Clemson has grabbed some last season momentum, playing some of their best basketball this season down the stretch. Saturday was a continuance of that momentum, as Clemson edged Virginia Tech 63-59. Clemson closed the regular season winning their last four consecutive games and got a win on Senior Day at Littlejohn Coliseum.
The Clemson bench was the driving force to the win. Clemson's power off the pine was a major factor, outscoring VT's reserves 41-13 in the game. Clemson had four players in double figures with three of those players coming off the bench.
Saturday marked the return of P.J. Hall for Clemson, Hall has missed the last few games with an injury. He looked sharp in his return game, scoring 12 points in just 14 minutes. Hall's minutes were limited Saturday as he works his way back to 100% and to a full load of minutes. Hall's 12 was a team high for The Tigers. However, the bench production didn't stop there as Alex Hemenway added 11 and Al-Amir Dawes chipped in 10. David Collins was the lone Clemson starter in double digits with 10.
Naheim Allyne had a game high 17 points for the Hokies. Justyn Mutts added 15 points and a game high in rebounds with 9. Clemson's defense was crucial in the win, the Tigers created 13 turnovers with 8 coming on steals by the Tigers. They also held VT to 37% shooting from the floor and just 30% shooting from 3-point range.
Clemson shot 44% from the field and 40% from downtown. Both teams were good at the foul line with Virginia Tech hitting 12 of their 13 attempts, and Clemson was 13 of 16. VT had an 9-6 advantage on the offensive glass.
Clemson finishes the regular season one game above .500 at 16-15 overall and 8-12 in ACC play. The Tigers will look to carry their momentum into the ACC Tournament this week. The conference tourney is in Brooklyn this year, cause nowhere says Atlantic Coast Conference like Brooklyn, New York. I'm sure you detect a hint of sarcasm there.
Clemson gets the 10 seed in the ACC Tourney and will play the 15 seed N.C. State Tuesday at 4:30 PM. That game will be televised on ACC Network. A win over the Wolfpack would put Clemson facing Virginia Tech again on Wednesday. Clemson got a win in the lone regular season meeting against NC State, clipping them 70-65 in Raleigh back on January 8th
