Clemson basketball is in first place.
The Tigers improved to 4-0 in the ACC with a 68-65 win Wednesday night at Virginia Tech and are tied for the league lead with Pitt. Coming up 4 p.m. Saturday afternoon is a showdown of unbeatens in Pittsburgh.
It’s just the third time in program history that Clemson is 4-0 in the ACC and the best start since 5-0 in the 1996-97 season.
“Very good, hard-fought win,” Clemson coach Brad Brownell said. “… We’re just trying to continue to get better, play good basketball and figure out how to win some tough games. That’s what we did tonight.”
Clemson (12-3) took the lead for good with 3:45 remaining, 59-58, on a spinning fadeaway by PJ Hall. The Tigers sealed the deal by making 5 of 6 free throws in the final 27 seconds. Defending ACC champion Virginia Tech (11-4 1-3) got within 67-65 on a 3-pointer by Sean Pedulla with 10.7 seconds left, but he missed a second attempt to tie with two seconds left.
Clemson had five players in double-figure scoring. Hunter Tyson had 13 points with 14 rebounds, Hall had 13 points, Chase Hunter 12, Brevin Galloway 11, and RJ Godfrey added 10 points and six rebounds in 14 minutes off the bench. Godfrey, a freshman forward who was 0-for-2 on 3-pointers for the season, was 2-for-3 from behind the arc.
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Tyson was coming off a career-best game and one of the best in Clemson program history with 31 points and 15 rebounds against N.C. State.
He struggled in the first half against Virginia Tech, going 0-for-6 on 3-pointers and scoring just two points. But he made his first three attempts from long range in the second half and finished with another double-double, 13 points and 14 rebounds. He hit two 3-pointers in a row to tie the game at 47 and his next one put Clemson ahead, 57-49.
“Hunter Tyson bounced back after a tough shooting first half to shoot great in the second half,” Brownell said. “That’s what you expect from him.”
Both teams were missing starting guards and 3-point specialists. Clemson played without Alex Hemenway (foot) for a third straight game. Virginia Tech was without Hunter Cattoor (elbow) for a second straight game. That made it more of an inside game, where the Tigers had an advantage.
“It helps that Hunter Cattoor’s not playing,” Brownell said. “He’s an outstanding player who stretches the defense that way. So, it becomes a big-body game.”
“They have an ability to play a bigger lineup and I have a hard time matching up with that,” Virginia Tech coach Mike Young said. “I’m counteracting that with a big lineup of our own. Spacing, ball movement, shot selection at times is not what is has to be. And we’re missing another guy that can stretch it and makes a shot.”
