Clemson blows 20-point lead, takes early exit from NIT

Martez Walker and Sherron Dorsey-Walker combined to score 35 of their 44 points in the second half as Oakland overcame a 20-point deficit to beat Clemson 74-69 in Tuesday night’s opening round of the NIT.

Walker finished with 23 points and eight rebounds, while Dorsey-Walker scored 21 as the Golden Grizzlies advanced to play with No.3 seed Alabama or sixth-seeded Richmond in the second round. Xavier Hill-Mais added 10 points, on 5-of-8 shooting, with six rebounds and Isaiah Brock grabbed 12 boards for Oakland (25-8).

No. 2 seed Clemson (17-16) had a 49-29 lead with 17:36 to play and Avry Holmes hit a 3-pointer about 1  1/2 minutes later to make it 52-33. But the Tigers committed three turnovers and missed all of their five field-goal attempts in the next five minutes as Oakland trimmed its deficit to 56-46.

After Donte Grantham’s 3-pointer made it 61-51 with 9:39 to go, Walker scored 10 points and Dorsey-Walker added six during a 20-2 run that put the Golden Grizzlies ahead 71-63 on Brock’s dunk with 2:56 left. Oakland held on from there.

Jaron Blossomgame had 24 points and eight rebounds for Clemson, which made just 8 of 30 field-goal attempts (26.7 percent) in the second half. The Tigers were outscored 50-26 after the break.

This story was originally published March 15, 2017 at 1:07 AM with the headline "Clemson blows 20-point lead, takes early exit from NIT."