It was not easy, but No. 20 Clemson found a way to get a win Wednesday night at Stanford’s Maples Pavilion in Stanford, Calif.

Nick Davidson and Ace Buckner made four free throws in the final 24 seconds, as the Tigers knocked off the Cardinals 66-64. Davidson came off the bench to lead the Tigers with 16 points, while Buckner tallied 11 points, also off the bench.

Chase Thompson came off the bench, as well, and added 10 points.

“It was definitely a gritty win,” Davidson said to the Nothing But Net crew on the ACCN following the game. “Coming out here, we knew it was going to be tough. (Stanford), they play a lot faster at home. Their point guard is a very good player, but I will say we grinded and stuck to our game plan and that is why we came out with a (win).”

Clemson (19-4, 9-1 ACC) won despite going the final 4:01 without a field goal. The Tigers were able to win because the Cardinal went 3:04 in the final 3:08 without a point and made just 2 of their final nine shots, including Ebuka Okorie’s layup as time expired.

“(Defense) is huge. It is our identity, pretty much,” Davidson said. “We make that a point during our practices.”

The Tigers’ last field goal came on a Buckner layup with 4:01 to play in the game. Overall, Clemson shot the ball well. It connected on 46 percent of his shots (21-46) and made 41 percent of its three-pointers (7-17).

“It was a hard fought game. Give Stanford a lot of credit. I thought their kids played extremely hard,” Clemson head coach Brad Brownell said on The Clemson Athletic Network after the game. “They were hard to score against. Their big guys were big and strong. They played with great physicality and leverage. It was hard for our big guys to finish around the rim. Their guards are quick and really tried to knock some things down and made it hard on us.

“But give our guys credit too. We probably did the same to them. I do not think they got into a good rhythm. Obviously, they did a good job on Okorie.”

Stanford (14-9, 3-7 ACC) made 40 percent of its shots (24-60) but were 28 percent from downtown (9-28).

Okorie finished the night with 18 points, but he had just six points in the second half. Stanford was led by Aidan Cammann’s career-high 19 points.

DID NOT CLOSE OUT THE HALF STRONG

Cammann made a baseline jumper with one second to play in the half to give the Cardinal a 32-30 lead at the break. The big-man’s basket came on an assist from Okorie, who found Cammann heading towards the basket on the baseline.

Stanford outscored the Tigers 13-4 in the last 5:23 of the half.

Clemson led 26-19 after a Thompson layup with 5:23 to play. However, the Tigers could not build on its lead as it went cold from the field. They made just one field goal in the last five minutes of the half.

While Clemson went cold, the Cardinal heated up, especially Cammann and Okorie. Cammann had nine first-half points, while Okorie scored 12 first-half points.

THIRD IN THE ACC RECORD BOOKS

The Tigers’ road win over Stanford was their 13 in a row in ACC road games, dating back to last season. The win ties Clemson with NC State’s 1972-’74 teams for third all-time in the ACC’s record books.

Clemson’s 13 straight ACC road wins is the longest active streak in the country and it is the longest in the ACC in the last 25 years, since Duke’s record of 24 straight ACC road wins from 1998-’01.

BIG NIGHT FOR THE BENCH

Clemson’s bench had 26 points in last Saturday’s win over Pittsburgh. The Tigers’ bench followed that up with 43 points on Wednesday at Stanford. The Cardinal bench also did well, scoring 34 points.

The Tigers’ starters scored seven points in the second half. Dillon Hunter, Carter Welling and Jake Wahlin did not score after halftime.

“I am really proud of this group for just finding another way to win,” Brownell said. “That is really all it is and, again, contributions from different guys. I am so proud of Chase Thompson. For him to play that way, there is no chance for us to win the game without his minutes.

“I thought we needed his speed. He is faster than the other post players except for R.J., and so when you get him on the floor moving against some of these (guys), he can make some things happen.”

FOUL TROUBLE

Clemson’s top scorer, R.J. Godfrey was in foul trouble most of the night. The postman played five minutes for the Tigers in the opening half. He then recorded his third foul a minute into the second half and was right back on the bench.

He finished the game with 9 points in 12 minutes and recorded four fouls.

BAD NIGHT

Clemson usually is one of the best at taking care of the basketball. However on Wednesday, the Tigers turned the ball over 12 times, including 10 on steals by Stanford.

GOING WEST HAS ITS EFFECTS

Clemson men’s basketball is making its first trip to California since Stanford and Cal joined the ACC in 2024-’25. The previous 13 schools to make the trip to California have a 4-9 record in their first game after the California trip. All 13 of those games have been at home.

Last year the home team was 113-67 in ACC games, a 62.7 percent winning mark. It is obvious that the trip to California takes a toll on teams when you compare the 30.8 percent winning percentage for the first game after the trip, all at home, vs. the 62.7 percent winning mark for all league home teams.

UP NEXT

Clemson will stay in California and travel down the road to Berkley, where it will take on Cal Saturday at 8 p.m.