CLEMSON — With 1:04 to play Saturday, it appeared 16th-ranked Clemson was on its way to another hard-fought victory.

For much of the afternoon at Littlejohn Coliseum, Clemson battled from behind. But when Chase Hunter drained a three-pointer with 1:04 to play, it appeared Clemson had done it again. However, that was not the case, as Memphis made a couple of big shots to force overtime and Clemson failed to execute in key moments down the stretch in an 87-82 loss.

“Chase makes a big play to go up five (points) with a minute to go, but they have some elite shot makers and players,” Clemson head coach Brad Brownell said. “Their starting five, those guys can all score, so they put you on roller skates a little bit.”

Clemson (9-2) still had its chance to win the game in regulation and in overtime.

With the score tied at 72, following a Dain Dainja layup with 20 seconds to go, Hunter isolated himself near the tiger paw at center court to position himself to make a run for a game-winning basket. However, Hunter did not start his move towards the basket until there was four seconds on the clock, not enough time to get to the rim.

Instead, he had to lift up a 23-foot prayer from the left side, which bounced off the basket as time expired.

“I am still thinking about it now. I should have drove there and tried to get a foul or something better,” Hunter said. “I kind of waited a little too late, but that was on me on that last play.”

Hunter had an opportunity to make up for it in overtime.

With Clemson trailing 85-82 following two Dainja free throws, Brownell called timeout to design a play to get the basketball in Hunter’s hands.

It worked, Hunter got the basketball and had two choices to make. He could drive the ball and make a layup to extend the game a little longer and maybe position Clemson for a better chance to tie or win the game or he could shoot the open three-pointer on the run and try to tie game right there.

He chose the latter of the two.

“I would have loved to have seen Chase drive it, but I will live with his decision,” Brownell said.

Hunter finished the game with 17 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists. However, he was just 2-for-7 from behind the arc and turned the ball over three times. One of those turnovers came after his three with 1:04 to play, a moment when he said he lost focus and got caught up in the moment.

“I hit that three and I came down and celebrated too much,” the graduate senior said. “I should have been more focused. I got hit on the ball screen and (my teammates) were not able to help off that and they were able to hit a big three.

“On the next play down, I got a little out of control, lost the ball and they were able to come down and get a two. Those last few plays are on me. I have to be better as a senior leader and make sure we get that game finished.”

Hunter and Clemson will try to finish things on Tuesday when it plays at rival South Carolina (7 p.m., SECN) in Columbia.