CLEMSON -- With the postseason looming, No. 11-ranked Clemson had one more job to do.
Close out the regular season in style.
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A packed Senior Night crowd set the tone, and the Tigers responded with a dominant 65-47 wire-to-wire win over Virginia Tech Saturday night in Littlejohn Coliseum.
But this game was about more than just the win—it was about making history.
With the victory, Clemson set a new program record with its 26th regular-season win, finishing 26-5. The Tigers also made history in ACC play, closing out conference action with a school-best 18-2 record.
Clemson never trailed, feeding off the energy of Senior Night from the opening tip. The Tigers jumped out to a 15-point lead in the first 12 minutes and never let Virginia Tech back within single digits.
The closest the Hokies (13-18, 8-12) came was when Patrick Wessler hit a three to cut it to 13 with 7:48 left, but a timeout from Brad Brownell set up a Chauncey Wiggins corner three to shut down any chance of momentum.
Wiggins got the start over Dillon Hunter, who had started the last seven games, and finished with seven points and seven rebounds in 23 minutes.
The first-half defense set the tone. Virginia Tech coughed up 14 turnovers before the break, including nine Clemson steals, leading to 14 points for the Tigers.
The Hokies finished with 23 turnovers on the night, 15 of them Clemson steals, which turned into 25 points.
Clemson also dominated inside, outscoring the Hokies 44-20 in the paint.
Viktor Lakhin led the charge, continuing his strong play since the Duke game. He finished with 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting, adding seven rebounds, two assists, and two steals in just 25 minutes.
Jaeden Zackery was the only other Tiger in double figures, scoring 12 points with four assists, two rebounds and four steals. He was the only Tiger that logged over 30 minutes, finishing with 34.
Del Jones provided a spark off the bench again, scoring eight points on 3-of-5 shooting in just 12 minutes while adding a steal and two rebounds.
Chase Hunter and Ian Schieffelin may not have had big scoring nights, but they still got their curtain call in front of the home crowd.
Hunter finished with four points but contributed across the board with four rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Schieffelin added five points, two rebounds, two blocks, and two steals.
Dillon Hunter, who played just 13 minutes, had a compression sleeve on his calf but finished with two points.
The Tigers played one of their cleanest games of the season, committing just six fouls—far below their 15.3 per game average—and sending Virginia Tech to the line only four times. The Hokies made just one free throw.
As a team, Virginia Tech shot 41.3% (19-of-46) from the field and 32% (8-of-25) from three, while Clemson got off more attempts, shooting 44.3% (27-of-61) but struggled from deep at 15% (3-of-20). The Tigers also shot 8-of-13 (61.5%) from the free-throw line.
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All but one Tiger who stepped on the court scored, including the three walk-on seniors who checked in with 1:39 left.
Matt Kelly buried a three that sent the sold-out crowd into a frenzy, Daniel Nauseef knocked down a free throw, and Andrew Latiff picked up a steal to cap off a night of celebration.
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With the regular season complete, Clemson now turns its focus to the postseason.
The Tigers locked up a double-bye in the ACC Tournament back in February with a win over Notre Dame.
Clemson will be the No. 3 seed and will play Thursday at 9:30 p.m. in Charlotte at the Spectrum Center. The game will air on ESPN or ESPN2.
