Hall and Tyson help Clemson end the Challenge with double-overtime victory

Hunter Tyson scored 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds (file photo).

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Tue Nov 29 22:10:57 GMT-04:00 2022

CLEMSON – Clemson closed out the Big Ten/ACC Challenge with a much-needed win, but it took two overtimes and big nights from PJ Hall and Hunter Tyson to make it happen.

Tyson scored 22 points and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds, and Hall scored 24 points as the Tigers lost a seven-point lead in the last minute of regulation, held on by a thread in the first overtime, and finally broke through in the second overtime for a 101-94 victory over Penn St. at Littlejohn Coliseum Tuesday night.

Hall scored seven of his 22 points in the second overtime as the Tigers outscored the Nittany Lions 18-11. Alex Hemenway added 15 for the Tigers, while Seth Lundy and Jalen Pickett each scored 23 for Penn St.

Clemson improves to 6-2 overall, while Penn St. falls to an identical 6-2 record.

Clemson is now 4-1 all-time against Penn St. This is Clemson’s 23rd appearance in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, and the Tigers are now 13-10 all-time. The Challenge goes away after this season after the ACC inked a deal to do a similar challenge with the SEC.

Penn St. roared out to a 12-3 lead in the game’s first five minutes, but Hemenway hit back-to-back 3-pointers to get the Tigers back in the game at 12-9. The Nittany Lions kept a working margin for much of the half, eventually pushing the lead to 10 at 35-25 on a basketball by Jalen Pickett with a little over two minutes to play in the half.

However, RJ Godfrey and Josh Beadle each hit baskets in the final minute and Clemson trailed 35-29 at intermission.

Clemson started fast in the second half, scoring eight of the first 10 points to jump ahead 38-37 with just under 17 minutes to play. The teams then battled over much of the next 11 minutes and were tied 58-58 with 4:35 to play.

A 3-pointer by Tyson gave Clemson a 69-62 advantage with just 51 seconds to play, but the Tigers went cold at the free throw line and Andrew Funk hit a 3-pointer with five seconds remaining to force overtime.

Andrew Funk hit a 3-pointer with 2:51 left in the second overtime period to tie the score at 88-88 but Hall and Tyson each hit baskets to make it 92-88, and then Brevin Galloway hit a basket on the fast break to make it 94-88.

Dallion Johnson later hit a 3-pointer to make it 96-93 with 42 seconds left to play but Ben Middlebrooks, Tyson, and Hemenway each hit free throws down the stretch to account for the final score.

Clemson enters ACC play with a home game against Wake Forest on December 2nd. Tipoff in Littlejohn Coliseum is set for 7 pm. Clemson then plays three out-of-conference games before getting back into conference play in late December.