Chase Hunter had one of the finest games of his career on one of the biggest stages to date, and No. 6 seed Clemson danced its way to a 77-56 win over No. 11 seed New Mexico Friday at Memphis’ FedExForum in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Hunter tallied a season-high 21 points as Clemson won its first NCAA Tournament game since 2018. The Tigers looked like the team that had been ranked No. 13 in the country after starting the season 9-0.
Clemson got off a strong start and never looked back, answering each attempt at a New Mexico (26-10) run with one of its own.
When senior Joe Girard made a 3-pointer from the top of the key near the 12-minute mark of the first half, the Tigers had a 25-11 lead. Girard hit another 3-pointer and Clemson was soon on a 19-2 run and up 30-11.
Through the first 12 minutes of play, Clemson was connecting on 55 percent of its shots; New Mexico only 31 percent.
The Lobos used a 10-2 run in a span of 3:30 before RJ Godfrey’s dunk put Clemson back up by 13 at 38-25 with 2:07 left in the half. When New Mexico’s Jaelen House missed a jumper with six seconds left, the Tigers led 42-28 at intermission.
That was after PJ Hall had sat for the final 4:56 of the half with two fouls. Despite his absence, Clemson outscored New Mexico, 8-7, in that span and was 4-for-9 from 3-point range in the first half compared to New Mexico’s 2-for-11.
There would be no second-half letdown for the Tigers, either.
Clemson began the half with a 9-2 run after a 3-pointer and a tip-in by Ian Schieffelin on consecutive trips down the floor. Schieffelin, the ACC’s Most Improved Player for 2024, had 16 points in Friday’s victory.
Then there was Hunter, who made a spectacular move under the basket for an underhanded layup to put Clemson ahead, 59-40, with 10:37 to play. Hunter popped another 3-pointer on the Tigers’ next trip down the floor, and Clemson had its largest lead of the day to that point at 62-40.
With the game winding down, Hunter made his last shot attempt a good one, draining a jumper with 2:05 to play.
New Mexico never showed what had made the Lobos was one of the most dangerous teams entering the tournament. The closest they came to getting back into the game was cutting the Tigers’ lead to 13 after Clemson went over four minutes without a basket at one point in the second half.
By the time a frustrated House fouled out with over six minutes still on the clock, he’d been held to just 12 points — one game after scoring 28 in New Mexico’s Mountain West Tournament championship game against San Diego State. Nelly Junior Joseph led the Lobos in scoring with 14 points. Mashburn, who had 21 against San Diego State, had only six points Friday.
Hall had 14 points for Clemson to give the Tigers three players in double figures.
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Clemson will face No. 3 seed Baylor (22-9) in the round of 32 Sunday in Memphis. Tipoff time and TV network have yet to be announced.