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Dawes reacts to 3 starting points in the victory over Pitt. (Photo courtesy ACC)
CLEMSON – The sophomore sent the veterans on a high.
Al-Amir Dawes scored 21 points and was 5 out of 8 in the 3-point range on Senior Day, while Clemson enters the postseason with a 77-62 victory over Pitt in the last game of the regular season at the Littlejohn Coliseum.
Clemson won eight in a row in the series with the Panthers, after losing the top three. The Tigers have won six consecutive home games. Five different tigers hit a 3-point ball while Clemson was 12 out of 25 points beyond the arc. Hunter Tyson scored 16 points and Aamir Simms added 12 as the only other two-digit Tigers.
Clemon scored 45 points off the bench. Clemson will be a No. 5 seed or a No. 6 seed in next week’s ACC tournament, depending on what Louisville does against Virginia at 4pm on Saturday (the Tigers will be a seed 5 with a defeat in Louisville).
Clemson improves to 16-6 overall and 10-6 in the ACC, while Pitt drops to 10-11 overall and 6-10 in the league game.
The Tigers came out on top in the first half, with Simms hitting a quick 3 points just 30 seconds into the game. Clemson’s 3-point shot – two by Clyde Trapp and one by Nick Honor – helped the Tigers reach a 16-8 lead, but Pitt quickly reduced the lead to just five in 16-11.
The Tigers then got hot and received three points from Dawes and went on in a 13-2 streak that saw Clemson extend the lead to the biggest advantage of the first half at 29-13 with 8:23 to play before the break. Then it was the Panthers that got hot in a 14-3 streak that reduced the lead to just 32-27 with just over four minutes to go. The Tigers tried to break free, but Pitt’s defensive intensity and hot shots increased to 38-36 in the interval.
Simms once again started scoring in the second half with a short jump, and Dawes followed with another 3-point basket that made the 43-36, but the Panthers again roared and fell in two in 43-41 in the 16:43 mark.
Dawes scored in a free throw and a jump and Hunter Tyson hit a 3-point basket while the Tigers once again tried to pull away, eventually moving the lead back to 10 in 54-44. Pitt hit two free throws that resulted in 54-46, but Tyson hit 3 more points, Dawes made a free throw and then Trapp turned a steal into a feed for Dawes on the counterattack, and the tray pushed the ball away. lead back to 16 at 62-46.
Justin Champagnie then tried to stay warm, but the Tigers had an answer at every step, and when PJ Hall picked up a wandering ball and placed it under the basket Clemson had a 68-50 lead with 7:25 to play. Pitt was never able to mount a serious threat after that, and Dawes’ 3 points in the final seconds put an exclamation point in the victory.
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