The beat goes on for Clemson’s men’s basketball season after a 73-68 win over Belmont Tuesday. In front of a capacity crowd of 10,000 in Littlejohn Coliseum, the Tigers captured their twenty-third win of the year and will be heading to Madison Square Garden in New York City to play for the semifinals of the NIT. The Tigers did so behind scoring leaders KJ McDaniels and Demarcus Harrison, who both posted 16 points. Guard Jordan Roper added 12 points while big man Landry Nnoko grabbed 9 rebounds for the Tigers. Off the bench, Ibrahim Djambo and Adonis Filer both scored 7 points. Filer grabbed 6 boards for the Tigers, while Djambo, a freshman center from Mali, hit two clutch three pointers and added a free throw to complete a four point play on his second made shot. Belmont continued to live and die by the three pointer, shooting thirty two shots from behind the arc and making twelve. Clemson continued it’s solid free throw shooting, sinking 81.8% of attempted free throws Tuesday night. Clemson trailed by as many as five points late in the second half before going on a ten to two point run to get the victory. Landry Nnoko grabbed a rebound with thirty five second left and was promptly fouled. He made one of his two shots to put Clemson up by four. Another missed Belmont attempt resulted in Demarcus Harrison grabbing the rebound and being fouled with less than ten seconds left. He also hit one of two free throws to put the game on ice. After the final buzzer sounded, the Clemson fans rushed the court to celebrate with the team. Brad Brownell took over the the PA microphone and thanked the band, student section, and all supporters of the team. After the traditional singing of the Clemson alma mater, the sea of fans was parted as so the Tigers could get to the locker room. Clemson becomes the first team to punch its ticket to New York City, and will take on the winner Wednesday’s SMU-Cal game in Madison Square Garden on April 1st.
