Clemson delivered a dominant performance on Saturday, Feb. 22, defeating SMU 79-69 with a standout showing from Jaeden Zackery. The junior guard poured in 19 points, including a career-high of five 3-pointers before halftime and added six rebounds, seven assists, and five steals, leading the Tigers to victory.
Clemson guard Chase Hunter contributed 17 points while center Viktor added 16, as Clemson extended their impressive season with a program-record 14th conference win, tying them for second place in the ACC.
“We had a terrific win for our team,” Clemson head coach Brad Brownell said. “It helps that we shoot the ball as often as we did, it’s not often that you see 14 threes in one game. But I knew our guys were locked in.”
Despite strong individual performances, including 16 points from SMU guard Chuck Harris and 12-point efforts from both forward Matt Cross and guard B.J. Edwards, the Mustangs couldn’t keep up with Clemson’s explosive offense. Although SMU briefly took the lead in the first half, the Tigers closed out the half on a 7-2 run.
In the second half, Clemson started with a 9-0 spurt. Clemson’s largest lead reached 18 points as their shooting caught fire, finishing with 14 three-pointers, matching their season high. In spite of Clemson’s strong offensive showing, SMU head coach Andy Enfield remarked on an improvement in the Mustangs’ defense.
“We’ve been playing good defense,” Enfield said. “We played a good defense against Notre Dame, and I believe that our defense improved.”
For the third consecutive game, the Mustangs missed Boopie Miller, a key player. The junior guard, who averages 13.4 points and 5.7 assists per game, sat the bench due to a bruised left foot. The absence of SMU’s starting guard was a tough blow, especially given the game’s high stakes. A win would have pushed SMU into the top 25 for the first time since the 2016-17 season, but without Miller’s presence on the floor, SMU couldn’t hit the milestone.
The loss was tough for SMU as they now stand at 20-7 overall and 11-5 in the ACC.
“I hope we win our next game,” Adele Harris, an SMU junior, said. “Honestly, I thought we were going to win against Clemson.”
The Mustangs will take on the California Golden Bears tonight at 10 p.m. CT.
