Ian Schieffelin scored six of his game-high 18 points during an early second-half flurry as Clemson pulled away from San Francisco to win 70-55 in the semifinals of the Sunshine Slam Beach Division on Monday night in Daytona Beach, Fla.
Schieffelin capped a double-double with a game-high 13 rebounds, Viktor Lakhin chipped in 12 points and Dillon Hunter netted 11 as the Tigers (5-1) advanced to take on Penn State in the tournament finals on Tuesday night.
Malik Thomas had 14 points to pace San Francisco (4-2), which will play Fordham in a consolation game Tuesday.
Thomas poured in 12 of his 14 points in the first half, including seven straight during a 9-2 run that allowed the Dons to take a 29-24 lead into the break.
A jumper by Ndewedo Newbury increased the margin to seven with 17:06 to play before Clemson did all the scoring over the next four minutes, using a 14-0 burst to take command for good.
All three Schieffelin hoops in the run were layups, while Hunter and Jaeden Zackery added 3-pointers as the Tigers surged ahead 40-33.
The Dons never got closer than five the rest of the way as Clemson extended its advantage to as many as 21 points.
Schieffelin also found time for a game-high five assists for Clemson, which won its second straight. Hunter shot 4-for-7, including 3-of-4 from deep, and added six rebounds. The Tigers outshot the Dons 48.3 percent to 39.2 percent in the game.
Carlton Linguard Jr. and Marcus Williams each had five rebounds to complement eight points for San Francisco, which lost its second straight after opening the season with four wins in a row.
Ryan Beasley came off the bench for nine points, while Newbury had a team-high four assists for the Dons to go with four points and three rebounds.
–Field Level Media
