Chase Hunter scored 22 points as Clemson rode solid shooting and broke away in the second half to defeat Stanford 85-71 on Wednesday at Clemson, S.C.
Chauncey Wiggins provided a season-high 17 points, Jaeden Zackery posted 16 points and Viktor Lakhin had 11 points for Clemson (11-3, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference).
The Tigers were shooting above 50 percent with about five minutes to play and finished at 48.3 percent (28 of 58). Wiggins connected on four of Clemson’s eight 3-point baskets.
Oziyah Sellers’ 20 points led Stanford (9-4, 1-1), which as an ACC newcomer suffered its first league loss. The Cardinal were hurt by 17 turnovers, and they ended up shooting 44.3 percent (27 of 61) from the field.
Stanford’s Maxime Raynaud had 14 points and 13 rebounds. He’s the conference leader in both categories, though he was 7-for-17 from the field (0-for-6 on 3-pointers). Jaylen Blakes added 13 points, but the Cardinal stalled offensively with only six points in the last six minutes of the game.
Tied at 52-all with 14 minutes to play, Clemson took off as Zackery scored four points in the Tigers’ 10-0 run. Clemson had its first double-digit lead when Dillon Hunter drove through the Stanford defense on the way to a layup.
Then Tigers reserve Myles Foster had six points — his only scoring in the game — during the next burst as the margin grew to 73-59 with 8 1/2 minutes left.
The Cardinal got as close as 78-69 before a scoring drought of more than 4 1/2 minutes.
Clemson finished 21-for-24 on free throws, with Chase Hunter making all six of his attempts. He reached the 20-point mark for the third time this season.
Stanford, which has lost two games in a row, led by as many as eight points in the first half, but Clemson held a 43-41 edge at the break.
Clemson has won two straight against ACC opponents at home following a two-game skid.
This marked the first meeting between the Stanford and Clemson programs.
–Field Level Media
