Clemson Men’s Basketball: Tigers take down Hokies, 4-0 in ACC

It wasn’t always pretty, but in the end Clemson Men’s Basketball got the job done in Blacksburg Wednesday night, defeating the Virginia Tech Hokies 68-65, and are now 4-0 in the ACC and 12-3 overall on the season.

The Tigers overcame a halftime deficit, 14 turnovers and a 1 for 8 performance in the first half by Hunter Tyson in the win.

Clemson’s bench, in particular, R.J. Godfrey, played a huge role in the win, with the Tigers subs outscoring the Hokies replacements 17 to 8 on the evening, and contributing over 60 minutes of playing time on the court.

Godfrey contributed 10 points, 6 rebounds, and an assist, while committing four turnovers and eventually fouling out.

Freshman Josh Beadle saw just over 20 minutes of action and while he scored only 3 points, his defense on Tech sharpshooter Sean Pedulla in the second half made the biggest difference in the game.

Pedulla scored just 3 points in the second stanza after ripping the cords for 11 in the first.

Tyson played all 40 minutes as he and P.J. Hall led the Tigers with 13 points apiece, while Chase Hunter had 12 and Brevin Galloway 11, placing 4 of the Tigers 5 starters in double figures.

Once again, Tyson was a beast on the boards, grabbing 14 rebounds when no other Tiger had more than 4.

Clemson seemed to be cruising, up 8 points with the ball at the under 8 media timeout, but an offensive foul on Beadle set the Hokies off on a run that lead to Tech eventually taking the lead at 58-57 with 5:44 left.

A Tyson offensive rebound led to a Hall turnaround jumper with 3:56 left to put the Tigers up for good and the Tiges staved off on last effort from the Hokies to hold on.

Clemson again was very good from the free throw line, making 15 of 18 on the evening.

Clemson finished shooting 41.5% from the field and 39.1% from three-point range (9-23).

Clemson Men’s basketball had someone step up again in the absence of Alex Hemenway

For the second straight game someone unexpectedly stepped up in the absence of Alex Hemenway, as Godfrey’s 10 points was a season high.

Next up for the Tigers is a trip to Pittsburgh on Saturday, to take on a Panthers team that’s also 4-0 in the ACC (11-4 overall).

After a 1-3 start, Pittsburgh has won 10 of their last 11, including consecutive wins over Syracuse, North Carolina and Virginia.