Clemson men’s basketball is back on a roll, winning two conference matchups in a row. Most recently, the Tigers took down the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 70-59 in the McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta.
In the contest, Georgia Tech’s (8-10, 2-5 ACC) leading scorer and starting guard Lance Terry was listed as out due to a wrist/hand injury. The injury sprouted a weakness for the Yellow Jackets — one which Clemson guard Jaeden Zackery took full advantage of on both sides of the ball from start to finish.
“There’s no doubt that (Georgia Tech) has not been at full strength for much of the year, and that’s one of the things that’s happened to our league … they’ve had a lot of players/their best players miss a lot of games,” head coach Brad Brownell said. “Neither team played their bench very much; both were kinda riding with our starters. Obviously, they didn’t have much to go with.”
The Boston College transfer stuffed the stat sheet with his elite play on both ends of the court, posting a season-high 21 points, six rebounds, one assist and three steals. He currently sits tied for No. 12 in the nation and No. 2 in the ACC for total steals with 41.
“I thought (Zackery) played very well on both ends tonight, defending and obviously he had six defensive rebounds to go along with the 3-point shots that he made,” Brownell said. “He was terrific tonight.”
The backcourt duo of Zackery and Chase Hunter look to be hitting their stride, progressively building chemistry as the season goes on. The two combined for 35 of Clemson’s 70 points, totaling seven rebounds, four steals and four assists together for Clemson (14-4, 6-1 ACC).
While Georgia Tech tried clinging on to hope for a comeback — they didn’t lead once throughout the game — the team just couldn’t seem to hit shots consistently to get themselves back in it. While they shot a solid 35% from behind the arc, they scored only 20 points in the paint.
Clemson fan favorite Ian Schieffelin played a massive factor in the dominant play on both sides Tuesday night, racking up 16 points, seven rebounds, six assists, four steals and one block in 33 minutes of action.
“I’m proud of Ian,” Brownell explained. “Ian’s back is bothering him, he doesn’t have quite the same pop that he usually has, and he’s just kind of gutting it out (on the court), and I thought he showed great toughness.”
Viktor Lakhin also chipped in 10 points, six rebounds, four assists and one block. The Cincinnati transfer has had an immediate impact on Clemson on the defensive side, leading the ACC in blocks with 30 and proving himself to be one of the best interior defenders in the nation.
“He’s got good feet, he’s long, and he has pretty good timing. Certainly, his ability to defend the rim helps our team tremendously,” said Brownell. “He’s had a couple of games this year where he’s gotten in foul trouble, and that’s been a problem for us, but his ability to help us defend the rim tonight was certainly an important part of the game.”
The Tigers will look to keep their win streak going as they travel to the Petersen Events Center on Saturday, Jan. 18, to face the Pittsburgh Panthers.
