Clemson built a big lead in the first half over Georgia Tech by using an array of 3-pointers and cruised to an 81-57 victory over the Yellow Jackets in ACC play Wednesday at McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta.
The Tigers (18-8 overall, 8-7 ACC) finished with a season-high 14 3-pointers and were 14-of-29 from behind the arc in Wednesday’s contest.
A pair of Peach State natives led the Tigers in scoring. Clemson got 19 points from Ian Schieffelin and 18 from Atlanta native Chase Hunter.
The Tigers used a 14-0 run in the first half to race out to a 23-9 lead after PJ Hall and Joe Girard nailed 3-pointers. Clemson made nine of its first 10 shots from the field, including 5-of-6 from 3-point range.
When Georgia Tech (11-16, 4-12) cut the lead to six at 28-22 with 7:04 remaining in the half, it would be the closet the Yellow Jackets would get the rest of the night.
By halftime, Hall and Schieffelin had combined for 24 points and Clemson led, 43-31.
In the second half, Clemson held Georgia Tech to just 26 points. The Tigers’ biggest lead of the night came with 3:06 left when Hunter made a layup to stretch the Clemson advantage to 26 at 77-51.
Hunter, who attended Atlanta’s Westlake High School before beginning his Clemson career, finished with 18 points, six rebounds, and six assists. Girard added 14 points. Hall, who celebrated his 22nd birthday Wednesday, had 11.
The 19 points from Schieffelin, who grew up in the Atlanta metro area in nearby Loganville, Ga., were the most he’d scored in regulation this season.
The win was also the largest of the ACC schedule for a Tigers team that suffered an embarrassing home loss to Georgia Tech in the schools’ previous meeting at Littlejohn Coliseum just over a month earlier.
In Wednesday’s contest, the Yellow Jackets made only 16-of-53 shots including 6-of-25 from the floor in the second half. Kyle Sturdivant led Georgia Tech with 14 points.
UP NEXT: Clemson will host Florida State Saturday night at Littlejohn Coliseum. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:45 p.m. EST. The game will be the second meeting between the two schools this season after the Tigers defeated the Seminoles, 78-67, in Tallahassee last month. Saturday’s game will be televised regionally by the CW Network.