Late run lifts West Virginia over Clemson

A third place finish in the Shriners Children's Charleston Classic isn't the worst thing in the world.

The Mountaineers earned that title Sunday night, defeating the Clemson Tigers 66-59 after a strong performance in the game's final minutes.

In the game's early minutes, however, it was a different story. The play of guard Al-Amir Dawes, who scored 12 straight points early on, gave Clemson a quick lead. West Virginia struggled to make any steps defensively, and the Tigers capitalized.

But then, a switch was flipped. A stout Mountaineers defensive effort gave Clemson fits on offense, and the Tigers went nearly six minutes without a basket.

All the while, Taz Sherman and West Virginia took advantage. Sherman scored six points during the Mountaineers' run, which gave the team a slim lead.

Clemson and West Virginia would trade possession of the lead back and forth. Ultimately, it was the Mountaineers who entered halftime clinging to a 35-34 lead.

Coming out for the second half, Clemson opened up on a 10-0 run to take the lead back — a run that the Mountaineers would struggle to bounce back from.

Despite a second-half lull for the Tigers, one in which they would not make a single shot from the field for almost six minutes, West Virginia labored to turn things around.

The Mountaineers were able to do exactly that. Eight consecutive points from Sean McNeil allowed them to shift momentum, and they would go on to tie the score with 3:44 remaining.

West Virginia would take the lead back shortly after, withstanding ever resulting Clemson attack. The Mountaineers benefitted from a technical foul late, after Clemson was caught with six men on the court, and would hold on for the win.

McNeil led the Mountaineers with 15 points, while Sherman finished second with 12.

With seven, Gabe Osabuohien led West Virginia in rebounding.

Clemson featured three separate players to score in double digits.

West Virginia (4-1) returns to the WVU Coliseum on Friday and hosts Eastern Kentucky. The 7 p.m. tipoff will be broadcast on ESPN+.

----------

• Talk about it with West Virginia fans on The Blue Lot.

• SUBSCRIBE today to stay up on the latest on Mountaineer sports and recruiting.

• Get all of our WVU videos on YouTube by subscribing to the WVSports.com Channel

• Follow us on Twitter: @WVSportsDotCom, @rivalskeenan, @JaredSerre

•Like us on Facebook