Clemson holds off Louisville for its best start in ACC history

Clemson saw a comfortable lead trimmed to six late in the second half Wednesday night against Louisville, but just as he has all season, Hunter Tyson came up with the big shot.

The senior drilled a 3-pointer with 2:29 remaining to push Clemson’s lead back to a comfortable margin as the Tigers topped Louisville 83-70 at Littlejohn Coliseum.

With the win, Clemson improves to 14-3 (6-0). This is Clemson’s first 6-0 start in ACC history. The Tigers host Duke on Saturday at 5 p.m. The game is sold out.

“Hunter was terrific. … He’s just playing with a lot of confidence,” Clemson coach Brad Brownell said. “He’s shooting balls in. He’s attacking the basket, rebounding. He’s just a mature player. It’s a privilege to coach young people like that.”

Tyson, who is a senior, finished with 28 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Tigers.

The North Carolina native recorded his fifth consecutive double-double in the victory. He now has nine on the season.

Chase Hunter (13 points), PJ Hall (10) and Brevin Galloway (10) also reached double figures.

“I just was playing my game, taking what the defense gave me,” Tyson said. “When you have such dynamic guards like we have … a lot of times I just find myself with an open shot and I didn’t have to do any of the work. Chase does all the work and I reap the benefits.”

Clemson maintained sole possession of first place in the ACC with the win.

The Tigers are the only team in the league that is perfect in league play.

“It’s obviously fantastic. It’s great. But it’s just like when you say there’s nothing less important than the score at halftime, because that’s where we are,” Brownell said. “We’re in a very good groove right now. … But it’s still January 11. We’ve got a long way to to.”

The Cardinals were led by Mike James, who finished with 17 points and 5 rebounds.

Louisville jumped out to an early 16-7 lead, before Clemson used an 11-0 run to battle back and take the lead.

As good as Tyson was on the night, he was on the bench for most of the run as Clemson grabbed the lead thanks to strong bench play.

RJ Godfrey had four points, a rebound and an assist in four minutes off the bench, while Ben Middlebrooks had five points, two rebounds and an assist in 13 minutes.

Clemson led by as many as 17 points in the second half, before the Cardinals battled back, pulling to within as close as six in the final minutes.