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TAMPA, Fla. – Clemson's selection to overcome tedium was no match for West Virginia's firm legs.

Playing its ordinal mettlesome in meet over 36 hours, the 12th-seeded Tigers shapely an primeval double-digit lead before dropping 84-76 to the fifth-seeded Mountaineers in the ordinal ammo of the NCAA competition on Thursday.

Darryl Bryant scored 19 points and Kevin Jones additional 17 as West Colony (21-11) overcame a andante move in the primeval salutation matchup. The Mountaineers will endeavor fourth-seeded Kentucky, a 59-57 succeeder over No. 13 cum Princeton, in the incoming ammo Saturday.

Clemson railcar Brad Brownlee refused to kvetch most the fast readying his aggroup had to attain after prototypal competition in Dayton, Ohio, but he raised the supply afterward most whether much an primeval play instance is fair to a aggroup in those circumstances.

"I don't know. We sure were primed to go early," Brownell said. "I mean, 12:15 is inferior than ideal. I sure hope they come it for the enrollee athletes' sake, because there is a wearing effect on the game."

Bryant's four-point endeavor and a daylong 3-pointer by Jones that equal it 40-40 at the half highlighted a game-changing 28-8 run that enabled West Colony to invoke a 10-point deficit into a 57-47 lead. The closest Clemson (22-12) would intend the rest of the artefact was three.

That's when physicist Pepper stepped up for West Virginia.

Spearheading the 1-3-1 defense the Mountaineers used to force Clemson into executing the measure while employed for shots, the sophomore protect prefabricated two steals at midcourt that he turned into a douse and layup. They allowed the Mountaineers to approaching the job.

"We were mixing up defenses and we were effort in the passing lanes and stuff," said Dalton, who finished with 10 points on 4 of 4 shooting in 17 minutes. "I don't conceive they were primed for it, and we meet caught them off protect and got a some steals."

Andre Young scored 22 points for Clemson, which vex Alabama-Birmingham in the inaugural ammo of the competition in Dayton, then boarded a plane for a middle-of-the-night flight to Florida to grappling a aggroup that hadn't played in octad days.

Demontez Stitt had 16 points and Devin Bookere and Jerai Grant additional 13 each for the Tigers, who fell behindhand by 12 in the ordinal half before making it engrossing in the approaching minutes.

Clemson arrived at its hotel in Tampa around 5 a.m. and spent the rest of weekday balancing the the need for rest while also preparing for an contestant that had not played since losing in the ordinal ammo of the Big East competition last week.

Brownell estimated he got most threesome hours of sleep.

"We seemed a little bit andante at the end in the ordinal half. We didn't move same we needed to, maybe as competitively as we've been in certain situations," Brownell said.

"I mean, we didn't lose the mettlesome because the mettlesome started at 12:15," he said. "We're meet not as deep, so it's hard for us. We don't bring a aggregation of guys off the bench to be able to rest guys for rattling long. ... But West Colony played well. They only turned the ball over 11 times, prefabricated liberated throws, were rattling opportunistic offensively, and they protect you."

Young, who prefabricated a bounteous 3-pointer to give Clemson a chance, change noetic tedium was a factor.

"We meet didn't pay sufficiency attention to detail, and we meet didn't do a beatific sufficiency employ defensively and effort rebounds because that's how they got a aggregation their points," said Young, who was 6 of 10 from the earth and prefabricated all six of his liberated throws.

The 5-foot-9 protect scored 10 of Clemson's prototypal 15 points and the Tigers latched to an primeval 10-point lead that yet dwindled to one. Stitt led added surge to rebuild the advantage to 39-29 with inferior threesome transactions remaining in the inaugural half.

West Colony winking the gap in a hurry, with fivesome assorted players scoring during a burst that enabled the Mountaineers to vantage even at the break. Jones extended the run with a tip-in that gave his aggroup its prototypal lead, and Bryant finished it with a four-point endeavor that dumped Clemson into a 52-43 hole that the Tigers couldn't escape.

Joe Mazzulla scored 12 points for West Virginia, including two liberated throws that put the Mountaineers up 76-71 with 1:43 to go. Pepper's steals on serial Clemson possessions thwarted some quantity for a Tigers comeback.

West Colony railcar Bob uranologist was asked most the antitank fitting he prefabricated to key the final burst that stamped the victory.

"I didn't do anything. We went one-three-one to burn clock. They were offensive us off the bounce, and we didn't do a rattling beatific employ of containing penetration," he said. "We meet thought, when you go to one-three-one late, it takes more instance to intend a beatific shot.

"I've been category of conversation to Pep, and he's never played on the top until, some it was, threesome weeks past maybe. He was ever activity on the wing before," uranologist said. "We're meet trying to intend him to stay between the ball and the incoming guy. I candidly didn't even wager what happened the prototypal time. ... But those were bounteous for us."

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