Bey leads No. 21 Colorado past Clemson, 71-67

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Tyler Bey had 18 points and 11 rebounds to lead No. 21 Colorado over Clemson 71-67 on Tuesday night in the championship game of the MGM Resorts Main Event.

D’Shawn Schwartz scored 12 points, Evan Battey added 11 and McKinley Wright IV chipped in with 10 for the Buffaloes (5-0).

Bey, who attended Las Vegas High School, was selected MVP of the event.

Clemson (5-2) had a chance to win in the final seconds, but Wright stripped freshman Al-Amir Dawes, drew a foul and sank two free throws to seal it.

Colorado struggled shooting, including a 7-for-21 stretch to open the second half, but was able to capitalize on four turnovers to take its first lead with 7:52 left, when Wright stole the ball from Tevin Mack and punctuated the breakaway with a two-handed dunk to energize the crowd.

The Buffaloes built their lead to 69-63 before Clemson made a late run.

Aamir Simms led the Tigers with 23 points. Jon Newman III scored 16, and Mack had 11 points and 10 rebounds.

After coming back Sunday for an overtime win against TCU in the semifinals, Clemson got 13 of its first 25 points from Simms in this one. He hit five of his first seven shots as the Tigers opened 9 for 16 from the floor, including 3 of 6 from 3-point range.

After falling behind by 10 with 7:29 left in the first half, Colorado made 10 straight free throws during a 10-2 run to carve into Clemson’s lead. The Buffaloes got within one when Maddox Daniels drained a 3 with 49 seconds left in the half, but Curran Scott’s late bucket gave Clemson a 36-33 halftime lead.

Colorado was 4 of 13 from 3-point territory over the first 20 minutes.

BIG PICTURE

Colorado: The Buffaloes’ early calling card this season has been their defense, allowing 54.5 points per game. In their previous three games they permitted 49 per outing. Clemson, their toughest opponent to date, had 49 points by the 14:39 mark of the second half. The Tigers hit the 54-point mark with 7:41 left in the game.

Clemson: The Tigers continue to thrive with points off turnovers. They entered ranked 23rd in the nation with a plus-6.2 turnover margin and had outscored opponents 142-70 in points off turnovers. Clemson got 18 points off 12 Colorado turnovers.

UP NEXT

Colorado: The Buffaloes return home to play Sacramento State on Saturday.

Clemson: Plays at Minnesota on Monday, opening night of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

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