Clemson needed a late push to steady itself on Saturday afternoon, but the Tigers found just enough down the stretch to slip past Mercer, 70–63, at Littlejohn Coliseum.
After trailing for much of the second half, Clemson closed the game on a decisive 15–5 run to move to 8–3 overall. The win also marked the Tigers’ sixth straight at home, keeping them unbeaten in Littlejohn this season.
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Coming off emotional losses to Alabama and BYU, both top-15 opponents, Brad Brownell acknowledged the timing of the Mercer matchup made it a tricky one.
“Oh yeah, these are hard,” Brownell said. “It is hard to get your guys really ready. And our guys were fine. We weren’t not ready to play. I think that is an easy excuse. I think we were ready to play. We practiced well yesterday. I just thought we looked a little tired, a little slow.”
The fatigue wasn’t hard to trace. Clemson returned home around 2 a.m. Thursday after its loss to BYU at Madison Square Garden, then immediately shifted into finals week and community obligations, including Tiger Wonderland.
“I think sometimes the emotional drain of all that, the way we lost (to BYU) and how much we put into that,” Brownell said. “Guys having to deal with finals, Tiger Wonderland — your batteries are on, and sometimes when your battery is on like that, it can wear down.”
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Mercer took advantage, leading 58–57 with eight minutes remaining. Clemson’s offense struggled to find rhythm, but freshman Zac Foster provided the spark. His three-pointer with just over 4:30 left gave the Tigers a 60–58 lead, one they would not give back. Foster added two emphatic dunks late that lifted both the crowd and his teammates.
Dillon Hunter finished with a team-high 15 points and sealed the game at the free-throw line. Brownell credited Clemson’s second-half defense for changing the outcome.
“Defensively, I thought our guys showed a lot of grit in the second half,” Brownell said. “A couple of small adjustments and then our guys just gutted it out.”
The victory was also Brownell’s 300th as Clemson’s head coach, though his focus remained on the group’s growth, particularly with so many new pieces still settling in.
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“This wasn’t an easy game,” Brownell said. “Some games you just don’t have your best sometimes, and you’ve got to figure it out while you’re playing. I thought, to our guys’ credit today, we were able to do that.”
Clemson now turns its attention to a rivalry matchup, welcoming South Carolina to Littlejohn Coliseum on Tuesday night for a 7 p.m. tipoff.
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This article originally appeared on Clemson Wire: Clemson HC Brad Brownell on the Tigers after a win over Mercer
