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Clemson's Brad Brownell defends not calling timeout before potential winning shots in Georgia Tech loss
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- Clemson's Brad Brownell defends not calling timeout before potential winning shots in Georgia Tech loss
CLEMSON — Could Clemson basketball 's loss on Tuesday been avoided with a timeout?
The No. 21 Tigers were upset by Georgia Tech, losing 89-86 in three overtimes at Littlejohn Coliseum. The loss snapped Clemson's six-game win streak and denied the Tigers (18-5, 10-2) their best start in ACC play in program history.
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Clemson's Chase Hunter had opportunities to score the game-winning basket in the final seconds in the first two overtime periods but missed both shots. In both instances Tigers coach Brad Brownell declined to call a timeout to design a play and trusted Hunter to make a play.
"I'm not a huge timeout guy when we got our best player with the ball," Brownell said. "Obviously, when it doesn't work, maybe we should have called a timeout, but we're going to end up doing the same thing. We're going to screen and get him the ball."
After Georgia Tech's Naithan George missed a jump shot, Clemson received the ball 22 seconds left in the first overtime with the score tied at 70. Hunter, who had 20 points before the shot attempt, secured the ball and missed a long 3-pointer.
Hunter earned a shot at redemption in the second overtime period. Georgia Tech's Ibrahim Souare dunked the ball to tie the game at 77, and the Yellow Jackets called a timeout with 15 seconds left.
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Clemson inbounded the ball from full court and trusted Hunter again. Yet, he missed a contested 3-pointer off the front of the rim to force a third overtime, which was the first ACC men's basketball game to reach three overtimes since February 2020 according to the ACC Network.
"The shot goes in, you win the game," Hunter said. "Just missed a shot I usually take 1,000 times, so just a missed shot."
MORE: Where Clemson basketball must improve to defeat Duke, Cooper Flagg after Georgia Tech loss
Brownell has been adamant throughout his Clemson tenure in trusting his stars late in games rather than calling a timeout to disrupt momentum.
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Still, Hunter was gassed, playing a career-high 52 minutes on Tuesday. He finished with a team-high 28 points but shot 9-for-24 (37.5%), including 4-for-12 (33.3%) from 3-point range, and committed a season-high six turnovers. His shot attempts were the most of his career.
Hunter also settled for 3-pointers rather than attacking Georgia Tech in the paint or mid-range in those final moments. He entered Tuesday as the ACC's best 3-pointer shooter, but his shot wasn't on. In the third overtime, he did attack the Yellow Jackets in the paint when Clemson trailed by one with three seconds left, but he turned over the ball.
Still, Brownell would not want the ball in nobody else's hands but Hunter late in games, timeouts or not.
"It's hard right? You're trusting your best player. The guy has made a million plays for us," Brownell said. "He made a million plays in the game to get us to those points. He just didn't make the final one."
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Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at dcarter@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson basketball: Brad Brownell defends no timeouts late vs Ga Tech
