Clemson Records Seventh ACC Road Win at SMU; Sixth Consecutive This Season
DALLAS – Clemson University men’s basketball won convincingly at SMU 79-69 at Moody Coliseum on Saturday afternoon. The win extended Clemson’s record number of ACC road victories to seven and clinched its 12th league win by double-digits with the victory.
The win over SMU was Clemson’s sixth consecutive win on the road in league play this season, a new school record. It broke a tie between the 2022-23 team and Horace Grant’s senior campaign in 1986-87. This win also broke a tie with that team coached by Cliff Ellis, it became the sixth double-digit road win in the ACC this season for Clemson.
The Tigers (22-5, 14-2 ACC) tied a program record with its 14th win in the ACC – equaling the mark set by the 2022-23 Tigers (14-6).
Clemson was led by Jaeden Zackery (Salem, Wis./Westosha Central/Boston College) who finished with a game-high 19 points to go along with six rebounds, seven assists, five steals and two blocks. It was just the 12th time since 1996-97 that a player has posted that stat line in a Division I game.
In addition to his performance, Zackery set a new career-high with five made 3-pointers, all in the first half. Chase Hunter (Atlanta, Ga./Westlake) totaled 17 points, four assists and two blocks, while his brother Dillon Hunter (Atlanta, Ga./Westlake) set a new career best with seven assists.
Viktor Lakhin (Anapa, Russia/CSKA-2/Cincinnati) finished with 16 points and six rebounds after spending much of the first half in foul trouble – limited to just 6:21 in the first period. Ian Schieffelin (Atlanta, Ga./Grayson) rounded out the Tigers’ double-digit scorers with 10 points, adding five rebounds and three assists.
Clemson’s first seven shots in the game all came from the 3-point line and it propelled them to a 23-12 lead midway through the opening stanza. SMU closed the gap and trailed by just four at the break, 36-32. The Tigers finished 10-for-15 from three in the opening frame.
The Tigers opened the second half on a 7-0 run, which forced an SMU timeout after five consecutive points from Chase Hunter and helping Clemson to a 45-32 advantage. Clemson flexed its muscle in the second half, pushing its advantage to a game-high 18 points on multiple occasions before collecting the 10-point victory.
Chauncey Wiggins (Grayson, Ga./Grayson) was an offensive spark off the bench in the second half, scoring all eight of his points in the final period. Myles Foster (Brooklyn, N.Y./Brooks School (Mass.)/Monmouth/Illinois State) gave the Tigers huge minutes with Lakhin in foul trouble early, playing 12 minutes and scoring four points and grabbing three rebounds.
Clemson’s 14 made 3-pointers tied a season-high and is now tied for XX all-time in school history. The Tigers’ 24 assists were the most since Nov. 24, 2023, when they had 26 against Alcorn State.
The Tigers return to the court on Wednesday, Feb. 26 when they host Notre Dame at 7 p.m. on ACCN.
Notes: Clemson moves to 22-5 this season and 14-2 in the ACC … Clemson moved to 2-1 all-time against SMU … the 14th ACC win ties a program record for most wins in a single season in the ACC (2022-23) … Clemson extended its road win record in league play to seven … the Tigers set new school records with their sixth consecutive road ACC win and their sixth ACC road win by double-digits … the Tigers extended its record of double-digit wins in the ACC to 12 this season … Clemson’s 14 made 3-pointers were tied for the most this season and tied for eighth in program history … Clemson’s 24 assists as a team were the most in a game since Nov. 24, 2023 when it had 26 against Alcorn State … Head Coach Brad Brownell won his 454th game of his career and his 287th while at Clemson … Clemson is fourth in the ACC since 2017-18 with 86 league victories … Chase Hunter extended his program record of wins at Clemson (105) … with 17 points, Hunter passed K.C. Rivers on the all-time scoring list and is now ninth in Clemson history (1,688) … Dillon Hunter totaled a career-high seven assists … Jaeden Zackery set a new career high with five made 3-pointers, tied his career high with seven assists, tied his career high with five steals and set a new career high with two blocked shots … Zackery is now five steals away from cracking Clemson’s top 10 list for steals in a single season.