No. 18 Clemson takes over in second half to top SMU

Jaeden Zackery scored 19 points, while going 5 of 5 from 3-point range in the first half, as No. 18 Clemson earned a 79-69 road victory over SMU on Saturday at Dallas.

The Tigers (22-5, 14-2 ACC) built an 18-point lead midway through the second half and finished off the Mustangs (20-7, 11-5) for their fourth consecutive victory. Clemson remained in striking distance of first-place Duke in the ACC standings.

Chase Hunter scored 17 points and Viktor Lakhin added 16 points for Clemson, which had 18 points off 16 SMU turnovers. The Tigers had nine steals with five blocks to win on the road for the sixth consecutive time.

Chuck Harris scored 16 points, while B.J. Edwards and Matt Cross each scored 12 for SMU. Samet Yigitoglu scored 10 points and Edwards had nine rebounds for the Mustangs.

Clemson was 10 of 15 from the 3-point arc in the first half to take a 36-32 lead at halftime. Zackery's five 3-pointers were a career high as he went 5 of 6 overall from the field in the first half and finished the game with six rebounds and seven assists.

Clemson led by as much as 11 points just over eight minutes into the game.

Harris and Cross paced SMU in the first half with eight points each, while they combined to go 4 of 9 from 3-point range before halftime. Harris had five assists in the game.

SMU briefly took the lead with 2:33 remaining in the first half but Chase Hunter's step-back jumper regained the lead for Clemson a few seconds later and the Tigers never trailed again.

The Tigers opened the second half on a 9-0 run to build a 45-32 lead. Hunter scored 12 points in the second half for Clemson. Cross scored in double digits for the 19th time this season.

SMU was without leading scorer Boopie Miller for a third consecutive game with a foot injury.

--Field Level Media