Clemson Tigers hunting unusual record

When Clemson goes to Tallahasee, Florida on February 15, it will go with an opportunity to do something that has not been done on Clemson since 1987 – winning its fifth consecutive ACC Road game.

The Tigers (18-4, 10-1 ACC) won their fourth straight ACC road game on Saturday thanks to a 68-58 victory in NC State. Overall, Clemson improved to 6-4 in true road games this season and 8-4 in competitions away from Littlejohn Coliseum.

Clemson’s four consecutive road winnings in ACC Play is the second best race in the school’s history, a short from 1986-’87 Tigers for the longest ACC Road-winning strip in the history of the program.

What is different about this Clemson team when it goes on the road compared to other tiger teams.

“It helps when you have an older group like me,” said Clemson head coach Brad Brownell after Saturday’s win. “I think it’s the biggest advantage that older players bring to a team.”

Clemson’s older players shone against Wolfpack in the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Graduate Chase Hunter led the team with 20 points on Saturday, while the Master’s Transfer Viktor Lakhin scored 13 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.

Transfer Jaeden Zackery spoke seven points, five rebounds, four assists and one steal. Senior Ian Schieffelin added eight points, six rebounds and had three assists.

“I have an older group,” Brownell said. “Chase has been with me for a long time. Viktor is an older player. Jaeden is an older player. Ian is senior. We have an older team and when you have an older team you have a better chance of dealing with these environments. “

The Lenovo Center was definitely one of these environments. With the NC State (9-12, 2-8 ACC) destroyed in a five-match’s losing row, the 15,299 fans did everything they could to help the home layer.

For a while in the second half it worked. Thanks to an 8-0 race early in half, State grabbed its only lead in the second stanza, 39-38, after a Marcus Hill lineup with 14:16 to play.

Although Clemson regained the lead on his next possession thanks to a Schieffelin tip in, the game remained tight for the next seven minutes. Then Tigers’ experience took over as Hunter connected to a three-pointer to give them a seven-point lead with 9:26 to play and a few minutes later Lakhin hit one of his own to extend the lead to eight points, 51-43, with 7:56 to go.

Clemson eventually put the game away as Dillon Hunter hit a corner-three of the 3: 26-mark, and his brother Chase Hunter followed with an outbreak dunk and a jumping on the next two belongings to extend the lead to 13 points, 66- 53, with 2:28 to go.

Hunter’s last field goal in the afternoon sent Wolfpack faith to the doors a few minutes early when they knew their wolfpack was dropping their sixth consecutive match.

“When things get high, (older) guys on your team probably have played well at some point in some of these kinds of environments, so they’re not so panic,” Brownell said. “They show Poise. They perform. They do what to do down the stretch and finish. “

And that’s exactly what Clemson’s Veteran LED team did Saturday.

–Foto by Jaylynn Nash-IMAGN images