CLEMSON – Clemson held off No. 4 Kentucky 70-66 on Tuesday night inside an electric Littlejohn Coliseum in the ACC-SEC Challenge. It’s the first time the two teams faced one another since 1997.

With the win, Brad Brownell’s team has won four straight over AP Top 5 teams. The last time the Tigers won one of those at home was back in 2020. This one was the highest-ranked non-conference win at home in Clemson history.

The Tigers went the last 4-plus minutes without a field goal, but some stingy defense helped secure the win as the Wildcats missed five of their last six field goals.

Ian Schieffelin had another big game for Clemson. Despite struggling from the field, the senior big man had 11 points, 20 rebounds and four assists. It was his fourth double-double of the season and 16th of his career. The last time a Clemson player recorded 20 rebounds in a game was Harold Jamison in 1999.

Chauncey Wiggins added 12 points, going 2-of-3 from deep. Jaeden Zackery added 11, which inlcuded a couple of big three-point buckets in the first half and an old-fashioned three-point play down the stretch.

Viktor Lakhin added nine points, six rebounds and blocked four shots.

Otega Oweh paced Kentucky and led all scorers with 17 points, while Lamont Butler had 16 and Jaxon Robinson added 12.

With just over six minutes to play in what was a foul-heavy opening half, Clemson trailed 28-23. The Tigers then went on a 14-2 run, highlighted by a swarming defense and two Zackery three-pointers, that sent them into the half with a 37-30 lead.

The Wildcats began the second half on a 17-9 run while taking a 47-46 lead. Wiggins then banked in a 3-pointer that put the Tigers back on top by two points at 49-47.

By the 8:13 mark, Clemson led 56-52. After two made free throws by Kentucky cut the lead to two, Lakhin drained a three-ball to make it 59-54. A Zackery layup would then make it 61-54. The Tigers would eventually push the lead to eight at one point.

Turning Point

With Clemson up 66-62 and just over one minute remaining, the Tigers’ defense got a stop, forcing a missed three-pointer by Oweh. The stop kept Clemson up two possessions. Chase Hunter would drill two free throws to put his team up six and put the game pretty much out of reach. Hunter then drained two more free throws with 1.9 seconds left to ice it.

Stat of the Game

Schieffelin had a hard time finding his shot in this one. He was 4-of-20 from the floor, including just 1-of-8 from three-point land.

Chase Hunter also struggled shooting the ball. He was just 2-of-8 and 0-for-4 from beyond the arc. He was 6-of-6 from the free throw line to finish with 10 points. Four of those free throws were clutch, coming in the closing seconds.

Clemson winning this game with those two suffering from those kind of shooting woes was impressive.

Up Next

The Tigers hit the road to Miami on Saturday for the first ACC contest of the season. Tipoff is at noon and the game will be televised on ESPN2.

A limited number of signed replica road signs from Cade Klubnik are available!  Visit Clemson Variety & Frame or purchase online!