Field Level Media
Jan 13, 2018
Senior forward Donte Grantham scored 18 points as No. 19 Clemson defeated No. 18 Miami 72-63 on Saturday afternoon in an Atlantic Coast Conference game at Littlejohn Coliseum.
Grantham made 7 of 11 shots from the floor, including all four of his 3-point attempts to spark a Clemson barrage from beyond the arc.
Miami entered the game leading the ACC in 3-point field goal defense, allowing opponents to convert on only 26.5 percent of their attempts, but Clemson shot 57.1 percent from long range, making 12 of its 21 attempts.
Junior guard Marcquise Reed scored 16 points for Clemson, which improved to 15-2 overall and 4-1 in the ACC. Graduate forward Mark Donnal had 12 points and junior guard Shelton Mitchell chipped in 11 points and seven assists for the Tigers, who are off to their best start since 2009 and are 10-0 at Littlejohn Coliseum this season.
Miami (13-3, 2-2) received 16 points apiece from freshman guard Lonnie Walker IV and junior guard Anthony Lawrence II. Freshman guard Chris Lykes added 13 and sophomore forward Dewan Huell had 10.
The game marked the first time Clemson and Miami have played while both ranked in the Top 25.
Miami led by as many as seven points midway through the first half, but Clemson went on a 12-3 run to take the lead and forge a 34-30 halftime advantage. The Tigers' first-half flourish was sparked by Grantham, who was held scoreless for the first 13:20 of the game but scored eight points in the final 6:40 of the first half.
The Hurricanes tied the game at 44 with 12 minutes remaining, but Donnal came off the bench to hit back-to-back 3-pointers as the Tigers took the lead for good.
Clemson kept Miami at bay by converting 7 of 8 free throws in the final 2:16 and finished 16 of 17 from the charity stripe. The Tigers have made 66 of 79 free throws (83.5 percent) in their four ACC games.
--Field Level Media