CLEMSON -- The sparse Littlejohn Coliseum crowd Friday night didn’t dampen Clemson’s intensity, as the Tigers’ backcourt swarmed the Saint Francis Red Flash offense. With fierce on-ball defense, Clemson (2-0) tallied 12 steals, never trailing in their 88-62 victory in the teams' first-ever meeting.
Clemson’s dynamic backcourt duo, Chase Hunter and Jaeden Zackery, controlled both ends of the floor. Zackery was relentless, grabbing four steals and was one Clemson’s leading scorers with 16 points.
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Hunter set the offensive tone by scoring the Tigers’ first six points, led first-half scoring, and finished the game with 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting. He also contributed defensively with a chase-down block and a steal.
The Red Flash (0-2) cut the Tigers’ lead to four with 12:19 remaining in the first half after a Jeremy Clayville three-pointer. A Del Jones free throw with 8:32 remaining in the half put the Tigers up 22-12. The Red Flash would not come within double digits the rest of the night. The Tigers held a 41-20 advantage at intermission.
Saint Francis trailed by as many as 29 points in the second half but chipped away at the lead when Clemson entered foul trouble, putting the Red Flash into the bonus with nine minutes left as they cut the lead to 14 by way of a 12-0 run, fueled in part by the Tigers' five turnovers during that stretch.
Ian Schieffelin quickly shut down any comeback hopes by draining his first three-pointer of the year, kicking off a barrage of four straight threes from Schieffelin, Zackery, Jake Heidbreder, and Dillon Hunter.
Schieffelin’s energy was evident on both ends all night, despite a slow start. He recorded Clemson’s first double-double of the season, finishing with 16 points, 13 rebounds, four assists, and two steals.
Chauncey Wiggins had a quiet night but still reached double digits in scoring, finishing with 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting and adding two assists.
For the second consecutive game, at least nine Clemson players logged double-digit minutes as Brad Brownell continued to test different lineups.
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Viktor Lakhin did a bit of everything in his 20 minutes, scoring six points on 3-for-3 shooting, with four rebounds, two blocks, a steal, and an assist.
Heidbreder and Dillon Hunter both were offensive sparks, each hitting two three-pointers and both finished with eight points.
Jones logged 10 of his 12 minutes in the first half, scoring five points and again proving his finishing abilities around the rim.
The Tigers continued to struggle at the free throw line, shooting just 58.8 percent, down from last season’s 79 percent -- a potential issue in closer games.
After shooting over 50 percent from three last Tuesday, Clemson shot 44.4 percent from beyond the arc tonight but finished over 58.9 percent from the field overall.
Saint Francis went 22-of-56 (39.3%) from the floor and made only 14 trips to the line despite being in the bonus, but hit 71.4 percent of their free throws. Ace Talbert led the Red Flash with 17 points.
Clemson will be back in Littlejohn Coliseum against Eastern Kentucky next Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET, with the game airing on ACCN.
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