The Clemson Tigers survived a furious late comeback from the North Carolina Tar Heels to secure an 80–79 victory Thursday night in the quarterfinals of the ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament.
Clemson appeared comfortably in control for much of the second half before No. 19 North Carolina stormed back behind a barrage of late 3-pointers, setting up a frantic final sequence that ended with the Tigers narrowly escaping.
Nick Davidson led Clemson with 17 points, including a perfect 4-for-4 performance from 3-point range. Dillon Hunter added 14 points and calmly delivered at the free-throw line in the final seconds as the Tigers improved to 24–9 on the season and advanced to the tournament semifinals.
Clemson placed six players in double figures and shot an efficient 9-of-19 from beyond the arc, building a sizable cushion that nearly vanished late.
North Carolina, meanwhile, was powered by a monster performance from Henri Veesaar, who finished with 28 points and 17 rebounds. Derek Dixon scored 16 points and ignited the Tar Heels’ comeback with three clutch 3-pointers in the closing minutes.
The Tigers looked poised to cruise into the semifinals after stretching their lead to 18 points with 11:36 remaining. But the Tar Heels caught fire from deep, rapidly chipping away at the deficit.
In the final 2:28, Veesaar drilled two 3-pointers while Dixon knocked down three more, helping North Carolina pull within 78–76 with just 13 seconds remaining.
Hunter responded by sinking two free throws with 11.1 seconds left to push Clemson’s lead to four and make it a two-possession game. Dixon answered immediately with another 3-pointer with three seconds left to trim the margin to 80–79.
The drama wasn’t finished. North Carolina fouled Davidson with 2.4 seconds remaining, but he missed both free throws. Jarin Stevenson grabbed the rebound for the Tar Heels, but with no timeouts remaining he was forced to launch a desperation three-quarter-court heave that fell well short as the buzzer sounded.
Clemson’s victory came with a bittersweet note. The program announced before the game that forward Carter Welling suffered a torn ACL in his right knee during Wednesday’s second-round win against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons after collapsing to the court.
Clemson advances to Friday night’s semifinals where it will face top-seeded Duke Blue Devils, which survived a scare of its own by edging the Florida State Seminoles 80–79 after Florida State missed a potential game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer.
North Carolina (24–8) will now await its postseason fate as the Tar Heels look ahead to the selection announcement for the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament.
