It took Clemson withstanding punch after punch, but the Tigers kept a mid-major’s ACC body count from increasing Friday.
Chase Hunter led five Tigers in double figures with 15 points, and Clemson held off Bellarmine for a 76-66 win inside Littlejohn Coliseum. Brevin Galloway scored 14 points, Ian Schieffelin had 13, Hunter Tyson scored 11 and PJ Hall added 10 for Clemson, which pulled away late to start its first winning streak of the season.
Bellarmine, which beat Louisville 10 days earlier, led 46-45 with 10 minutes, 58 seconds left. But Clemson (3-1) went on a 16-7 run, which included an 8-2 spurt that gave the Tigers a 61-53 lead with 6:03 left – their largest lead at the time.
Clemson later used a 12-2 run to go up 15 with less than 2 minutes remaining. Bellarmine (2-2) missed eight of its last 10 shots from the field and was held to 40% shooting in the second half.
Hunter, who also dished out eight of Clemson’s 14 assists, knocked down 5 of 6 3-pointers, helping the Tigers shoot better than 46% from deep. Clemson shot 46.8% overall and 86% from the free-throw line (19 of 22).
Bash Wieland led Bellarmine with 16 points.
Clemson will try to make it three straight wins Monday when the Tigers conclude their three-game homestand against Loyola-Maryland.