Story by Justin Mathis
LITTLEJOHN COLISEUM: The Clemson Tigers only made three shots from long distance on Saturday night against Virginia Tech, but the biggest one came with just 12 seconds left. Off an inbounds play, Hunter Tyson caught a pass at the top of the arc, utilized a shot fake, and drained a 3-pointer, giving the Tigers the lead. Virginia Tech drew up one final play, but a Hunter Cattoor shot from long distance went unanswered, which gave Clemson a hard-fought 51-50 victory.
Clemson somehow weathered multiple scoring droughts of three minutes or more throughout the duration of the 40 minutes in regulation. That was largely due to the Tigers’ efforts on the defensive end of the floor, as they forced five Hokie turnovers in a flurry. One of the turnovers led to a Dillon Hunter layup that sparked an 8-0 run and a 41-37 Tigers lead.
Prior to that, points were hard to come by for Clemson. A three-point play by P.J. Hall (Dorman) at the 16:59 mark of the second half gave Clemson their first made field goal in a ten-plus minute span dating back to the first half.
Clemson (15-4, 7-1 ACC) was led in scoring by Hall with a game-high 20 points, along with 12 points from Tyson. Grant Basile led Virginia Tech with 13 points, along with 10 points from Lynn Kidd. For the game, the Tigers shot 38.3 percent (18-47), including a 3-for-18 mark from distance. The Hokies made 18 of 52 shots from the field (34.6 percent) and made six of 22 shots from behind the arc.
Next up for Clemson is another ACC home game, this time against Georgia Tech on Tuesday at 9 p.m.
