Even 20-point performances from Jaron Blossomgame and Avry Holmes failed to provide Clemson enough offense on Sunday night, as Virginia Tech shot 55 percent from the floor en route to an 82-81 victory at Littlejohn Coliseum.

The loss was Clemson’s (11-8, 1-6) sixth in a row and its fourth by five or fewer points in ACC play. The result also gives Virginia Tech (15-4, 4-3) its second consecutive win in league play.

On top of the pair of 20-point showings, Donte Grantham poured in 15 to give the Tigers a third player in double figures. Clemson’s three leading scorers combined to make 11 of 18 three-pointers, but the Hokies kept pace with the Tigers’ offensive outburst from deep. They were led by Seth Allen and Zack LeDay, who poured in 17 and 16 points, respectively.

“I thought our team played really well offensively again,” Clemson head coach Brad Brownell said to begin his postgame press conference. “We’ve done that here at home quite a bit.”

A few seconds later, Brownell added the caveat that best defines the Tigers’ lengthy skid: “Defensively, we’re not getting enough stops.”

The Hokies’ victory was built on hustle points. Buzz Williams’ undersized squad outscored the Tigers in points off turnovers (14-8) and points in the paint (40-32) and out-rebounded Clemson by three throughout the course of Sunday’s contest.

Virginia Tech jumped out to an early 9-3 lead as Clemson missed five of its first six shot attempts over the game’s opening five minutes. The Tigers responded with an 8-2 run to tie the game at 11.

LeDay had 12 first-half points off the bench and was instrumental in the Hokies building their largest lead of the half at 30-22 with under eight minutes to go before halftime. The Tigers stayed within striking distance, however, using a 6-0 run in the final 1:11 of the first period to cut Virginia Tech’s lead to a single point at 41-40.

No team held a lead of more than six points in the second half as the game—which featured six ties and eight lead changes—remained nip-and-tuck until the final buzzer. Clemson used a trapping zone to rattle Virginia Tech midway through the second half. Blossomgame’s jam in transition punctuated an 8-2 run and gave the Tigers a 62-60 lead with 10:09 to play.

Then came the decisive run of the contest. The Hokies used a 10-2 spurt over the next 3:25 to take a 70-64 lead. Clemson scored the next five to pull within one, but an old-fashiioned three-point play by Chris Clarke pushed the lead back to four.

Blossomgame made a lay-up to draw the Tigers within two with less than a minute to play, but Allen splashed a three from the left wing to stick a knife in the Littlejohn crowd with 22.1 seconds to play. Clemson made its shots down the stretch, but Virginia Tech kept the Tigers at bay from the foul line. The Hokies were a perfect 6-for-6 in the final 21 seconds and made 16-of-17 free throws for the game.

The Tigers will try to halt a six-game skid as they travel to Pittsburgh on Saturday for a noon tipoff on Saturday.

We are now taking pre-publication orders for our limited edition magazine Mission Accomplished. The first orders will be shipped the week of January 23. Order yours today to make sure you get a copy!