BROOKLYN, N.Y. – At the ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament in Brooklyn, New York, Virginia Tech defeated Clemson 76-75 in overtime.
On Monday, head coach Mike Young emphasized the Hokies need to play through their center Keve Aluma. The team picked up key contributions from not only him but other big men as well. Aluma and Justyn Mutts combined for six of the Hokies’ first nine points. David N’Guessan also helped by tallying 7 first half points. Storm Murphy was lights out from three-point range, going 4-of-4 to lead the team with 12 points.
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For Clemson, Chase Hunter provided a spark with 8 first half points.
Both the Hokies and Tigers started the game shooting effectively, 62 and 46 percent respectively.
In the second half, Clemson was like a fly at a summer cookout--just kept hanging around. As Virginia Tech’s turnovers reached double-digits, the Tigers continued to play through David Collins, PJ Hall and Chase Hunter. Clemson cut the lead down to 61-59 with under two minutes to play.
A back-and-forth affair ensued with teams matching shots that eventually forced overtime. That’s where Clemson was able to hit clutch free throws for a 75-73 lead. With under 10 seconds left in overtime, Darius Maddox brought the ball up the court and drained a three-pointer from the wing as time expired for the 76-75 victory.
Virginia Tech advances to the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament where they will play No. 2 seed Notre Dame on Thursday, tipoff at 7 p.m. from the Barclays Center.