Clemson head coach Brad Brownell on the Tigers’ win over Mercer

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…

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Publish date : 2025-12-14 15:28:00

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