Clemson's strong second half leads to comfortable win over Cardinal

by Grayson Mann - Correspondent - Wed Jan 01 18:15:34 GMT-05:00 2025

CLEMSON - Stanford dropped the ball on a chance for a road victory, and Chase Hunter led the way to take full advantage.

Clemson cruised past Stanford in the second half, outscoring the Cardinal 42-30 for their third win in ACC play, 85-71.

With 14:08 left to play in the second half, the Tigers were locked in a stalemate with their cross-country foe, looking for separation.

A quick 10-0 run would solve that issue, as defensive intensity rose with it. Led by Jaeden Zackery, who had two of Clemson’s 15 steals on the day, saw a surge in energy that was enough to feel comfortable in the final minutes of Wednesday’s matchup.

The defensive pressure forced 16 Stanford turnovers, as the Tigers quickly turned offense into defense, posting 25 points off those opportunities.

Zackery's efforts continue to permeate throughout the team in a positive way. Hunter feels like that intensity is an asset for this defense, and it continues to be infectious energy.

"Yeah, it helps a lot," Hunter said. "It helps a lot. Even when we're, it might not be scoring. He's a guy who can spark us and get us a steal, get us an easy layup, and it radiates through the whole team, and it's something that I really appreciate."

The Boston College transfer also added 16 points on the afternoon, making it his fifth double-digit outing in five of his last six games.

The afternoon also saw a bounce-back performance from Chauncey Wiggins, who scored 17 points against the Cardinal. Wiggins had struggled to maintain offensive consistency in a rough three-game stretch, seeing the junior forward go scoreless against Wake Forest and Memphis.

Wiggins was lights out from deep after the Tigers’ ten-day hiatus. He went 4-5 from deep, providing timely shots for the offense when it seemed Stanford was creeping back into the matchup.

He also provided five rebounds and a block, heeding Brad Brownell’s words of developing into a complete player on the floor.

Wiggins' efforts on the defensive effort, as well as fighting on the glass, were what Brad Brownell appreciated the most, seeing his junior forward take another step in his development.

Brownell added Wiggins had a solid week of practice leading up to Wednesday's game, and those efforts behind the scenes paid off.

"Obviously, he's a guy who can step out and make threes, too, so we thought his ability to do that guard would help," Brownell said. "Also, he stuck his nose in there and got five defensive rebounds. I'm proud of him for that. He hasn't done a very good job of that in his career. It's something we've talked a lot about. Certainly, I'm happy he made the four threes, but he's made threes like that before he can do that. This is him becoming a better player. This is him getting out of his comfort zone, doing competitive, tough things like defending the other team's best player and rebounding the ball. He was fantastic."

Another item on Clemson’s checklist that continues to see improvement is the three-point defense. South Carolina and Memphis plagued the Tigers with issues from beyond the arc, but outings against Wake Forest and Stanford have seen an added focus on that front.

The Cardinal started out hot from deep, but quickly fizzled out, shooting under 30 percent from deep, contributing to the late-game woes that led to a decisive Clemson victory.

Four of the five starters logged double figures, with Hunter’s 22 points leading the offense. Part of Clemson’s offensive success against the Cardinal was also found on the free throw line, with the Tigers converting on 19 of its 22 shots from the charity stripe.

Clemson will continue its home stand on Saturday. It will welcome another ACC newcomer to Littlejohn and face California at 8:30 on ESPN2.

Notes: Clemson moves to 11-3 this season and 3-0 in the ACC … Clemson’s 3-0 start in league play is tied for the fourth-best start in program history … Head Coach Brad Brownell moved to 1-0 all-time against Stanford … Coach Brownell won his 443rd game of his career and his 276th while at Clemson … Clemson is fourth in the ACC since 2017-18 with 75 league victories … the Tigers finished 42.1 percent from three and are now 6-1 this season when shooting 40.0 percent or better from three as a team … as a team, Clemson posted 16 steals – the most this season and the most for a Clemson team since 1/1/13 against The Citadel … it was the third time this season Clemson has posted 10 or more steals … Dillon Hunter posted a career-high six steals – tying for the most in a game since Feb. 13, 2016 when Avry Holmes swiped six against Georgia Tech … Viktor Lakhin posted a season-high five blocked shots and three steals … Jaeden Zackery tied his season-high with six assists … Chase Hunter netted his third 20-point game of the season and now has 1,469 career points – good for 14th all-time in Clemson history.