INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- In a thrilling battle that came down to the wire, No. 7 seed Clemson fell to No. 10 seed Rutgers, 60-56, in the NCAA Tournament First Round on Friday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
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The Scarlet Knights (16-11) hit a layup with ten seconds to play to put the game out of reach after Clemson (16-8) erased an 11-point second-half deficit. Clemson’s season came to a close in its 13th appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
Aamir Simms led the Tigers with 15 points and 11 rebounds in 38 minutes, as the decorated senior’s career came to a close. Clyde Trapp posted 14 points, going 5-for-6 from the field in his final game in a Clemson uniform.
In the shooting department, Clemson made 35.6 percent of its field goal attempts, and Rutgers (16-11) shot 39.7 percent from the floor. The Tigers connected on six 3-point attempts, while Rutgers netted eight 3-pointers. Clemson went 8-for-9 at the free throw line, pulled down 32 rebounds and also tabbed six steals in the process of forcing 14 turnovers. Additionally, the Tigers amassed 26 points in the paint, 14 fast break points and 14 assists.
Simms made 5-of-6 free throw attempts and was credited with three assists, and finished the season as Clemson’s scoring, rebounding, and assists leader for the second-straight season. Trapp went 5-for-6 from the field and 3-for-3 at the foul line. Hunter Tyson scored 10 points and nabbed two steals, and Al-Amir Dawes registered eight points and three assists. For Rutgers, Geo Baker, Caleb McConnell and Jacob Young led the Scarlet Knights in scoring with 13 points apiece.
Dawes scored Clemson’s first basket via a 3-pointer that tied Rutgers at 3-3. Soon afterward, Simms knocked down a hook shot to put the Tigers up 7-5. A trey from Alex Hemenway out of the fast break increased Clemson’s advantage to 10-7. Hemenway proceeded to record a steal, which set the stage for an emphatic dunk by Tyson. Another fast break triple, this time by Tyson, gave the Tigers a 15-13 edge just under midway through the first half. A nice pass from Simms facilitated a game-tying Dawes layup at the 4:43 mark. Jonathan Baehre corralled an offensive rebound with a little over two minutes remaining in the half, and the second-chance opportunity resulted in a pull-up three by Dawes.
The Tigers closed out the opening half with Trapp grabbing a defensive board and racing the length of the floor for a buzzer-beating layup. Clemson entered the break sporting a 26-23 lead.
Early in the second half, a superb bounce pass by Simms enabled Trapp to throw down an impressive slam, providing Clemson with a 30-26 lead. Later on, Trapp poured in a trey that made the score 33-29 in favor of the Tigers.
The Scarlet Knights went on a second-half run en route to going up 50-39. However, Rutgers was then held scoreless for over four minutes while Clemson trimmed its deficit to one. During the Tigers’ 10-0 surge, Simms came up with a 3-point play and Baehre elevated for a put-back layup.
The score was tied 55-55 at the final media timeout, but Clemson never took the lead late in the action, as Rutgers pulled out a 60-56 victory.
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