How Clemson basketball rebounded from first ACC loss to beat Georgia Tech

The 18th-ranked Clemson Tigers had four players finish in double figures Saturday, picking up 13 points apiece from big men Jake Wahlin and Nick Davidson in a 77-63 win over Georgia Tech at McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta.

Clemson (17-4 overall, 7-1 ACC) quickly bounced back from its first conference loss of the season earlier in the week against NC State, though it took some time for the Tigers to heat up.

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Coach Brad Brownell’s team trailed 23-21 at the under-eight timeout of the first half as the Tigers took — and missed — a plethora of 3-point shots in the game’s first 12 minutes. Clemson started just two-of-12 from beyond the arc.

The Tigers soon started their turnaround. When Ace Buckner drained a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer with 4:43 to play in the half, Clemson was on a 12-0 run and led 30-23.

Georgia Tech (11-9, 2-5) briefly erased the lead with 1:17 to play on Chas Kelly’s 3-pointer for a 33-32 Yellow Jackets advantage. Clemson had missed five straight shots to that point, but the Tigers went back ahead when Dillon Hunter hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to put Clemson up 35-33 at halftime.

In the second half, the Tigers took their first double-digit lead on back-to-back shots from Buckner, the latter a 3-pointer that made it 48-37 with 13:34 to play. Buckner’s trey was one of four straight by the Tigers, who would go on to lead by as many as 16 in the game’s final minutes.

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Clemson made just four of its 16 shots from 3-point range in the opening stanza, but the Tigers made seven of 12 in the second half.

Clemson made 46 percent of its shots and held Georgia Tech to 37 percent from the field. The Tigers won despite senior forward RJ Godfrey being limited to 18 minutes due to foul trouble. Godfrey had nine points and four rebounds, ending a streak of eight straight games in double figures.

With Godfrey on the bench for a big part of the game, Wahlin had one of his best performances since transferring to Clemson from Utah. The 6-foot-10 threat added…

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Publish date : 2026-01-24 19:58:00

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