Clemson Tigers Men's Basketball: Clemson Shoots the Lights Out in Dominant Win Over SMU

Jaeden Zackery had a hot day in Dallas in Clemson's win over SMU. (Photo By: Charles Mays/Tiger View Media)

Clemson Tigers Men's Basketball Clinch Big Win Over SMU

The Clemson Tigers move to 22-5 on the season and 14-2 in ACC play, while Southern Methodist falls to 20-7 overall and 11-5 in the ACC. This loss significantly dents the Mustangs’ hopes of making the NCAA tournament. Jaeden Zackery hit a career-high five three-pointers in this game, igniting the Tigers’ offense from behind the line. Clemson was terrific on defense, holding the Mustangs to 46.9% from the field and 28.6% from beyond the arc. The Tigers’ offense was unselfish, dishing out a season-high 24 assists in today’s game.

A Hot Start and Early Challenges

The Clemson Tigers Men's Basketball team got off to a hot start from behind the arc by knocking down their first four three-pointers, giving themselves an early 12-6 lead heading into the under-16 timeout. Jaeden Zackery was on fire with six points, a rebound, and an assist in just four minutes of play. Although the Tigers struggled with defensive rebounding—allowing SMU’s Samet Yigitoglu and the Mustangs to grab four offensive boards in six minutes—the barrage of three-pointers continued. Clemson hit seven of its first eight deep shots, with Zackery knocking down three of his own. By the under-12 timeout, the Clemson offense was cooking, scoring 23 points on 8-for-14 shooting in nine minutes. Out of the timeout, Viktor Lakhin got into foul trouble once again by picking up his second foul 10 minutes into the game. The Tigers have struggled all season when Lakhin gets into foul trouble, most notably losing to Georgia Tech because of the Russian fouling out after 15 minutes of game time. Although Clemson started hot offensively, they cooled off as the Mustangs went on a 9-0 run to tie the game at 26 with six minutes remaining. SMU continued to dominate the boards, grabbing a total of nine offensive rebounds. With Lakhin benched, the Tigers lacked the height to match SMU’s 7’2 center, Samet Yigitoglu—who, by the under-4 timeout, already had seven rebounds, five on the offensive glass. In the final 11:49 minutes of the first half, Clemson managed only 13 points, allowing SMU to get back into the game. At halftime, Jaeden Zackery led Clemson with 15 points on 5-for-5 shooting from behind the arc. His five three-pointers being the most he’s ever made in a college game. The Tigers were outrebounded 21 to 10 overall and 10 to 2 on the offensive glass.

Second-Half Surge and Victory

The second half started in the best way possible for Clemson. Chase Hunter quickly knocked down five points to extend the Tigers’ lead to nine. Coach Andy Enfield was forced to call a timeout just 59 seconds into the period after Clemson’s quick start, though SMU finally scored their first point of the half after being held scoreless for almost four minutes. Heading into the under-16 timeout, Clemson held a 47-35 lead, thanks to an Ian Schieffelin layup. Out of the timeout, both teams went cold—SMU turned the ball over four times in three minutes while Clemson went 0-for-5 from the field. Once the scoring drought ended, the Tigers pulled away, taking a 16-point lead into the under-8 timeout. The Clemson defense was dominant in the second half, forcing their sixteenth turnover of the game with five minutes remaining. Heading into the under-4 timeout, the Tigers held a 15-point lead after Chauncey Wiggins knocked down a corner three to put the game to bed. Clemson ended up winning 79-69 over Southern Methodist, picking up their final Quad 1 win of the regular season.