The Clemson men’s basketball team traveled to Tallahassee, Florida, on Saturday and defeated the red-hot Florida State Seminoles by a score of 78-67. With the win, the Tigers improved to 13-5 (3-4 ACC).
The Tigers earned this much-needed victory after dropping four of their last five games against ACC opponents. The Seminoles, on the other hand, had won seven of their previous eight and stood in second place in the ACC heading into the matchup.
Senior guard Chase Hunter had a huge game, leading the Tigers in scoring with 14 points and going 100% from both the field and the free throw line to lead Clemson to victory. Hunter was one of four Tigers to post double-digit points, as center PJ Hall was close behind with 13, Josh Beadle with 12 and Joseph Girard III with 10.
The Tigers started out slow, totaling 30 points in the first half. This was due in part to Hall and forward Ian Schieffelin amassing two fouls each and being forced to sit for a large part of the half.
The Seminoles wrote the story of the first half as they consistently ran a full-court press and caused the Tigers to turn the ball over seven times. Florida State also forced the Tigers to play from behind and held the lead for most of the first half, though they headed into the locker room tied 30-30.
In the second half, Clemson set the tone by going 3-for-3 on its first three possessions to take its first lead of the night. The all-around solid defensive play caused the Seminoles to commit 11 turnovers in the game, and the Tigers capitalized on many of them. At one point, Clemson’s defense did not allow Florida State to make a shot from the field for over six minutes.
The Tigers’ bench depth was one of the game’s crucial factors due to persistent foul trouble, which sent starters out. Beadle, Jack Clark and Dillon Hunter helped the Tigers outscore the Seminoles 28-18 in bench points and solidified the Tigers’ win by shooting 41.2% from three and 84% from the charity stripe.
Clark, a new addition to the Tigers this year, led the team with seven rebounds and had four assists off of the bench. Meanwhile, Beadle led the bench in points with 12 and had some crucial buckets toward the end of the game.
Clemson has struggled as of late, but after this critical ACC win, the team looks to capitalize on the momentum and play some of its best basketball when it is on the road again to Durham, North Carolina, to face the No. 7 Duke Blue Devils on Jan. 27 at 4 p.m.
