Virginia Tech Hokies vs Clemson Tigers Match Player Stats On Feb 09, 2019

Shelton Mitchell scored 22 points and Clemson blocked 12 Virginia Tech shots Saturday as the Tigers knocked off the 11th-ranked Hokies 59-51 in Clemson, S.C.

Clemson's victory, its first against a ranked opponent this season, improved the Tigers to 15-8 overall and 5-5 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

It was Clemson's fourth consecutive victory in ACC play following a 1-5 start and snapped a four-game losing streak against Virginia Tech.

The Hokies slipped to 18-5 (7-4 ACC) with their second straight loss.

Mitchell, a graduate guard, made seven of his 14 shots from the floor, including a career-best 5-of-9 shooting from 3-point range.

Fellow graduate guard Marcquise Reed added 15 points as the Tigers improved to 11-2 at home this season.

Virginia Tech led 5-2 as Clemson missed its first four shots from 3-point range before Mitchell connected with 15:50 left in the first half, jump-starting a 12-0 run in which Mitchell accounted for all of the Tigers' points and gave Clemson a lead it would never relinquish.

Mitchell finished the first half with 18 points on 6-of-7 shooting, including 5-of-6 from beyond the arc, and the Tigers took a 33-29 lead into the half.

The Hokies pulled within a point, 41-40, on a basket by Kerry Blackshear Jr. with 12:28 remaining, but Reed and Hunter Tyson connected on back-to-back 3-pointers to push the Tigers' lead to 47-40 with 9:15 left, and the Hokies never got closer than three points the rest of the day.

Justin Robinson, Virginia Tech's second-leading scorer, missed a third straight game and is sidelined indefinitely after suffering a foot injury at Miami on Jan. 30.

Clemson held the Hokies to a season-low 28.3 percent shooting percentage to go along with the 12 blocked shots - a high in nine seasons under Coach Brad Brownell.

Clemson senior forward Elijah Thomas had seven blocks for a second consecutive game and has 22 blocks during the Tigers' four-game winning streak.

Blackshear, a junior forward, led Virginia Tech with 17 points on 5-of-8 shooting while sophomore guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker added 13 and graduate swingman Ty Outlaw scored 10.

--Field Level Media