Last night, the Clemson Tigers pulled away in the second half against Eastern Kentucky, ending the game with a 75-62 win to remain unblemished in the early stages of the season.

Clemson (3-0) utilized a strong second half in order to win the matchup against the Colonels. The Tigers were down 54-50 with just under 13 minutes to play before they went on a 21-2 run over the ensuing final nine minutes.

“When we get into that situation, there’s no need to say anything,” center Viktor Lakhin said. “We just know we’ve got to get it done. We can’t lose that game if we’re hoping to get into the tournament because we know it’s going to hurt our chances in the long term.”

The Tigers defense stood strong when it mattered most, as they were able to hold Eastern Kentucky (2-1) to just six points over the final 10 minutes of the game.

“It’s good to be in some games like this, where you have to execute, deal with some game pressure,” Clemson head coach Brad Brownell said.

The lead scorers for Clemson were guard Chase Hunter and Lakhin, each tallying 19 points. Hunter tallied three 3-pointers and sank all four of his free throws, a category the Tigers struggled with over the course of the evening as they shot just 12 of 19 from the free-throw line.

Through the early stages of the first half, Clemson had difficulty shooting from the field outside of Hunter. Through the first 11 minutes of the contest, Clemson was just 10 of 25 from the field. By the end of the first half, the team had a 33.3% 3-point percentage. The Tigers would finish with shooting 28% from beyond the arc.

The Tigers also continued their trend of outperforming their opponents in terms of rebounding, as they recorded 41 rebounds to Eastern Kentucky’s 32.

The Clemson Tigers will be back in action on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. when they travel to Boise, Idaho, to face off with the Boise State Broncos.