Clemson holds off late Davidson rally, claims Asheville Championship 68-65

ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- — PJ Hall hit a pair of clutch free throws and Clemson held off a late Davidson rally to claim the Asheville Championship, 68-65 on Sunday afternoon.

Joseph Girard III hit from deep with 2:38 left to put Clemson in front, 64-56, but Davidson answered with four free throws from Reed Bailey and a David Skogman 3 to get within one, 64-63. Chase Hunter scored at the basket with 1:05 to push the Tigers lead back to three points, but Angelo Brizzi's layup got the Wildcats back within a point. Hall drew a foul from Skogman with :21 left and hit both free throws. Davidson had 3-point attempts from Skogman, Brizzi and Bobby Durkin miss in the final 12 seconds.

Davidson got off to a fast start and held a 28-23 lead at the break. Grant Huffman and Connor Kochera each scored at the basket to start the second half to push the lead to nine, 32-23. Alex Hemenway's 3 got Clemson the lead, 38-36, and the Tigers pushed it to as many as seven on a Chase Hunter jumper with 12:28 left.

Hall and Girard each scored 17 points to lead Clemson (3-0). Girard hit 5 of 12 from 3-point range and dished five assists. RJ Godfrey added 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds.

Huffman finished with 12 points and was the lone Davidson scorer to reach double figures. The Wildcats had eight players with six points or more while hitting 22 of 56 from the field (39.3%).

Clemson returns home to face Boise State on Sunday. Davidson travels to face East Tennessee State on Friday.

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