Pitt
12-9 (2-6ACC)
Clemson
12-8 (2-5ACC)
Clemson's Hot Shooting Sinks Pitt, 82-69
1/29/2019 11:25:00 PM | Men's Basketball
CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) Clemson senior guard Marcquise Reed scored 26 points and led a barrage from 3-point range as the Tigers defeated Pitt, 82-69, in an Atlantic Coast Conference game at Littlejohn Coliseum.
Reed and the Tigers (12-8, 2-5) rediscovered their shooting touch from long range, connecting on a season-high 14 3-point shots and shooting 51.9 percent from beyond the arc.
Reed's backcourt mate, senior guard Shelton Mitchell, broke out of his recent slump with 14 points. Mitchell entered the game having made only 2 of his 19 attempts from 3-point range in ACC games, but was a perfect 4 of 4 from beyond the arc in the first half.
His four 3-pointers matched his career high and helped the Tigers to their largest lead of the game - a 28-point halftime advantage at 51-23.
Clemson made 67.7 percent of its shots in the first half, which is the highest first-half percentage in nine seasons under coach Brad Brownell. The Tigers' 51 points in the first half also matched the most first-half points scored in the Brownell era.
''They got off to a great start and we gave them no resistance,'' first-year Pitt coach Jeff Capel said. ''Marcquise is a veteran player and he really got them going early.''
Xavier Johnson led the Panthers (12-9, 2-6) with a career-high 30 points, his seventh game with 20+ points this season to set a Pitt freshman record. Johnson's 30 points were tied for the second most in a game by a Pitt freshman and gave him 19 double-digit scoring games this season.
Senior swingman Jared Wilson-Frame added 14 points for the Panthers.
THE BIG PICTURE
Pitt: The Panthers have lost 16 consecutive ACC games away from home, but may have two opportunities to end that streak on the horizon - Pitt plays at Wake Forest (1-6) on Feb. 5 and at Boston College (2-4) on Feb. 12. The Panthers' last road victory came at Boston College on Feb. 8, 2017.
Clemson: Clemson moved into 11th place in the 15-team ACC and despite a 2-5 record kept alive flickering hopes for a second consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament. Considering the Tigers returned four starters from last year's 25-win, Sweet 16 team and were picked to finish sixth in the ACC, the Tigers haven't lived up to expectations. But with six of their remaining 11 league games set for Littlejohn Coliseum, the Tigers still have a chance to make some noise.
UP NEXT
Pitt plays host to Syracuse on Saturday at the Petersen Events Center.
Clemson faces Wake Forest in a second consecutive game at Littlejohn Coliseum on Sunday.
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