On Thursday night, host Clemson defeated Radford 79-51 thanks to 16 points from Chauncey Wiggins. The Tigers (4-1) also had a career-high 15 points from Dillon Hunter, 10 points and five rebounds from Chase Hunter, and 14 points and nine rebounds from Ian Schieffelin. Zion Walker led Radford (4-2) with 10 points. Clemson led by 31 points and never fell behind. The Tigers held the Highlanders to 20 percent from beyond the arc and made 47.8 percent of their 3-point attempts. Although both teams committed 11 turnovers, Clemson converted Radford’s blunders into 20 points, while the Highlanders only managed to score eight points thanks to the Tigers’ mistakes.
In addition, the Tigers shot 18 of 22 from the free throw line and had a 10-1 lead in fastbreak points. Ten of Wiggins’ scores came in the first half. Among his many standout plays was his 3-pointer at 3:38 in the first half, where he forced a Radford defender fumble with a pump-fake before swishing a jumper from the left wing. Chase Hunter’s 3-pointer during the half gave Clemson a 12-point lead.
Dillon Hunter’s 3-pointer ended Clemson’s 20–9 run that began the second half. The team regained the next possession by jumping in front of a pass like a football free safety and then making a layup in traffic. During the game, the Tigers had a 51 percent shooting percentage. Clemson’s next Sunshine Slam game comes against San Francisco at Daytona Beach, Florida, on Monday.
After qualifying for the Elite Eight the previous season, the Tigers have yet to face a major conference opponent this season and won’t until Dec. 3 against Kentucky, ranked ninth.
