On a day when a couple of their stars were not at their best, Clemson Men’s Basketball still managed to beat Duke, move to 15-3 on the season and remain undefeated in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
After struggling most of the game against Louisville, it was P.J. Hall’s turn, as Clemson’s center scorched the Blue Devils for 26 points on 10 of 16 shooting from the field and hitting 5 of 7 free throws.
With Hunter Tyson going scoreless in the first half, things looked dim as Clemson trailed 34-30 at the break.
Tyson got four quick points to start the second half, but finished with only 2 field goals on the day, while hitting 3 of 4 free throws to finish with 7 points.
Chase Hunter was off all day, stumbling, slipping and struggling to a 1 for 10 day from the field, finishing with 5 points.
The story of the game was Ian Schieffelin and Ben Middlebrooks, two workman-like players that aren’t always graceful, but play extremely hard.
Schieffelin finished with 6 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, a steal and a block, but he was the heart and soul of this team on this day.
Ben Middlebrooks contributed 7 points and 5 rebounds, 3 of those on the offensive end, off the bench for Clemson.
The Tigers held Duke without a field goal for the last 5:07 of the game to win going away.
Clemson Men’s Basketball proved they can win without relying on 3-pointers or a Hunter Tyson double-double
Impressively for Clemson, they not only won without two of their stars contributing much offensively, but they won while making only 3 three point shots and only 1 in the second half as they overcame an 8 point deficit.
The Tigers shot 45.8% from the field, only 17.6% from three and 83.3% from the line and committed 9 turnovers, but only 3 in the second half.
True to form, Duke dominated on the offensive boards, collecting 15 offensive rebounds, but it wasn’t enough on this day to overcome a Clemson team that just seems to find a way to win.
The Tigers have just a couple of days off before they travel to Winston-Salem to take on Wake Forest.