WASHINGTON — Claudell Harris Jr. scored 27 points as Boston College pulled away in the first half and controlled the rest of the game to beat Clemson 76-55 in the second round of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament on Wednesday.
Jaeden Zackery added 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the floor, while Quinten Post had 11 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the No. 11 seed Eagles (19-14), who will face third-seeded Virginia (22-9) in Thursday’s quarterfinals. The Cavaliers edged Boston College 72-68 in the teams’ lone regular-season meeting Feb. 28.
Harris hit half of the Eagles’ 10 3-pointers, while Zackery added four on five attempts. Boston College limited Clemson to a season-low 19 baskets and outrebounded the Tigers 43-27 to avenge its 89-78 loss at then-No. 21 Clemson on Jan. 13.
The sixth-seeded Tigers (21-11) led for just over a minute in the first half on Wednesday and trailed by double-digits for the game’s final 26 minutes. PJ Hall led Clemson with 21 points and Joseph Girard III paired 13 points with seven boards. No other scorer tallied more than seven points for the Tigers.
Clemson remains in position to make the NCAA Tournament despite the loss. The Tigers entered Wednesday’s game ranked 26th in the NET and were slotted as a No. 6 seed in ESPN’s latest bracket projection.
A night after scoring 30 points against Miami, Post started hot for the Eagles on Wednesday. The 7-footer netted nine quick points, including a 3-pointer during a 10-0 run that sprung Boston College ahead 16-7.
A questionable foul on Post as he defended Hall in the paint sent the Eagles’ big man to the bench with two personals at the 13:01 mark and stalled Boston College’s momentum. Clemson took advantage by reeling off eight straight points to pull within 18-17, but the Eagles didn’t budge.
Boston College held the Tigers without a field goal for nearly seven minutes, during which Harris drilled two treys to power a 14-1 surge that pushed the Eagles’ lead to 32-18 with 5:43 left in the first half.
Harris tacked on another triple before Girard connected from deep in the corner to cut Clemson’s deficit to 40-28 entering halftime.
The Tigers clawed no closer than 46-36 during a second half in which neither team scored more than eight straight points. Harris’ final trey lifted Boston College’s advantage to 76-53 with 1:25 to play.
–Tanner Malinowski, Field Level Media