Chase Hunter rang up 18 points and Hunter Tyson tallied 16 points and eight rebounds as Clemson dominated Richmond 85-57 Saturday in the Greenville Winter Invitational in Greenville, South Carolina.
In the third game of the day — each one pitting a team from South Carolina against an out-of-state foe — Clemson (9-3) led all the way, darting to an early lead, and Richmond (5-6) never seriously challenged.
Tyson and Hunter combined to hit 14 of 26 shots as the Tigers made 48.5 percent from the floor and connected on 12 of 26 (46.2 percent) of their 3-point attempts in their final nonconference game of the regular season.
The Clemson defense was in fine form as well, limiting Richmond to 41.2 percent shooting overall and 7 of 22 (31.8 percent) from beyond the arc.
The victory was a bounce-back after Clemson’s worst loss the year, 76-58, to Loyola Chicago at the Holiday Hoopsgiving in Atlanta.
Tyler Burton led Richmond with 21 points and seven rebounds. The loss snapped the Spiders’ two-game winning streak.
In the opening minutes, the Tigers made their first three 3-point tries, including two by Hunter, as they bolted to a 13-1 lead.
After Richmond stopped the bleeding with five consecutive points, Clemson followed with a 10-0 run, which was bookended by 3-pointers from Alex Hemenway (eight points) and Brevin Galloway (10 points) as the Tigers assumed a 23-6 lead.
Clemson’s defense fueled the quick start. In the first 10 minutes, Richmond had more turnovers (nine) than shots from the floor (seven).
The Tigers kept pouring it on. When Hemenway closed the half with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer, Clemson led 43-19.
Early in the second half, when PJ Hall (nine points) drained a pair of 3-pointers, 37 seconds apart, the Tigers stretched their advantage to 53-22.
Hall made all three of his attempts from beyond the arc and added eight rebounds, helping the Tigers to a 40-29 edge on the boards.
Midway through the second half, 3-pointers 20 seconds apart by Tyson and Galloway put the Tigers in front 66-34.
– Field Level Media
