The Clemson Tigers are one of the hottest teams in the ACC right now, winning their past six of seven– and nobody seems to be able to cool them off.
Brownell and his squad extended their win streak to four this past Wednesday night after routing Syracuse by a final score of 86-72.
This victory makes it Clemson’s 10th win in the series in 16 total meetings, with the only win at Littlejohn Coliseum coming back in the 2017 season.
Heading into the conference matchup, Donnie Freeman, the second-leading scorer on the Orange, was listed as out due to a foot injury.
While this lingering injury has caused him to miss five consecutive games now, the true freshman has averaged 13 points and eight rebounds in 14 games played this season.
Clemson’s (16-4, 8-1 ACC) big men were sure to take advantage of the young phenom’s absence, but who would be the one to do it?
The answer is Viktor Lakhin. The six-foot-eleven Russian was elite from the top of the key to the bottom. He notched his third double-double of the year, finishing with 16 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and two blocks. He also finished with a season-tying two three-pointers made in the contest. Lakhin showed a strong defensive presence, holding Syracuse center Eddie Lampkin Jr. to 14 points and nine rebounds, stopping the Colorado transfer short of his fourth consecutive double-double.
“That [Lakhin’s lack of fouls] was important. [Eddie] Lampkin, he’s a big man. He’s not easy to guard, has nimble feet, he’s an experienced player. I thought Viktor did a nice job trying to limit his touches as much as he could. [Lakhin] helped on pick and roll’s when he was involved… I thought he played very well tonight.”
Brad Brownell
While the Orange (9-10, 3-5 ACC) were inferior in the front court, starting guard J.J. Starling got it going tonight, putting up a game-high 25 points on an elite 63% shooting from the field and 50% from three-point land.
Luckily, Clemson’s backcourt didn’t come to play games, showing up and showing out.
Jaeden Zackery led Clemson’s strong defensive charge, getting a steal followed up by a pass to Schieffelin for a fastbreak slam to get the crowd going to start the game. He stayed consistent on both ends of the court, seeming to have caught a stride with his new team mid-season. The Boston College transfer finished with 14 points, five assists, one rebound and two steals in 38 minutes of play.
Hunter, the leading scorer for the Tigers, continues to impress in his final season. The six-foot-four guard was the key piece for the Tigers on offense, taking momentum over Syracuse with a ferocious dunk followed up by an ankle-breaking three, putting the Tigers up early. He finished the first half with 18 points in 19 minutes of play. While he played conservatively for the rest of the game, he still finished with 23 points, one rebound, one assist and two steals.
“It [Hunter’s scoring] is definitely a confidence thing. I’ve been very confident these past few games, really the whole year. I’m just trying to ride that wave, keep putting in work, keep playing hard for these guys and make sure we keep winning games.”
Chase Hunter
The Clemson Tigers will travel to Blacksburg for a conference matchup to face off against the Virginia Tech Hokies on Saturday, Jan. 25 at 5:00 p.m.
The Hokies (8-11, 3-5 ACC) currently sit at the No. 11 in the ACC standings and are on a two-game losing streak, while Clemson is atop the conference at No. 2 and are on a four-game winning streak.
Virginia Tech will have to heavily prepare to get past the Tigers, as Clemson has seemed to exceed them at every level on the court this season. However, the Hokies are currently above .500 at home, boasting a 7-4 record.
