Rod Hall rallies Clemson past No. 21 Arkansas in OT

CLEMSON, S.C. — At once the best and worst thing about Rod Hall is his low-key approach.

He maintains an even keel – never too high, never too low.

"Sometimes that's a detriment," Clemson coach Brad Brownell said. "Sometimes teammates need to see a little more life out of him."

They saw plenty and then some Sunday night.

Hall, a senior point guard, scored 19 points and sparked a late Clemson rally as the Tigers toppled No. 21 Arkansas 68-65 in overtime at Littlejohn Coliseum.

Clemson trailed by six points, 57-51, with just 1:15 remaining in regulation, but the Tigers ratcheted up the defense to score six straight points and force an extra period.

Hall opened overtime by drilling a 3-pointer from the top of the key and the Tigers scored on each of their first five possessions in the overtime.

"I just felt it – I was in a zone," Hall said. "I think this game will build our momentum. Coach challenged us and we responded."

Hall had just three points in the game's first 30 minutes, but scored nine in the final 10 minutes of regulation, then added seven in overtime. His 19 points were one short of his career high.

The victory marked Clemson's first win against a ranked opponent since an upset of No. 13 Duke last Jan. 11, also at Littlejohn Coliseum, and improved the Tigers to 5-3.

Arkansas, which got 21 points from Michael Qualls and 18 from Bobby Portis, fell to 6-2.

The game was Clemson's sixth this season decided by five or fewer points, which may be paying dividends.

"We've probably coached technique too much, maybe we need to start coaching toughness more," Brownell said.

Brownell may save video of Sunday's win as an example.

Clemson matched the Razorbacks blow for blow in the first half and led 29-25 at the break. Arkansas came out hitting on all cylinders after halftime, opening with a 20-5 run to forge an eight-point lead, 45-37, with 11 minutes left.

But the Tigers clawed their way back in it, riding the hot hand of Hall and Jaron Blossomgame, who had 17 points, including an alley-oop lay-in with 7.9 seconds left that forced overtime.

"We haven't been very tough to date – we've only had patches of play where we've been tough," Brownell said. "But we had very spirited practices this week and because of that I told them that they would play well today."

Blossomgame narrowly missed a fourth consecutive double-double, adding eight rebounds to accompany his 17 points, and freshman Donte Grantham added 14 points – his sixth double-figure game this season.

The Tigers improved to 2-0 against Southeastern Conference opponents, with two more looming on the immediate schedule. Clemson will host Auburn on Sunday, then travel to Columbia to face South Carolina on Dec. 19.

Scott Keepfer writes for The Greenville (S.C.) News.