GREENVILLE — Clemson basketball coach Brad Brownell was dragging a bit as he arrived at the postgame news conference Dec. 21 and admitted he’s been trying to play defense on illness.

Brownell would have really been sick if the Tigers had lost this game.

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Clemson built a 27-point lead against Cincinnati but had to hold on for a 68-65 win at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in the Greenville Holiday Invitational.

The Tigers (10-3) will have a chance to rest and get healthy before their Dec. 31 game at Syracuse (2 p.m. ET, ESPN2).

“The win certainly helps,” Brownell said.

Clemson had a double-digit lead before Cincinnati (7-5) even scored, built that to a 20-point advantage midway through the first half, and it was 38-11 at one point before the break.

The Tigers never trailed, but Cincinnati cut its deficit to one point three times in the last 40 seconds. Clemson’s Dillon Hunter was 4-for-4 on free throws in the last 7.7 seconds to secure the win.

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“I was talking to myself,” Hunter said, “telling myself, ‘I’m knocking these down and we’re going to win the game.’ ”

Cincinnati had a half-court inbounds with 3.3 seconds left, but a hurried 3-pointer was off the mark at the buzzer.

Clemson was up at halftime 38-18.

“We knew the game was going to flip at some point,” Brownell said.

It started to flip when Cincinnati’s Day Day Thomas made three straight 3-pointers to get the Bearcats within 47-39. It was 58-54 with two minutes left.

“Some of it was fatigue,” Brownell said. “Some of it was just poor decision-making. Some of it was their defense . . . I thought we had a chance to make a statement in the first four or five minutes of the second half, but we didn’t.”

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Clemson had six players score in double figures. Carter Welling and Ace Buckner both had 12, Jestin Porter had 11. Hunter, RJ Godfrey and Nick Davidson each had 10. Hunter led with seven rebounds and four assists.

Clemson blew a 22-point lead Dec. 9 against BYU and lost 67-64 at Madison Square Garden. The Tigers then beat Mercer 70-63 and South Carolina 68-61.

“From BYU to Mercer and then South Carolina, it took a physical and mental toll,” Brownell said. “The travel was not great to New York. I think we were physically worn down. This (time off) is coming at a very good time for our guys. They’re going to get three or four days at home, which is great.”

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Why Clemson basketball needs holiday break after holding off Cincinnati