West Virginia Mounts Second Half Comeback to Knock Off Clemson

West Virginia guard Sean McNeil puts up 15 second half points to lead Mountaineers over Clemson

Clemson grabbed three steals and the momentum as Al-Amir Dawes and Nick Honor combined for 10 points and the 10-2 lead before Isaiah Cottrell ended the run with a corner three. Dawes answered with a three to put Clemson back up eight, but the Mountaineers offense started to find some rhythm behind eight points from Taz Sherman to take a 20-19 lead at the 11:34 mark of the first half. 

Clemson went over seven minutes without a field and, during that span, went 1-2 from the free throw line. Meanwhile, West Virginia went nearly five minutes without scoring before Kedrian Johnson drove to the basket for a layup and followed it with a jumper to regain the lead with 6:12 to play in the half. 

Offense was scarce for both teams in the latter stages of the half, but West Virginia guard Malik Curry continued the aggressive nature in the final minutes to give the Mountaineers a 35-32 lead, but PJ Hall euro stepped his way for a lay-in right before the half to cut the deficit to one. 

Clemson started the second half 6-6 from the field, including 2-2 from three-point range, going on a 10-0 run and taking a nine-point lead with 14:36 left in the game. 

The Tigers nearly went six minutes without a field goal, but the Mountaineers could only muster up eight points in the first 11 minutes and still trailed by nine with 8:14 to play. 

David Yeazell-USA TODAY Sports

Then, West Virginia guard Sean McNeil started to get into a rhythm after going 0-5 in the first 25 minutes of action. He drove the ball down the baseline for a tough layup and followed it with a three to cut it to four. 

After Gabe Osabouhien fed Jalen Bridges down on the post to cut the lead to two, McNeil tied it up with a jumper 56-56 with 3:43 remaining in the game. 

Kedrian Johson gave West Virginia the lead with a pair of free throws, then Sherman grabbed an offensive rebound off the McNeil miss and laid it in for the four-point advantage. 

The Mountaineer defense ramped up, speeding up the Clemson offense and holding the Tigers without a field goal the final 5:50 of game action but went 3-4 in the final minute to stay within striking distance. 

Curry drove down the left side of the lane with a high banking shot falling away towards the baseline to put the Mountaineers up five with 27 seconds remaining. 

After a pair of free throws from Naz Bohannon, cut it to three with a couple of three throws. With 17 seconds remaining and coming out of the timeout, Clemson had six players on the floor and was called for a technical foul. McNeil made both to push the lead to five. He finished with a team-high 15 points, all coming in the second half. 

You can follow us for future coverage by liking us on Facebook & following us Twitter:

Facebook - @WVUonSITwitter - @SI_WVU and Christopher Hall @WVHallBilly