CLEMSON -- Clemson was looking for its first three-game win streak in series history against North Carolina, but a Brady Manek layup with three seconds left would allow the Tar Heels to escape Littlejohn Coliseum with a 79-77 win Tuesday night.
Join Tigerillustrated.com subscribers on The West Zone message board!
The Tar Heels, who had every starter reach double figures in scoring, moved to 17-7 overall and 9-4 in Atlantic Coast Conference play. The Tigers fell to 12-11 and just 4-8 in league play.
Clemson took full advantage of its first full possession, as David Collins drilled a three-pointer 20 seconds in. The Tigers, who jumped out to a quick 8-0 lead, would control much of the first half. Collins added five of the Tigers' first eight points but would score no more in the first period.
Armando Bacot's jumper two minutes and 18 seconds in put UNC on the board. An R.J. Davis three-pointer for the Tar Heels cut Clemson's lead to 8-7 with just over five minutes in. The Tigers would respond with an 11-1 run, owning a 19-8 advantage after a P.J. Hall three-pointer.
From there UNC would claw its way back and take a 25-23 lead with just over two minutes remaining before intermission on a Caleb Love layup. Hall would quickly tie the score on a layup in the following possession, but baskets by Bacot and Davis pushed the Tar Heels back on top 30-25 at the break. Bacot led all scorers with 15 points at halftime.
The Tigers would outscore the Tar Heels 52-49 in the second half and the two teams would battle closely for much of the period after UNC lost its biggest lead of the game, a 39-30 advantage, with just under three minutes into the second half following a Manek basket.
An Alex Hemenway conversion from long range capped an 8-0 Clemson run at the 16:04 minute mark. From there, the teams had little daylight between each other the rest of the way with both exchanging leads multiple times.
Clemson would capture its first lead of the second half with 7:34 remaining on a second free throw conversion from Naz Bohannon who made just his second start of the season. For the next five and a half minutes no team would lead by more than four points with the Tigers claiming their last lead with 1:11 left on a Hall layup.
A Love three-pointer pushed UNC out to a 77-75 lead with 0:36 left before Hall would quickly respond with a layup that was ruled goaltending (via replay). An assist from Love to Manek 18 seconds later would give UNC its final basket and all it would need to secure its 17th win of the season.
The Tar Heels, led by Bacot's 24 points, shot 50-percent from the floor, including eight of 24 (33.3%) from long range. The Tigers, led by Hall's 24 points, shot 43.9% and hit 8-of-19 three-point attempts (42.1%). Collins (10) and Al-Amir Dawes (10) joined Hall in scoring double figures, as did freshman forward Ian Schieffelin, who added a career-high 12 points.
UNC will return to Chapel Hill to host Florida State on Saturday while Clemson will host No. 7 Duke (19-4, 9-3) on Thursday. The game is set for an 8:00 p.m. tip and will be televised by the ACC Network.
From THE TIGER FAN SHOP: More marked down officially-licensed Clemson apparel and gear! Visit The Tiger Fan Shop HERE!
