Ian Schieffelin leads second half charge over Dons

In the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, it truly was a tale of two halves. (Photo: Kirby Lee / USATODAY)

by Grayson Mann - Correspondent - Nov 25, 2024, 8:42 PM

When the Tigers and Dons met for the first time, Brad Brownell’s unit took a while to get acquainted.

Ian Schieffelin made sure San Francisco knew exactly who Clemson was. Amid a 22-4 run, Schieffelin fought for his 12th rebound of the night and lobbed it back to Chase Hunter.

Hunter found Schieffelin inside, and the senior slammed it through to put the exclamation mark on a ferocious second half, cruising past the Dons, 70-55.

"An absolute 🐶 in the paint and on the glass"

📺 CBS Sports Network pic.twitter.com/Kzq3KR0md6
— Clemson Basketball (@ClemsonMBB) November 26, 2024

In the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, it truly was a tale of two halves.

The Tigers only put together 24 points in the first half, struggling to find any consistent rhythm against the Dons’ defense.

Clemson shot 33.3 percent from the field and coughed up the ball eight times as San Francisco appeared to find control in the Sunshine Slam. Conversely, the Dons shot over 40 percent in the first 20 minutes, drilling five of their ten shots from deep.

Brownell’s unit certainly had its work cut out for it, but it found it easy to assign Schieffelin, their workhorse, the task of leading the charge.

The senior finished with another double-double, dropping a season-high 18 points and crushing the Dons on the glass with 13 rebounds.

The Tigers feasted on the glass, posting a 40-22 advantage in rebounds over San Francisco. This domination inside led to several second-chance points for Brownell’s offense, hauling in 15.

Clemson also continues to get solid contributions from Viktor Lakhin. The Cincinnati transfer added 12 points, his fourth double-digit outing of the young season.

Beyond the starting five, Dillon Hunter picked up where he left off against Radford. Hunter finished with 11 points and six rebounds, slowly becoming a reliable piece off the bench.

The Dons finished the second half shooting under 30 percent, only draining three shots from deep. Clemson flipped its first-half woes, shooting 63 percent from the field in the second half, running away with the Sunshine Slam Semifinal.

Clemson will square off against Penn State in the Sunshine Slam Championship game against Penn State on Tuesday at 4 p.m. on the CBS Sports Network.