Third-seeded Clemson took a shaky first step in pursuit of its first Atlantic Coast Conference title as Chase Hunter scored 21 points in a 57-54 quarterfinal victory over sixth-seeded SMU on Thursday in Charlotte,

The No. 3 seed Clemson (26-5) and No. 6 seed SMU (23-9) will meet in the second round of the ACC Tournament on Thursday.

Chase Hunter scored 21 points, Jaeden Zackery added 11 points and No. 10 Clemson battled back to beat SMU 57-54 for its ninth straight win to reach the Atlantic Coast Conference semifinals.

Dillon Hunter suffered a right hand injury in the final seconds of the first half vs SMU. He returned to the starting lineup in the ACC tournament.

Clemson must get ready for Louisville, one of the two ACC teams to beat the Tigers. This time around, Clemson should be ready.

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Clemson took a 54-51 lead in the final two minutes and extended that to 56-52 on guard Chase Hunter’s turnaround jumper in the paint. But with a chance to ice the game up four points, the Tigers committed a live-ball turnover.

Chase Hunter carried the Clemson Tigers on his back in a second-half comeback against SMU in the ACC Tournament Thursday night in Charlotte.

Chase Hunter took over in the final minutes to lift Clemson past SMU on Thursday. The Tigers (27-5) won 57-54 and will face Louisville next.

The No. 10-ranked Clemson Tigers take on the SMU Mustangs tonight in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals in Charlotte. As the No. 3 seed, Clemson secured a double-bye and enters the matchup riding an eight-game win streak.