GREENVILLE — Offensively it just wasn’t Avery Holmes afternoon. The junior connected on just 2-of-10 shots from the field and was 4-of-8 from the foul line.

So early on Holmes decided he was going to contribute to Clemson’s 66-52 victory over Georgia Tech another way on Saturday – by playing defense.

Holmes was a nightmare to Georgia Tech’s ball handlers, as he racked up six steals at the Bon Secours Wellness Center in Greenville. Those six steals led to 17 points off turnovers for the Tigers, while they influenced the Yellow Jackets to two points in the game’s final 4:56.

“We really work hard on our defense and everybody plays defense really well,” Holmes said afterwards. “I did not want to be the only guy not working. That’s how everyone feels because they see guys working and that helps our offense flow, honestly.”

Holmes’ effectiveness on the defensive end allowed guys like Jaron Blossomgame and Jordan Roper to get into the game. Blossomgame scored 17 points and had seven rebounds, while Roper dropped in 15 points on 6-of-13 shooting.

“It is hard to score in the half court and by Avery making those seals it made the passing lanes, and by seeing that activity it keeps guys ready to play in transition,” Blossomgame said. “We got a lot of opportunities to score in transition and that is what kind of stretched the lead out later in the game.”

Clemson head coach Brad Brownell was glad to see Holmes get past his frustration on the offensive end to turn around and contribute on defense in the matter that he did.

“Defensively he is a great on-ball defender. He really works at the ball. He does not allow guys to get comfortable,” Brownell said. “They have to work to get initiations and entries. If you are careless or relaxed at all he can get a hand on one and take it. It happened several times today.

“Certainly, when he is out there affecting the offense that way, and setting the tone for our defense, it is significant.”

It was significant enough that Holmes became the first Clemson player in the Brad Brownell era at Clemson to record six steals in a game, which was just one short of tying the all-time mark at Clemson.

“I just try to do whatever it takes to help the team win,” Holmes said. “Offensively I was doing okay, but I was not knocking down shots so I was just trying to figure out different ways I could help the team win so I wanted to disrupt their offense and get their guys not to flow into the offense. I tried to be active like Coach Brownell says and I had a couple of steals by being active.”