he looks to advance further in his 14th season leading the Tigers.
Clemson hit 20 of its 24 free-throw attempts and Baylor missed 10 of its 26 tries from the line.
That was really the difference, as Ja'kobe Walter had an opportunity to tie the game with 36 seconds left but missed both free throws.
After plenty of what-if moments during the regular season, including a narrow loss at Duke, Clemson had the mental toughness to push through against the third-seeded Bears.
"We came here to fight," Chase Hunter said. "We came here to show who we are."
The trip to California will indeed be sweet for a team that was devastated at being left out of March Madness a year ago.
That memory can officially be flushed now with Brownell's team looking quite capable of playing with and beating anyone.
Hunter led the way with 20 points in 39 minutes after he scored 21 in the first-round victory over New Mexico.
Joe Girard, the transfer from Syracuse, scored 13 points but contributed in ways beyond his specialty of long-range shooting. He missed four of five shots from 3 but had three defensive rebounds, including a big one in the final minute before he was fouled and drained both free throws.
Girard also had three assists and a steal, helping Clemson's harassing defensive effort against the high-flying Bears.
Ian Shieffelin had 11 points, six rebounds and three assists. His blind toss from the lane after he was fouled went in and ended up being rather big.
And for that matter, so did Hunter's double-pump 3-pointer that went in at the first-half buzzer to put Clemson up 35-25 at the half.
Baylor shot 38.9 percent from the field and was 6-of-24 from 3.
Clemson held the Bears and Lobos to a combined 9-of-47 from 3 in the two victories at FedEx Forum.
With defense like that, you can get away with Hall once again getting into foul trouble.
He drew his second with 6:16 left in the first half and went to the bench with the Tigers up five.
But just like two days earlier, Clemson seemed to get stronger in his absence and increased the advantage.
Hall played just 20 minutes and finished with 11 points on 4-of-11 shooting with three rebounds and two turnovers.
Hall's day was done with 36 seconds left, as he lunged to try to get the ball after an errant pass.
Walter's missed free throws gave Clemson some hope that everything would be OK.
But Godfrey was then fouled, and everyone knew his free-throw chances were a little better than a coin flip statistically.
With all the pressure in the world on his broad, muscular shoulders Godfrey got the first one in to make it 67-64 with 29 seconds left.
Then he paused with the ball in his hands before the second one, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes.
And maybe thinking of California.
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