The Clemson Tigers clawed past Notre Dame on Wednesday evening, taking down the Fighting Irish, 83-68, to secure their 15th conference win– the most in Clemson history.
Reports revealed just before the game that Braeden Shrewsberry, the third-leading scorer and son of the head coach, will miss the remainder of the season with an abdominal strain he sustained last week against Southern Methodist.
While Notre Dame was the underdog, the Tigers started slow, going on a seven-minute drought in the first and losing their early lead.
However, after twelve straight missed shots from Clemson (23-5, 15-2 ACC), fan-favorite Ian Schieffelin finally ended the offensive drought and would have a career night.
‘The Chef,’ as fans call him, took over the game, scoring four consecutive times to give the Tigers the lead back. The 6-foot-8 forward had a team-high 16 points and eight rebounds, heading into the locker room up 41-31 at halftime.
“Don’t pass up good looks, shooting where I get the ball, and just picking it up where it’s needed. That’s kind of been my role all year, kind of doing the dirty work and finding ways to win. I guess today was my turn to make some shots.”
Ian Schieffelin on his thought process tonight
Following his impressive stint to end the half, Notre Dame would draw closer to breaking their deficit thanks to the help of their two leading scorers, Markus Burton– the ACC’s scoring average leader– and Tae Davis.
After dropping a career-high 32 points against Boston College two weeks ago, Burton nearly surpassed his record again with a game-high 30 points on 8-for-19 shooting from the field. Davis added another 15 points and five rebounds in 33 minutes of play.
“[We] got two starters out… think about the amount of pressure that’s off of him right now. He’s driving the ball and there’s a dude guarding him, four other people standing around him, and he continues to keep scoring. He’s playing major minutes. He’s doing his part, we just need more.”
Notre Dame HC Micah Shrewsberry
Nevertheless, the Tigers’ back-court duo took over in the second half. Schieffelin ended the night as a member of the 1000-point club, recording a career-high 24 points in addition to his nine rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Viktor Lakhin had a strong all-around performance alongside him, pitching in 18 points, five rebounds, five assists and two blocks.
“He deserves multiple votes for All-League because he’s a problem. He’s a problem for us, he’s a problem for everybody”
Micah Shrewsberry
Air Force transfer Jake Heidbreder chipped in another 14 points, two assists and a steal, continuing to show gradual improvement on the defensive end of the floor since arriving in Clemson.
With three games left on the season—and two being on the road against conference opponents—Clemson men’s basketball has the opportunity to tie with the 1989-90 squad for the most wins in a single season in program history.
Head coach Brad Brownell and the Tigers will next travel to John Paul Jones Arena on Saturday to face off versus the Virginia Cavaliers at noon.
