Field Level Media
Dec 29, 2020
Guards Nick Honor and Al-Amir Dawes combined for 24 second-half points as Clemson knocked off visiting No. 18 Florida State 77-67 on Tuesday night in an Atlantic Coast Conference game.
Honor, a transfer from Fordham, scored 10 points during a key second-half spurt that saw the Tigers pull away from a 54-54 tie to claim their second consecutive victory against the Seminoles.
Clemson won the teams' last meeting in February, 70-69, on a layup by Dawes with one second left. The Tigers and Seminoles were on the court ready to play again last March in the quarterfinal round of the ACC tournament when the event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Clemson moved to 7-1 overall and 1-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference while Florida State slipped to 5-2, 1-1. It was the Seminoles' first road game of the season.
Both teams struggled early and Clemson led 4-0 before Florida State managed to score its first points five minutes into the game. The Seminoles, who committed 10 first-half turnovers, and Tigers exchanged the lead four times over the next nine minutes before a 3-pointer by Clemson's Alex Hemenway tied the game at 21 with six minutes left in the half.
But the Seminoles responded with a 13-4 run to pull ahead by nine points, 34-25, before settling for a five-point lead at the half, 34-29.
Dawes, who is Clemson's second-leading scorer at 11 points per game, sparked an 8-0 run to open the second half that gave the Tigers a 37-36 lead. There were 10 lead changes and three ties over the next 10 minutes before Clemson began to pull away.
The Tigers led by nine points on a 3-pointer by Dawes with five minutes left and the Seminoles never drew closer than six points the rest of the game.
Guard Clyde Trapp led Clemson with 15 points. Honor and Dawes, who both were scoreless in the first half, added 13 and 11, respectively. Forward Aamir Simms had eight points and 11 rebounds for the Tigers, who outrebounded Florida State 49-35 and forced 17 turnovers.
Florida State got 14 points from freshman Scottie Barnes while M.J. Walker added 11.
--Field Level Media