Jestin Porter scored nine straight points for Clemson late in the second half, as he helped the Tigers win their 12th straight ACC regular season game Saturday at the Joyce Center in South Bend, Ind. Porter scored a season-high 26 points in a 76-61 victory over Notre Dame.

The win allowed the Tigers to start an ACC season 4-0 for a second straight year, a first for the Clemson program.

Clemson (14-3, 4-0 ACC) had seven steals and forced 14 turnovers overall, while outscoring the Irish, 18-11, in points off turnovers.

Besides Porter’s 26 points, the Tigers also got 16 points from R.J. Godfrey and 14 from Carter Welling. Porter was 9 of 14 overall from the field and was 6-for-6 from the foul line.

Godfrey finished 6-for-8 from the field and Welling was 5 of 9, as Clemson connected on 46.6 percent of their shots. The Tigers hit 48.8 percent of their attempts in the second half.

THIEF

Porter was once again a nuisance on the defensive end of the court. After getting four steals in Wednesday’s win over No. 24 SMU, he had five thefts, including one with 5:00 to play in the game when the Irish had the ball and chance to cut into Clemson’s seven-point lead.

Porter cashed in with two free throws on the possession to extend the Tigers’ lead back to nine, 63-54. His five steals were a career-high. He later got another steal which he laid in for a 67-54 lead with 3:29 to play.

ROAD WARRIORS

Clemson is 4-0 in ACC play, but three of its four wins have come on the road. It is just the fourth time in the program’s history it has won its first three road games in conference play.

The Tigers won their first three league road games in 1996-97 under Rick Barnes, and won the first three ACC road games under Brad Brownell in 2022-23. Clemson won its first seven league games regardless of site to open that year, the best start to a league schedule in Clemson history.

Horace Grant and the 1986-’87 Tigers won their first five ACC road games.

GOOD START

Clemson got off to a good start on Saturday. The Tigers got 12 first-half points from Porter and 10 from Godfrey. They shot 44.8 percent from the field as a team. Porter was 4-for-6 from the field, while Godfrey was 3-for-4.

The Tigers led Notre Dame, 39-34, at the break.

BENCH POINTS

Clemson leads the ACC in bench points. However, on Saturday the Tigers tallied just five points off the bench in the first half. All five points came from guard Ace Buckner.

Notre Dame (10-6, 1-2 ACC) outscored the Tigers 16-8 with points off the bench. Nick Davidson had the other three points off the bench for Clemson.

STILL DEFENSIVE

Clemson allowed the Irish to shoot 46 percent from the field in the first half, including 6 of 13 from 3-point range. That is not how Clemson head coach Brad Brownell wants to play defense.

However, the Tigers evened things out a bit by forcing nine first-half turnovers. Clemson scored eight points off those nine turnovers.

The Irish cooled off in the second half and shot just 33.3 percent from the field overall, and 37.5 percent from behind the arc (3-8).

UP NEXT

Clemson returns to Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson on Tuesday, when it hosts Boston College for a 7 p.m. tip.