CLEMSON -- 24 points from Hunter Tyson and 22 from P.J. Hall led Clemson to an impressive 101-94 win over Penn State Tuesday night in Littlejohn Coliseum. The game marked the Tigers’ 23rd appearance all-time in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
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The Tigers moved to 6-2 on the season and a perfect 5-0 at home, while Penn State dropped to 6-2. The Nittany Lions, who started three transfers, entered the contest a 2-point loss to Virginia Tech away from holding an unblemished record.
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Clemson blew a six-point lead, up 70-64 with just 19 seconds left, and with five seconds remaining in regulation, Andrew Funk sunk a three-pointer for the Nittany Lions to tie the score at 71 and send the matchup into overtime.
The Tigers found themselves in a deep hole early, down 12-3 after three early baskets by Jalen Pickett and two three-pointers from Camren Wynter.
With 6:35 left in the first half, Hall drilled a basket from long range to pull Clemson even at 21-21. Josh Beadle would score the Tigers' final basket of the half, but not before the Nittany Lions would add 14 points to take a 35-29 advantage into intermission.
Clemson opened the second half on a 13-2 run.
With 6:56 left in regulation, Alex Hemenway hit one from long range to give the Tigers their largest lead of the game at 58-51. The Tigers, which held the Nittany Lions to just 10 points in the first 11 minutes of the second half, controlled much of the period and carried a 70-64 edge with just 19 seconds to go.
Two free throw conversions from Lundy and Wynter pushed PSU to within striking distance before Funk's three-pointer tied the game to send it into overtime.
Hall, who logged 24 minutes, picked up the Tigers' first and last baskets in the first overtime. Hemenway's three-pointer kicked off the second overtime period, giving Clemson an 86-83 lead.
Lundy's three-pointer with 2:51 remaining tied the contest at 88-88, but from there Clemson would lead the rest of the way with two Tyson free throw conversions capping all scoring with 13 seconds left.
Clemson moved to 13-10 all-time in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
PSU, led by Wynter's 26 points, shot just 40.8-percent from the floor and was 11-for-36 (30.6%) from long range. The Nittany Lions were 25-of-29 (86.2%) from the foul line. Pickett and Lundy added 23 apiece. Lundy pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds.
The Tigers were 50.8% from the field, 11-of-21 (52.4%) from long range and hit 26-of-37 (70.3%) shots from the foul line.
It was a forgettable night for guard Chase Hunter, who added just seven points on a 1-for-12 effort from the field. Hunter came into the contest averaging a team-high 16.6 points per game.
Tyson added a team-high nine rebounds. Hemenway was the only other Clemson player to reach double figures in scoring (15).
Clemson begins conference play on Friday as it hosts Wake Forest in a 7:00 p.m. ET tip.
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