Viktor Lakhin scored 20 of his 22 points in the first half and No. 23 Clemson kept riding waves of momentum in drubbing visiting North Carolina 85-65 on Monday night.
Chase Hunter added 19 points and Jaeden Zackery poured in 16 points to go with seven rebounds and seven assists for Clemson (20-5, 12-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), which two nights earlier knocked off then-No. 2 Duke and moved into the Top 25. The Tigers are a half-game behind first-place Duke in the ACC.
RJ Davis had 18 points, Seth Trimble added 12 points and Elliot Cadeau ended up with 11 points and six assists for North Carolina (14-11, 7-6), which desperately needed a quality road victory.
The Tar Heels, who’ve lost three of their last four games, were coming off a one-point home victory against Pitt, but they struggled in their only matchup with Clemson this season. They shot 4-for-19 on 3-pointers and 5-for-11 on free throws.
Clemson outscored North Carolina by 36-12 from 3-point range as Lakhin and Hunter both drained four 3s. The Tigers, who shot 50 percent from the floor, were tough around the basket, too, with Ian Schieffelin grabbing 10 rebounds to help fuel a 41-28 rebounding advantage.
North Carolina led 23-21 before the Tigers got rolling in the last nine minutes of the first half. Lakhin posted seven consecutive points as Clemson’s lead grew to 35-25.
The Tar Heels scored only six points in the final six-plus minutes of the half. Clemson had a 9-0 run going until Cadeau completed the first-half scoring on a drive, but those were North Carolina’s only points in a stretch of more than four minutes.
Clemson held a 49-33 halftime lead, with Lakhin going 4-for-4 on 3-pointers. The Tigers were 8-for-12 from beyond the arc in the first half, while North Carolina went 2-for-8 from deep.
The Tigers kept attacking and built their lead to 26 points in the second half.
Clemson has home victories against traditional powers Kentucky, Duke and North Carolina this season.
–Field Level Media
