Basketball
CLEMSON BEATS GEORGIA TECH 74-72 WITH HONOR BUZZER-BEATER FOR 3RD STRAIGHT WIN
- 2021-02-14 14:17:02
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CLEMSON, SC - What an improbable finish! One of the best free throw shooters in the nation, Jose Alvarado, missed both free throws with a chance to make it a 3-point game with 10 seconds left, and Nick Honor banks a 3 for the win! I thought Alvarado would make both and Tech would foul with the 3-point lead. Then, when he missed both, I thought Honor would drive for a game-winning layup! Instead, he hoisted the 3-pointer, and luck smiled on the Tigers as it banked in off the glass! Someone once wisely said, "I'd rather be lucky than good!"
On the Tigers' penultimate possession when they were down 3 points, Aamir Simms, who was 3-4 from beyond the arc, had a great look at the top of the key to try to tie the game with 12 seconds left, but instead he found Baehre under the basket for a dunk to cut the lead to one. That unselfish decision by Simms turned out to be the right one! If he had shot and missed, who knows what would have happened, but the Tigers probably would have lost.
The Tigers trailed by as many as 9 points in the first half, but it was a tight, back-and-forth second half. Simms tied his career high, scoring 25 to match his jersey number for the 3rd time. The last time was at Miami, when he made the game-winner. He was honored at halftime with a commemorative basketball for surpassing 1,000 career points last week. Nick Honor made four 3's to match his jersey number as well! He and Dawes did a great job on the defensive end against point guard Jose Alvarado, who scored just 3 points until adding 5 more late in the game. He can be a prolific scorer at times, and he netted 18 in Tech's previous game. He finished with just 8 points and zero assists.
The win snaps a 3-game losing streak to Tech, and the Tigers have won 3 straight games, 4 straight at home, improving to 13-5 on the season and 7-5 in the ACC. Unlike past years, they haven't had many nail-biters in the final minute this season. The last one was at Miami about a month ago, and the only other ones were against NC State and at VA Tech in the first ACC game of the season. The final score of the Louisville game was 54-50, but the Tigers had a 7-point lead with 15 seconds left. It's been mostly double-digit wins or double-digit losses this season, so it's great to see the Tigers pull one out of the fire because they will likely see a few more of these before the season is over. It's a huge win to keep their momentum going before heading on the road to play a hot Notre Dame team! Given their quality non-conference wins over Alabama, Purdue and Maryland, the Tigers should be ranked again on Monday in my opinion. Post-game interviews and highlights are below!
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