CHARLOTTE – Nick Davidson (Mission Viejo, Calif./Mater Dei) scored 17 points and pulled in 11 rebounds to record his first double-double of the season and the twelfth of his career and lift Clemson over North Carolina 80-79 to advance to the semifinals in the ACC Tournament on Thursday night.
The win was Clemson’s second against North Carolina in the ACC Tournament (2-15) and marked just the third time that Clemson has won two or more games in the tournament in school history (1962, 2008). Both Tiger victories over the Tar Heels have included a member of the Buckner family and both scored double figures (Greg Buckner, 20 in 1996; Ace Buckner, 11 in 2026).
The Tigers (24-9) were led by Davidson’s 17 points, RJ Godfrey (Suwanee, Ga./North Gwinnett/Georgia) posting 13, while the Tiger guards netted 45 points.
Dillon Hunter’s (Atlanta, Ga./Westlake) 14 points, Ace Buckner’s (Dallas, Texas/La Lumiere School (Ind.) 11 points, Jestin Porter’s (Houston, Texas/Cypress Ridge/Middle Tennessee State) 10 points and Butta Johnson’s (Huntsville, Ala./Grissom/UAB) 10 points led a backcourt that combined for 45 of Clemson’s 80 points.
Clemson finished 49.1 percent from the floor, but 47.4 percent from three (9-19), marking the seventh time this season Clemson has shot 40.0 percent or better from three (7-0).
The opening stanza was a back-and-forth battle that saw the Tar Heels gain their biggest advantage of six points at 14-8. With the game all square at 22-22 with 7:42 left in the half, Clemson engineered a 17-9 run and led North Carolina 39-31 at the break.
The second half saw Clemson take its largest lead of the game, an 18-point advantage at the 11:36 mark powered by a series of Johnson 3-pointers. Johnson scored eight of his 10 points in the second half.
North Carolina closed the 18-point gap with a barrage of shots in the final minutes of regulation to close to within two points, but Hunter made all four of his attempts in a tight contest to help seal the 80-79 victory.
Notes: Clemson improved to 24-9 overall with its win over North Carolina … the Tigers improved to 2-15 all-time against North Carolina in the ACC Tournament … they improved to 26-137 all-time against North Carolina … with the win, Clemson has now won two or more games in the ACC Tournament for the third time in school history (1962, 2008) … Head Coach Brad Brownell won his 317th game at Clemson and 483rd overall in his career … Coach Brownell improved to 10-14 in the ACC Tournament … Clemson won its 98th game since the start of the 2022-23 season – the most in a four-year period in school history (98-39) … Clemson boasted six double-figure scorers and it was the 11th occurrence in ACC Tournament history and just the second time since 2015 … Clemson shot 47.4 percent from three – the seventh time this season Clemson has shot better than 40.0 percent from three (7-0) … Clemson is now 7-1 this season in games decided by three points or less … with the win Dillon Hunter now has 95 career wins at Clemson – second-most in program history (the most is his brother Chase Hunter who finished with 110) … Nick Davidson totaled his first double-double of the season with 17 points and 11 rebounds … it was the 12th of his career.
