Nick Davidson and Jake Wahlin scored 13 points apiece on Saturday afternoon to help lead No. 18 Clemson to a 77-63 over Georgia Tech in Atlantic Coast Conference play in Atlanta.
Dillon Hunter and Ace Buckner added 12 points each for Clemson (17-4, 7-1 ACC), which rebounded from its first conference loss of the season, an 80-76 overtime defeat to North Carolina State on Tuesday. The Tigers trailed by as many as five points in the first half but outscored Georgia Tech 42-30 in the second half.
Kowacie Reeves Jr. led Georgia Tech (11-9, 2-5) with 19 points, while Lamar Washington scored 10. Baye Ndongo had five points and a game-high 10 rebounds for the Yellow Jackets, who dropped their fourth game in five tries.
Leading by a pair at halftime, Clemson pushed the margin to 43-34 on Butta Johnson’s three-point play with 14:38 left.
Jaeden Mustaf answered with Georgia Tech’s first basket of the second half, before Buckner’s five straight points gave the visitors a 48-37 lead to force a Yellow Jackets timeout.
Wahlin’s triple then pushed the lead to 14. Ndongo’s steal and fastbreak slam cut Georgia Tech’s deficit to 58-48 with 8:19 left.
Clemson took its largest lead at 66-50 on Buckner’s layup at the 6:23 mark.
Trailing by 11, Georgia Tech had a chance to pull within single digits, but Reeves missed a 3-pointer with 3:48 left. Hunter’s ensuing layup pushed the lead to 71-58.
Reeves’ dunk and Kam Craft’s triple then cut the margin to eight with two minutes left.
Hunter then split a pair and Jestin Porter buried a trey to ice the win.
Clemson grabbed an early 14-10 lead on Buckner’s runner and Johnson’s 3-pointer.
Georgia Tech answered with an 18-9 spurt, going ahead by five after Craft’s triple and Washington’s floater with 8:54 remaining in the first half.
From there, Hunter and Buckner bookended a 12-0 run with 3-pointers, helping Clemson grab a 30-23 lead.
The advantage swung back to Georgia Tech, as Reeves’ and Chas Kelley III’s back-to-back 3-pointers gave the Yellow Jackets a 33-32 lead.
Hunter’s buzzer-beating triple gave Clemson a 35-33 halftime edge. The Tigers made just 4 of 16 (25%) 3-point attempts in the first half, while Georgia Tech shot 5-for-10 from long range across the first 20 minutes.
–Field Level Media
