CLEMSON -- A Saturday night win over Pitt stopped some mid-January hemorrhaging for a Clemson team that went into its matchup with the Panthers (7-12, 2-6) having lost three in a row and four of its last five games.
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The Tigers (11-8, 3-5) never trailed and quickly built on an 11-point halftime lead in the second half en route to a 75-48 win.
Clemson was led by Al-Amir Dawes' game-high 19 points. Dawes was 6-of-9 shooting, including a 5-for-8 mark from long range.
Clemson moved out to a 5-0 lead to start. The Tigers were up 7-3 a minute later. At that early juncture all seven points were courtesy of P.J. Hall who now has 18 consecutive double-figure scoring games.
With just over 10 minutes remaining before intermission, Pitt enjoyed its smallest deficit of the game at 17-16 following a second straight free throw conversion by John Hugley.
From there the Tigers would widen their advantage, holding a 10-point edge with 5:21 left before intermission following a Naz Bohannon layup. Another Hall basket with 3:36 remaining in the first half would give the Tigers their largest edge of the period, a 33-22 lead. A Bohannon layup with at the 17:55 mark would be the final scoring of the half, giving the Tigers a 38-27 advantage at the break.
Clemson outscored Pitt 37-21 in the second half, as four players reached double figures in scoring.
Just under two minutes into the second period, Pitt pulled to within six points, down 38-32 on a Femi Odukale three-pointer. The Panthers would come no closer the rest of the way.
Clemson then went on a 24-9 run and enjoyed a 21-point advantage with just over seven minutes left after a second David Collins free throw conversion. Collins, a Pittsburgh native, would end the night with 10 points, including a 2-for-2 effort from beyond the three-point line.
With just over two minutes left, the Tigers held a 32-point lead, their largest of the game, following an Alex Hemenway three-pointer. Pitt would score the game's final two baskets - two three-pointers by Chris Payton and William Jeffress.
The Panthers, who committed 20 turnovers, shot just 33.3-percent from the floor, hitting 7-for-23 (30.4%) shots from long range. The Tigers shot 47.8%, including an impressive 12-for-25 (48%) from three-point range.
Hugley led Pitt with 15 points while Odukale and Jamarius Burton added 10 points apiece.
Hall joined Dawes and Collins in reaching double figures in scoring, adding 16 points. Chase Hunter scored 13 on 4-of-5 shooting.
Clemson head coach Brad Brownell is now 9-2 all-time versus the Panthers.
Pitt returns home next Tuesday to host Syracuse (9-10, 3-5) while the Tigers travel to No. 6 Duke (15-3, 5-2) on Tuesday. The game is scheduled for a 7:00 p.m. tip and will be televised by ESPN.
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