National Basketball Association
Clemson 74, Boston College 70
When: 7:00 PM ET, Wednesday, January 3, 2018
Where: Conte Forum, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
Officials:
# Lee Cassell, # Ed Corbet (JR), # David Hull
Attendance:
3911
By Field Level Media
Donte Grantham scored 23 points, Marcquise Reed added 17 and No. 25 Clemson extended its winning streak to nine games with a 74-70 victory over host Boston College on Wednesday night.
Grantham also grabbed a career-high nine rebounds and became the sixth player in Clemson history to collect 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 200 assists in a career. Elijah Thomas finished with 16 points and Gabe DeVoe had 10 for the Tigers (13-1, 2-0)
Clemson has won six consecutive games against Boston College dating back to the 2013-14 season and are off to their best start since 2009.
Jerome Robinson was 6-of-9 from 3-point range and finished with 28 points for Boston College (10-5, 1-2). Ky Bowman added 19 points, while Nik Popovic finished with 12 for the Eagles.
Trailing by 15 at the half, the Eagles chipped away and a pair of jumpers by Luka Kraljevic capped an 8-0 run that cut the margin to 49-42 with 12:39 left in the game. A layup by Popovic pulled Boston College to within 56-52 with 8:44 remaining and forced Clemson to call a timeout.
The Tigers regrouped and a layup by Thomas followed by a 3-pointer by Grantham increased the lead to 61-52 with 7:43 left. Boston College would not go away and a 3-pointer by Robinson pulled his team to within 64-60 with 4:35 remaining.
A pair of free throws by Bowman tied the game 68-68 with a minute left in regulation. However, Reed answered with two more free throws that gave the Tigers a two-point margin.
DeVoe then made both ends of a one-and-one that extended Clemson's lead to 72-68 with 20 seconds remaining and the Tigers held on for the victory.
Coach Brad Brownell, who has 136 victories at Clemson, is two wins shy of tying Oliver Purnell for the third most wins in school history.
Clemson got off to a quick start and a layup by Thomas capped a 16-0 run and the Tigers led 33-14 with 6:15 left in the first half. Boston College struggled to make shots down the stretch and the Tigers took advantage, maintaining a double-digit lead the rest of the first half. A 3-pointer by Reed provided a 38-23 lead at the break. Clemson is 11-0 this season when it leads at the half.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
Clemson |
|
Boston College |
Donte Grantham 23 |
Scoring |
Jerome Robinson 28 |
Donte Grantham 5 |
Assists |
Ky Bowman 6 |
Donte Grantham 14 |
Rebounds |
Ky Bowman 9 |
Donte Grantham 6 |
Free Throws Made |
Ky Bowman 5 |
Donte Grantham 3 |
Steals |
Jordan Chatman 1 |
Elijah Thomas 1 |
Blocks |
Steffon Mitchell 4 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Clemson
|
74 |
42.9 |
8-23 |
18-20 |
13 |
30 |
1 |
8 |
13 |
Boston College
|
70 |
49.1 |
9-21 |
5-6 |
15 |
30 |
5 |
5 |
14 |