Clemson wins sixth straight, Miami drops sixth in a row

Field Level Media|published: Sat 7th December, 14:27 2024

Dec 7, 2024; Coral Gables, Florida, USA; Clemson Tigers forward Ian Schieffelin (4) drives to the basket against Miami Hurricanes forward Brandon Johnson (2) during the first half at Watsco Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Ian Schieffelin posted a 15-point, 12-rebound double-double, leading Clemson over Miami 65-55 in the ACC opener for both teams on Saturday afternoon in Coral Gables, Fla.

Chase Hunter scored a game-high 18 points and Viktor Lakhin added 12 -- all in the second half -- as the Tigers (9-1) won their sixth straight.

The Tigers are expected to vault into the AP Top 25 poll on Monday, especially after defeating No. 4 Kentucky earlier this week.

Schieffelin entered the game second in the nation averaging 12.6 rebounds and was coming off a 20-rebound effort against Kentucky.

Lynn Kidd, who started his career at Clemson, scored 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds for Miami (3-6), which has lost six straight.

Miami also got a team-high 12 points from five-star freshman Jalil Bethea.

But Nijel Pack, who entered the game as Miami's leading scorer (16.1), did not score. He went 0-for-7 from the field, with all seven shots coming from 3-point range.

Both teams started slowly as 2 ½ minutes passed before a point was scored. Anthony Swartz gave Miami a 1-0 lead, making 1-of-2 free throws with 17:30 left in the half.

Clemson then heated up with 12 straight points. Miami missed its first 10 shots from the floor, including a pair of tip-ins that went in and out.

Matthew Cleveland made a mid-range jumper to close Miami's deficit to 12-3 with 12:30 left.

Later in the half, Miami went on a 10-0 run, tying the score at 18 with 6:27 remaining on a Cleveland dunk.

Miami surged back on top at 22-20 on Kidd's hook in the lane with 3:49 left.

By the end of the half, Clemson had a 25-24 advantage, although Miami had a 17-3 edge in bench points.

Schieffelin led Clemson with 11 points -- on 3-for-3 shooting from deep -- and six rebounds. Cleveland topped Miami with nine points but went scoreless in the second half.

The first minute of the second half featured three lead changes.

With less than eight minutes remaining, the score was tied at 41 when Lakhin made two straight 3-pointers to give Clemson the lead for good.

Overall, Miami made just 16.0 percent on 3-pointers (4-for-25), while Clemson made 33.3 percent from deep (9-for-27).

--Field Level Media