Clemson starts fast, holds on to edge Cincinnati

Field Level Media|published: Sun 21st December, 17:48 2025

Clemson Tigers guard Dillon Hunter (2) reacts after scoring Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025, during the NCAA men’s basketball game against the Cincinnati Bearcats at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina.

Ace Buckner and Carter Welling each scored 12 points, and Clemson built a large early lead to hold on and beat Cincinnati 68-65 on Sunday afternoon in a neutral-court game in Greenville, S.C.

Jestin Porter provided 11 points and Nick Davidson and RJ Godfrey each added 10 points for the Tigers (10-3), who were in danger of squandering a sizable lead in defeat for the second time this month.

Cincinnati erased a 27-point deficit to a single point but couldn't complete the upset.

Day Day Thomas racked up 17 points, Moustapha Thiam had 15 points, while Jizzle James and Sencire Harris both had 10 points for Cincinnati (7-5).

Cincinnati made strong pushes in the second half, beginning by outscoring Clemson 18-6 across the first six and a half minutes.

Part of Cincinnati's comeback was fueled by three consecutive 3-pointers from Thomas, who hails from South Carolina.

The Bearcats were within 56-49 with just under five minutes to play. Miller's two free throws at the 1:40 mark closed the gap to 60-56 before James made it a two-point game by scoring off a Clemson turnover.

Godfrey responded with a basket for the Tigers, though he failed to complete a three-point play. Thiam completed a three-point play of his own for the Bearcats with 40 seconds left to make it 62-61.

Godfrey scored again for Clemson before Harris converted at the other end with 10 seconds left.

Dillon Hunter hit two foul shots for the Tigers at the 7-second mark. Clemson chose to foul and James hit two free throws to make it 66-65. Then Hunter bagged two more free throws before Thomas was off the mark on a final desperation 3-point attempt.

Five Clemson players hit a 3-point shot in the game's first 10 minutes on the way to a 30-5 lead. The Tigers held Cincinnati to a single-digit point total until less than six minutes remained in the first half.

Clemson led 38-18 at halftime, with Welling scoring 10 points and the Bearcats shooting 26.1% from the field with eight turnovers. The Tigers' main issue up to that point was scoring only six points in the last five and a half minutes of the half, including going scoreless for the final three minutes.

--Field Level Media