Clemson holds on in regular season finale with 79-76 win over Georgia Tech
CLEMSON — When the moment called for something smooth, Clemson turned to Butta.
Efrem “Butta” Johnson delivered two clutch buckets in the final minutes Saturday afternoon, helping the Tigers hold off Georgia Tech 79–76 in the regular-season finale at Littlejohn Coliseum.
On Senior Day, the senior guard delivered the biggest sequence of the afternoon in the final two minutes.
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With Clemson clinging to a one-point lead and just over two minutes remaining, the ball found Johnson in the corner. A quick pump fake sent a Georgia Tech defender flying past him. Instead of forcing a three, Johnson calmly stepped into the lane and floated one home to extend the lead.
Moments later, the ball found him in the same spot again.
No hesitation.
Johnson rose and buried the three, pushing the Tigers ahead by five with 1:24 remaining and sending Littlejohn into one of its loudest moments of the afternoon.
Georgia Tech (11-20, 2-16) never fully went away, though. The Yellow Jackets cut the lead to one in the final seconds, forcing Clemson (22-9, 12-6) to execute at the line.
Freshman Ace Buckner did just that.
With 3.2 seconds left and Clemson protecting a one-point lead, Buckner calmly sank two free throws to extend the margin to three and effectively seal the win. Georgia Tech’s desperation heave on the final possession never threatened the rim.
For Johnson, the finish capped a performance that was quietly one of Clemson’s most complete of the season.
The senior finished with a season-high 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including two three-pointers. But his impact went beyond the scoring.
Johnson added two steals, three rebounds and two assists while posting a team-best 15 when he was on the floor. His activity away from the ball, crashing the glass and jumping passing lanes, helped Clemson manufacture the extra possessions it needed.
Those possessions proved critical.
Clemson turned Georgia Tech’s 14 turnovers – 10 of them steals – into 25 points, a margin that ultimately decided the game. The Yellow Jackets managed just 11 points off Clemson’s nine turnovers.
That pressure also helped Clemson survive an afternoon where Georgia Tech consistently found offense.
Jaeden Mustaf led all scorers with 28 points, while Kowacie Reeves Jr. added 20 and Akai Fleming chipped in 18. The trio accounted for 66 of Georgia Tech’s 76 points and repeatedly kept the Yellow Jackets within reach.
For stretches, it looked like Georgia Tech might spoil Senior Day altogether.
The Yellow Jackets built a 10-point lead early in the second half and briefly controlled the tempo while Clemson’s offense stalled. But the Tigers flipped the game in a hurry behind a spark from Carter Welling.
Welling knocked down a three, then immediately created a steal on the defensive end before finishing a baby hook on the next possession. Suddenly the energy inside Littlejohn shifted.
Johnson kept it rolling.
He followed with a three-pointer of his own and then turned another steal into an and-one finish in transition, igniting a 16–2 Clemson run that erased the deficit and pushed the Tigers back in front.
Clemson still never fully separated, the game featured 13 lead changes, but the surge reset the momentum of the afternoon.
Inside, the Tigers found consistent production from their frontcourt.
Nick Davidson led Clemson early, scoring 12 of his 15 points in the first half while shooting 5-of-7 from the field and hitting both of his three-point attempts. Welling finished with 13 points and four rebounds, providing the spark that changed the game’s momentum.
Collectively, Clemson’s bigs were efficient. The Tigers’ frontcourt combined to shoot 14-of-21 from the field and 4-of-6 from three-point range.
The backcourt production remains a work in progress.
Outside of Johnson, Clemson’s guards again struggled to generate consistent offense. The rest of the roster combined to shoot just 11-of-35 from the field and 5-of-20 from beyond the arc, a trend that has lingered for much of the past month.
Georgia Tech’s defensive approach made that clear from the opening tip. The Yellow Jackets collapsed around RJ Godfrey whenever he attacked the lane, forcing Clemson to rely on perimeter shooting.
Godfrey was efficient when he found space, finishing with eight points on 3-of-4 shooting, but Georgia Tech’s crowding often forced him to kick the ball out.
Still, Clemson found enough offense, and enough extra possessions, to survive.
The Tigers finished the afternoon shooting 44.6% from the field while converting 20-of-26 free throws, another key margin the Tigers needed in a tight game.
And for a Clemson team that has searched for rhythm offensively in recent weeks, simply closing out the regular season with a win mattered.
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At 22–9 overall and 12–6 in ACC play, the Tigers secured the No. 5 seed in the ACC Tournament. Considering preseason expectations, that’s a strong regular-season finish.
But the questions about Clemson’s perimeter scoring remain as postseason play begins. Teams have increasingly packed the paint and dared the Tigers’ guards to create offense on the outside.
If Clemson can rediscover some balance there, the Tigers have shown they can still grind out games like this one.
On Saturday afternoon, that was enough.
Behind a steady senior performance from Johnson, smooth like “Butta” when Clemson needed it most, the Tigers walked out of Littlejohn with one more win.
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Clemson will now wait for the winner of the No. 12 vs. No. 13 matchup in the ACC Tournament, where the Tigers are scheduled to play Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. on ESPN2/ESPNU.
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