January 25, 2025; Blacksburg, Virginia, USA; Clemson Tigers Forward Ian Schieffelin (4) Drive to the basket against Virginia Tech Hokies forward Ben Burnham (13) during the second half at Cassell Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-Imagn Images With shooting king Chase Hunter available but fought against the flu, Chauncey Wiggins rose by 16 points when Clemson won a 72-57 victory over Virginia Tech on Saturday in Blacksburg, VA.
Del Jones also got to the moment and scored nine of his 13 points in his career in the last nine minutes when Clemson (17-4, 9-1 ACC) won his fifth straight to keep up with first place Duke, who still has to lose a conference game.
Viktor Lakhin and Jaeden Zackery each added 11 points and five returns for Clemson, which went much of the road without Hunter, which scored two points on their 10 minutes on the floor.
Dillon Hunter, who missed the Tigers’ previous match with the flu, returned last Saturday and took his brother’s place in the starting lineup and scored two points.
The tigers made 48.3 percent of their shots, including 7 out of 21 (33.3 percent) from the 3-point range and made only eight turnover.
Tobi Lawal produced 14 points and six returns for Virginia Tech (8-12, 3-6) who lost its third straight.
Jaydon Young added nine points for hokies that made 38.0 percent of their shots, including 7 out of 19 (36.8 percent) from depth.
Brandon Rechsteiner drained a 3-point late in the first half to give Virginia Tech a lead with 26-24.
Clemson responded by 15 points. Wiggins triggered cut with a layup and added a 3-point. Zackery and Jake Heidbreder added 3-points during running, which increased Tiger’s lead to 41-29 at the break.
Virginia Tech’s shooting problems continued into the second half when their line misses from the floor reached 12. A 3-point of Wiggins less than two minutes into the second half, Clemson gave a lead with 46-29.
During an 11-0 hokies driving, Tiger’s coach Brad Brownell inserted Chase Hunter into the team lineup, but he missed three quick attempts from the 3-point interval.
Virginia Tech sprint, which was highlighted by a bang with two fists from Lawal, cut Clemson’s lead to 49-45, but it is as close as Virginia Tech came when Wiggins responded with a 3-point and Jones stabilized the tigers on the route.
— Field Level Media
