Zackery and Schieffelin Leads Tigers to Victory Against Yellow Jackets

Clemson's Jaeden Zackery led the Tigers with 21 points in a 70-59 win at Georgia Tech, on Tuesday, January 14, 2025. (Photo Credit: Cooper Scruggs - Clemson Athletics)

The Clemson Tigers were able to take down a struggling Georgia Tech team without their star player, Lance Terry, in a 70-59 win. The Tigers move to 14-4 overall on the season and 6-1 within the ACC while the Yellow Jackets fall to 8-10 overall and 2-5 in the ACC. This was an important win for the Clemson Tigers in their quest for back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances as this was a Quad 3 win against a Yellow Jacket team that battled hard throughout. Clemson’s transfer from Cincinnati, Viktor Lakhin, continued his terrific season as he scored the Tigers' first four points to give them an early 4-0 lead. It was an ugly start to this one for both teams as they looked disjointed offensively with the Tigers only holding a 6-0 lead at the under 16 timeout. The Yellow Jackets were 0-7 from the field and 0-4 from behind the arc with three turnovers just five minutes into the ballgame. Georgia Tech finally scored their first basket a little over seven minutes into the first half from a Duncan Powell layup. Although the Yellow Jackets struggled to score early on, the Tigers were not much better as they were 4-14 from the field and 0-6 from downtown at the under 12 timeout. Jaeden Zackery continued to make plays on the defensive side of the ball as his steal and layup were able to get Clemson back on the scoreboard to make it a 10-2 game. Georgia Tech started to crawl back into this one halfway through the first period with a 9-3 run, but a few big-time Jaeden Zackery buckets put the Tigers up six going into the under eight timeout. Jaeden Mustaf got a steal and a slam to get the Yellow Jackets going on the offensive end and make it a 19-18 game with roughly six minutes to go. The Clemson Tigers needed something to go their way when Chase Hunter sank a contested deep ball to put the Tigers back up by five. Neither team wanted to score as the Tigers shot 36% from the field and Georgia Tech scored just 27.3% of their shots from the field going into the under four timeout. Out of the timeout, the Tigers finally started to get something going offensively as they went on a 13-5 run to take a 36-25 lead into the half. Jaeden Zackery was the star of the first half for the Tigers with 12 points on 5/8 shooting and 3 steals. The Yellow Jackets started the second half off exactly how they wanted to with a deep ball and an and-one from Naithan George to cut the Tiger lead down to seven early in the second period. Jaeden Zackery carried his first-half success into the second with a timely three-pointer to put the Tigers up 10 after a missed dunk from Baye Ndongo. At the under 16 timeout, the Tigers had a 40-32 lead with both teams looking to right the ship offensively. Chase Hunter did what he does best with five points including a deep ball to put the Tigers up 11 with 14:30 to go in the second. After a Baye Ndongo three, the Tigers led 47-37 heading into the under 12 timeout with both teams still trying to figure out their offensive woes. Ian Schieffelin finally started to get going with 4 points, 2 rebounds, a block, and a steal in a little over two minutes. Schieffelin has struggled through injuries so far this season but showed up big for the Tigers in the first part of the second half. Chauncey Wiggins then forced the Yellow Jackets to call timeout after he put Clemson up by 17 and capped off a 7-0 run with a deep ball at the 9:08 mark in the second. At the under eight timeout, Clemson had a 57-41 lead as Schieffelin and George traded three-pointers coming out of the Georgia Tech timeout. The shooting woes became a factor once again for the Tigers as they were unable to score for 3 minutes and 45 seconds heading into the under four timeout, but they still managed to have a 14-point lead. Out of the timeout, the Yellow Jackets started to find their groove with a 9-0 run but Ian Schieffelin was able to rip their hearts out with a dagger three to put the Tigers back up by 12 with two minutes to go. Jaeden Zackery and Chase Hunter both hit a pair of free throws to close this one out and give Clemson a 70-59 victory over Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets were able to keep this game close throughout, but Clemson showed why they are one of the premier teams in the ACC by finding a way to hold on. Ian Schieffelin showed just how important he is to this Clemson Tiger team with 16 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals, and a block. Before this game, Schieffelin had faced some criticism from fans for his recent performances but he was able to shut those critics down with a monstrous second half for the Tigers. Jaeden Zackery came up huge tonight, leading Clemson with a season-high 21 points, adding six rebounds, and three steals. Clemson will face Pittsburgh on Saturday, January 18th at 12 PM for a big-time matchup against a tough Panthers team.