For the first half, Ian Schieffelin’s birthday party felt like one of those awkward gatherings where no one wants to take the last slice of cake. No. 13 Clemson looked dead in the water, missing 13 straight shots and, for the first time all season, failing to hit a single three in a half.
But once the Tigers (24-5, 16-2) let the birthday boy feast, the offense roared to life.
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Schieffelin’s second-half takeover fueled a dominant 20-2 run, flipping the script on Virginia (14-15, 7-11) in a gritty 71-58 comeback win in Charlottesville at John Paul Jones Arena on Saturday.
Schieffelin notched his 23rd career double-double, recording one in the second half alone.
Trailing 37-27 with 17:22 left, Clemson found life when Jaeden Zackery ended a brutal 5:08 scoring drought.
Then, it became the Ian Schieffelin show. He scored nine of Clemson’s 20 points during the run, and by the time he powered in his final bucket at the 11:38 mark, the Tigers had ripped off a 15-0 burst, turning a 10-point deficit into a 47-39 lead.
Schieffelin finished with 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting, grabbed 13 rebounds, and added an assist, a block, and a steal.
Zackery also came alive during that stretch, finally snapping a 28-minute three-point drought with Clemson’s first and only triple of the game.
Zackery finished with 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting while adding three rebounds, two assists, a block, and a steal in a team-high 38 minutes on the hardwood.
Del Jones, despite finishing with just six points on 3-of-6 shooting, was the Tigers’ spark off the bench. His plus-minus of 20 in just 20 minutes led the team, and he knocked down a couple of his signature tough layups.
Virginia still answered right back.
Out of the under-12 timeout, the Cavaliers hit back-to-back threes to cut Clemson’s lead to two.
But that was as close as they got. The Tigers slowly pulled away, keeping the Cavaliers at arm’s length the rest of the way.
Isaac McKneely led Virginia with 16 points, knocking down four triples. Andrew Rohde and Dai Dai Ames added 12 points each, but the Cavaliers couldn’t keep pace in the second half.
Despite an ugly first half, the Tigers dominated inside, outscoring Virginia 48-24 in the paint and winning the rebounding battle 38-28, including an 11-5 edge on the offensive glass. All five of UVA’s offensive rebounds came in the first half.
Clemson, ranked 12th nationally in three-point percentage (38.86%), typically attempts nearly 24 threes per game. But after going 0-for-2 in the first half and being swarmed by the Virginia backcourt, the Tigers attacked the rim instead of forcing shots from deep.
Their defense never wavered, despite the scoring struggles.
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Viktor Lakhin, overshadowed by Schieffelin’s dominance, quietly finished with 14 points, eight rebounds, five assists, and a steal.
Chase Hunter struggled, finishing with just nine points on 3-of-9 shooting. It marked the first time in over a year that he’s failed to score in double digits in back-to-back games.
Clemson shot 47.3% from the field (26-of-55) despite making just one three-pointer (1-of-10). They capitalized at the free-throw line, hitting 18-of-24 (78.3%).
Virginia shot 42.3% (22-of-52) and 42.1% from deep (8-of-19) but struggled at the line, going just 6-of-10.
The Tigers have now won six straight and snapped a four-game losing streak to Virginia. Brad Brownell improved to 4-17 all-time against the Cavaliers.
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The win also continues history—Clemson now has 16 ACC victories, the most in program history.
The Tigers stay on the road for their penultimate game of the regular season, facing Boston College on Wednesday at 7 p.m. on ESPNU.
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