Lykes leads Miami to 73-68 overtime win at Clemson

Chris Lykes scored 27 points and DJ Vasiljevic hit the tie-breaking 3-pointer with 59 seconds left in overtime as Miami rallied from 10-points down in the second half to defeat Clemson 73-68

CLEMSON, S.C. —
Chris Lykes scored 27 points and DJ Vasiljevic hit the tie-breaking 3-pointer with 59 seconds left in overtime as Miami rallied from 10-points down to win its fifth straight with a 73-68 victory over Clemson on Tuesday.

The Hurricanes (9-3, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) had to come back from trailing 55-45 with nine minutes left. They still trailed 68-66 on Johnny Newman’s inside bucket with 1:56 to play in the extra session.

But Lykes hit two foul shots and, after a Clemson turnover, Vasiljevic drained the long-range bucket to put Miami ahead to stay.

The Tigers (6-7) missed three 3-pointers down the stretch after Vasiljevic’s go-ahead basket to start ACC play 0-3 for the second straight season.

Vasiljevic hit a pair of clinching foul shots with 1.7 seconds to go.

Lykes ended a point shy of his career high, with 18 against Clemson coming after halftime including several critical baskets.

His driving, one-handed layup around Aamir Simms — Lykes at 5-foot-7 is 13 inches shorter than Simms — tied things at 62 with 49.1 seconds left.

Clemson freshman Al-Amir Dawes was called for traveling on the next possession to give Miami a final chance in regulation. But Lykes’ 3-pointer was off target and Sam Waardenburg’s heave at the end missed.

The Hurricanes trailed 55-45 after Simms’ inside bucket with 8:55 to play.

Miami came out firing — and hitting — after that. Kameron McGusty got things going with bucket and Lykes followed with a 3-pointer and another jumper.

Moments later, Lykes hit another long-range shot to tie the game at 57 and set up the dramatic ending stretch.

Vasiljevic and McGusty both had 15 points for Miami.

Clemson has struggled to score this season and hasn’t reached 70 points in its last eight games. But the Tigers came out hot, making seven of their first 14 shots to lead the Hurricanes 19-11.

That’s when Miami got going behind Vasiljevic, who had a three-point play and a long 3-pointer to start a 9-0 run that got his team the lead.

Vasiljevic and Chris Lykes both made baskets in the final two minutes to send the game to the half tied at 26.

Simms led the Tigers with 21 points.

THE BIG PICTURE

Miami: The Hurricanes showed plenty of guts in coming back on Clemson. Lykes is a dynamic force who should continue to push Miami in the ACC.

Clemson: It’s hard to see the Tigers even reaching their preseason spot of 11th in the ACC unless they find ways to score more consistently. Clemson missed six of eight shots in overtime.

UP NEXT

Miami returns home to play No. 2 Duke on Saturday.

Clemson closes a five-game home stand when it faces North Carolina State on Saturday.

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