No. 4 Virginia basketball escaped an upset bid by Clemson, 64-57, in an ugly Super Tuesday contest at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, S.C.
The Cavaliers (23-6, 12-5 ACC) appeared poised to run the Tigers (16-13, 9-8 ACC) out of their building. At the game’s first media timeout at 15:03, Virginia led 12-0 and made four of their first seven shots while Clemson missed their first 10 attempts.
But the break in the action allowed coach Brad Brownell’s squad to catch their breath, and the Tigers outscored the Cavaliers 27-21 in the final 15 minutes of the first half.
Junior forward Jaron Blossomgame picked up where he left off against Virginia. The Alpharetta, Ga. native, who scored 23 points on 8-15 in the Jan. 19 meeting against the Cavaliers, led his team with 14 first-half points on four-of-nine shooting.
As has become the norm, senior guard Malcolm Brogdon carried the Cavaliers out of the gate. The Atlanta, Ga. native scored 14 of Virginia’s first 21 points and made four three-pointers. Brogdon also finished the first half with two assists.
With the momentum of a strong close to the first half behind them, the Tigers built a 35-34 advantage with 16:23 on a three from Blossomgame, who scored Clemson’s first eight points in the second half.
Blossomgame scored a game-high 31 points on 10-16 shooting. The Chattahoochee High School alum has scored 20 or more points in 10 of his last 12 games, including a career-best 33 against North Carolina State Feb. 20.
Clemson pulled ahead three times in the second half but could never gain separation. The Tigers never led by more than a point.
After falling behind 47-46 with 6:50 to go, Virginia closed on an 18-10 run, including four clutch free throws by sophomore guard Marial Shayok and junior guard London Perrantes in the game’s final minute.
Brogdon followed up a dominant first half with a quiet performance in the second — scoring just four points on two-of-seven shooting. He finished with a game-high 18 points, four rebounds and three assists.
Senior forward Anthony Gill struggled from the field but recorded his third double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
The Cavaliers dominated the boards — outrebounding Clemson 34-27. Virginia limited the Tigers to just one second-chance point.
Virginia returns home Saturday for its final regular-season game against No. 11 Louisville.
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