Clemson Earns Dominant Win Over Boston College
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. — With a dominant offensive showing, the Clemson University men's basketball team collected a convincing victory over Boston College on Saturday. The Tigers never trailed and led by as many as 26 at Conte Forum. Five different Clemson players scored in double figures, and the Tigers defeated the Eagles 82-64.
Making team history, Clemson (14-12, 8-8) shot 68.9 percent from the floor, breaking the program record for the best shooting percentage compiled by the Tigers in a road ACC game. Boston College (13-15, 7-10) shot 37.7 from the field but was unable to contain the Tiger offense. Clemson went 12-of-23 on 3-balls and 8-of-12 on free throws and outrebounded the Eagles 32-25. The Tigers also racked up 20 assists and 32 points in the paint.
Al-Amir Dawes came through with his best performance in a Clemson uniform thus far, breaking the 20-point mark for the first time and going 8-for-12 on shot attempts. Dawes scored a game-high 22 points and was 6-for-10 on treys. The eight field goals and six 3-pointers are both season-high marks for Dawes. Aamir Simms garnered his fourth double-double of the season by registering 12 points and 11 rebounds, and John Newman III recorded the first double-double of his career with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Tevin Mack and Hunter Tyson chipped in 11 points apiece for Clemson, and Jay Heath led Boston College with 16 points.
Clemson raced out to a commanding lead early on, going up 10-0 at the 17:38 mark of the first half. The Tigers went on to lead 41-29 at halftime after shooting 69.6 percent, which is a record high for any half of Clemson basketball during the Brownell era, and knocking down six 3-pointers in the first half. En route to taking a 15-point lead during the first half, Clemson made 10 field goals in a row. Simms capped off the Tigers' offensive showcase in the first half with a putback dunk just before the intermission.
Bolstering its lead, Clemson manufactured an 8-0 run to start the second half. Tyson pulled off a couple of athletic plays in the second half, including a 3-point play and a two-handed slam. Dawes, who dropped 13 of his 22 points in the first half, continued to shine in the second half, leading Clemson to an 82-64 triumph.
The Tigers will remain on the road for their upcoming contest against Georgia Tech (13-14, 7-9). Clemson will head to Atlanta to take on the Yellow Jackets for the first of two scheduled matchups between the longtime ACC rivals this season. Set to tip off at 9 p.m., the tilt at McCamish Pavilion will be broadcast on ACC Network.
POSTGAME QUOTES
Clemson Head Coach Brad Brownell
Opening statement:
"That was a great shooting performance by us tonight. Outside of turnovers, that might've been our most complete performance of the season on both ends of the floor. [Al-Amir] Dawes knocked down a bunch of 3-pointers, which gave us a lot of energy. I think that, except for the turnovers, we played about as well as we could possibly play."
On the keys to the win:
"We had great practices leading up to this, and we had a great shootaround this morning. Our guys came in with good energy and poise, and that made a difference. The ball going in the basket like it was for us tonight always makes a huge impact. The guys made halftime adjustments, and I wish we could always play like we played those first five minutes of the second half."
On his outlook moving forward:
"I'm super proud of the way our guys have played these past few weeks. We're going to try to build off this and finish the regular season strong."
