Tigers Stifle Panthers in 63-52 Victory on Saturday

CLEMSON, S.C. – Carter Welling (Draper, Utah/Corner Canyon/Utah Valley) and Nick Davidson (Mission Viejo, Calif./Mater Dei) each scored 12 points to lead Clemson University men’s basketball’s offense and push Clemson to a 63-52 win over Pittsburgh on Saturday afternoon in Littlejohn Coliseum.

The Tigers (18-4, 8-1 ACC) made eight 3-pointers in the contest, including 5-of-11 in the opening stanza. Butta Johnson (Huntsville, Ala./Grissom/UAB) scored eight points off the bench and tied the lead for the team in made threes with two.

Clemson used a 20-5 run over the final 10 minutes of the first half and outshot the Panthers by over 20 percent from the field. 14 of the Tigers’ first-half points came from the second unit, and eight were scored at the free-throw line.

Dillon Hunter (Atlanta, Ga./Westlake) scored 5 points and recorded a team-high 6 rebounds with three assists, and RJ Godfrey (Suwanee, Ga./North Gwinnett/Georgia) finished with 10 points and 3 rebounds.

In the second half, Clemson extended its lead to a game-high 20 points at 62-42 when Davidson sank a deep three-pointer to give Clemson its largest lead of the game and record his ninth double-digit outing of the season with 4:57 left.

On the defensive side, the Tigers stifled the Panthers to just 37.7 percent from the field and a season-low 19.2 percent from beyond the arc.

Ace Buckner (Dallas, Texas/La Lumiere School (Ind.) tied his career-high with a team-best four assists and added four points.

Clemson finished the game coasting to a 63-52 victory and its 11th home victory of the season. The win also marked Head Coach Brad Brownell’s 200th home victory.

Clemson returns to the court on Wednesday, Feb. 4 at Stanford. Tipoff is set for 10 p.m. ET on ACCN.