CLEMSON -- Clemson dominated Notre Dame from start to finish Saturday night in Littlejohn Coliseum, cruising to an 87-64 win. The Tigers' final act at home also snapped a three-game losing streak to the Irish.
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The Tigers (22-9, 14-6) never trailed, holding a double-digit lead for much of the contest against the Irish (11-20, 3-17) which might have lost some of its footing before this one ever got underway; the Irish’s charter flight out of South Bend Friday was grounded until Saturday morning due to heavy snow and wind, prompting a rare game-day travel itinerary which didn’t put players in Clemson until the afternoon hours.
The win, the 1400th in Clemson history, also firmed up the Tigers’ seeding in next week’s ACC Tournament in Greensboro, NC.
Owning a tiebreaker over both Duke and Pitt, which closed the regular season with six losses in league play apiece Saturday, Clemson will be the No. 3 seed in the tournament. As a result, the Tigers will enjoy a double bye and await the winner of the seventh game in the tournament in a 9:30 p.m. ET tip next Thursday, March 9, at 9:30 p.m. ET.
Clemson opened 6-0 on three-pointers from Brevin Galloway and Hunter Tyson.
Notre Dame was down 11-3 just over four minutes in after Nate Laszewski’s free throw conversion, which is notable because it was the last time the Irish would keep the Tigers’ advantage under double digits the rest of the night.
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From there Clemson surged to a 20-3 lead, highlighted by a 5-of-7 clip from three-point range. The Tigers would go on to drill eight baskets from long range in the first half, staking a 48-29 lead at intermission. Both Tyson and Ian Schieffelin had 11 points apiece at the break with Tyson also holding a team-high 10 rebounds for another double-double.
Cormac Ryan's three-pointer just under three minutes into the second half cut Clemson's lead to 17 points. The Irish would come no closer the rest of the way.
P.J. Hall's quick drive to the basket for a layup with 6:48 remaining put Clemson up 76-51, and the shot marked a personal milestone for the veteran center because it gave Hall 1,000 career points, making him just the 45th player in program history to achieve that feat.
Hall finished with 15 points and seven rebounds, while Tyson and Shieffelin each finished with 16 points. Tyson also pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds. Chase Hunter and Galloway added 14 points and 13 points respectively.
Clemson shot 50.8-percent from the field and was an impressive 13-of-29 (44.8%) from long range, while converting 12-of-17 (70.6%) at the foul line.
Notre Dame, led by Ryan's 19 points, a game-high, shot just 34.4% and hit 10-of-29 (34.5%) from three-point range. The Irish were 12-of-18 (66.7%) from the foul line.
The Tigers close the 2022-23 regular season a stellar 15-1 in Littlejohn Coliesum.
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