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Clemson upends No. 18 Arkansas in OT

Dec 8, 2014 - 1:27 AM Clemson, SC (SportsNetwork.com) - Rod Hall scored 19 points to lead Clemson's come-from-behind 68-65 overtime win over No. 18 Arkansas on Sunday.

The Razorbacks could not hold on to a lead late in regulation as Clemson scored the last six points to force OT.

Hall scored 16 after halftime, Jaron Blossomgame added 17 and pulled down eight rebounds, and Donte Grantham netted 14 points for the Tigers (5-3), who bounced back from a loss to Rutgers in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge last Monday.

Michael Qualls paced the Hogs with 21 points, and Bobby Portis chipped in 18. Arkansas (6-2) has lost two in a row after suffering a 95-77 setback to Iowa State on Thursday.

With 1:17 left, a Portis layup gave the Razorbacks a 57-51 lead. Hall responded with a bucket and Clemson's defense took over for the remainder of regulation. It forced three turnovers and did not yield a shot in the final minute as Hall and Blossomgame each hit layups to tie the game and send it to overtime.

The Tigers also scored the first five points in overtime on a 3-pointer from Hall and layup from Landry Nnoko. Arkansas cut its deficit to one possession twice, but Hall went 4-for-4 on foul shots to hel maintain Clemson's lead.

Down six with 1:01 left in overtime, Qualls hit a triple to get Arkansas within three, and a steal by Alandise Harris seconds later got the Razorbacks the ball back. Harris missed the layup, and neither team would score again.

A pair of missed free throws by Blossomgame with four seconds left gave Arkansas one last chance, but it could not get a shot off as the buzzer sounded.

Trailing by nine late in the first half, Qualls scored five straight points to close the half for Arkansas. Clemson held a 29-25 lead at the break thanks to 12 points from Grantham.

After Blossomgame's layup 2:35 into the second half extended the Clemson advantage back to five points, the Hogs went on an 8-0 run to earn their biggest lead of the game to that point. Qualls scored the final five points of that run after Harris started it with a triple.

That Blossomgame bucket was Clemson's last shot made from the field until there were only 10 minutes remaining. Hall's layup ended the drought, but Qualls' 3-pointer on the ensuing possession bumped the Arkansas edge back to seven points.

From there, the Tigers went on a 16-9 run to force overtime. Hall fueled the run with seven points in the final 10 minutes of regulation.

Game Notes

Clemson improved to 1-2 all-time against Arkansas ... Harris' six points put him over the 1,000-point milestone in his college career ... Blossomgame's three-game double-double streak came to an end ... Arkansas hosts Dayton on Saturday, and Clemson takes on Auburn at home on Sunday.