Clemson got everything it could handle from the North Dakota Fighting Hawks on Monday night, eventually propelling itself to a 15-point home win when it was all said and done.
The Tigers jumped out to a quick 5-point lead on the back of a Chase Thompson layup and three-pointer within the first 64 seconds. It wouldn’t take long for North Dakota to begin making it a game, draining three 3-pointers and eventually taking a 13-11 lead into the first media timeout on 5-of-8 shooting from the floor. After
the first media timeout, it was another three-ball that gave the Fighting Hawks their largest lead of the half at 5. They would grow the lead to six, but the Tigers kept clawing back despite the hot hand from North Dakota.
Clemson would regain the lead with about six and a half minutes to go in the half on a pair of Dallas Thomas free throws. Two three-balls from Thomas would actually grow the Tiger lead to six of their own, but the Fighting Hawks just would not back down or go away. Within 32 seconds of each other, North Dakota would retake the lead on a pair of threes, and the two teams would trade three-pointers the rest of the half. The Fighting Hawks would hit the break up 40-38.
The Tigers committed seven turnovers in the first half, and North Dakota lit up the three-point line. Clemson really struggled on defense, despite out-rebounding the Fighting Hawks. Tiger guard Cole Certa had an abysmal shooting half, starting 1-for-6 from the floor. His teammates, Liutauras Lelevicius and Chase Thompson, would carry the shooting into the first media timeout of the second half, both landing at 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting at the break, where the Tigers led, 47-46.
Clemson eventually opened an 8-0 run to go up by five again, but turnovers and fouls would keep the Fighting Hawks in the game. By the 13:17 mark of the second half, Clemson had already committed its 10th turnover of the game. Within three minutes, North Dakota had tied the game again at 55-all.
At this point, Ace Buckner had still not registered a make from the field. That would change as he broke the tie on a layup, and back-and-forth we went as the two teams began to inch closer to crunch time.
63-60 Clemson was our score at the under-8 timeout, despite the Tigers outshooting North Dakota, 60% to 43%.
Down the stretch, the ref’s whistle was getting plenty of action, but thankfully it was not going against the Tigers, and in the blink of an eye, Clemson had stretched its lead to 72-63 with just over 5 minutes to play. The combination of Lelevicius and Thompson continued to shine for the Tigers, who had combined for 35 of Clemson’s 72 points up until that point.
Eventually, the size and strength of the Tigers took over, and Clemson dominated the Fighting Hawks over the final four or five minutes, leading by as many as 16 en route to a 92-77 victory over North Dakota.
The defense for Clemson will have to tighten up. The Tigers gave up 13 three-pointers to the Fighting Hawks, and offensively, committed 12 turnovers. North Dakota had seven more steals than Clemson, and scored 18 points off turnovers compared to just 11 for the Tigers. Perhaps the biggest pitfall for the Fighting Hawks? Doubling up Clemson in the foul department, 18-9.
Lelevicius and Thompson would lead all scorers on the night, each posting 21 points on 71% and 90% shooting, respectively. Lelevicius also led the Tigers with eight rebounds, while Dylan Faulkner was the main ball distributor, posting eight assists and adding 12 points himself. Despite a poor first half, guard Ace Buckner would finish with 13 points and six assists himself.
The final score won’t show how hard fought this contest was. The Tigers improve to 3-0 while the Fighting Hawks drop t0 1-2. Next up for Clemson? A huge showdown with Georgetown on Friday night in Littlejohn Coliseum. The Tigers and Hoyas will both enter the game unbeaten in a much anticipated rematch following last season’s 79-74 Georgetown win in Washington, D.C., a game that felt like Clemson could have, and maybe should have, won. Both teams will be looking for an early statement win to start stacking their resumes.
Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.
