Dillon Hunter scored 15 points to help Clemson avoid an upset bid and win 70-63 against visiting Mercer on Saturday afternoon.
The Tigers (8-3) also got 12 points from Nick Davidson and 10 points each from Jestin Porter and Zac Foster.
Baraka Okojie led the charge for Mercer (7-3) with 20 points, five assists and three rebounds. Zaire Williams scored 15 points for the Bears.
Clemson led by eight points early in the game, but Mercer fought back and used an 18-6 run to take a nine-point advantage at the end of the first half. That Bears surge included eight points and two assists from Okojie.
Mercer led by five points with less than 10 minutes to play, then Clemson finally caught fire late in the second half, snapping a 14-2 run while the Bears endured a stretch without scoring a field goal for more than six minutes.
As the Tigers built their lead and continued to pull away in the game’s final moments, Mercer made just two of his final 13 field goal attempts.
The key for Clemson was its prowess inside, as it won the rebounding battle 36-26 and outscored Mercer 34-28 in the paint.
The Tigers bench also outscored the Bears reserves 22-6. Clemson’s bench effort was led by Foster, who punctuated the victory with a one-handed slam dunk on a fast break with about a minute to play. The 6-foot-4 freshman guard also grabbed seven rebounds.
The Tigers’ victory ends a two-game slide and gives them positive momentum heading into their Tuesday home showdown against in-state rival South Carolina.
For Mercer, the result was a missed opportunity. This would have marked the Bears’ first victory against a major conference opponent since beating Georgia Tech in November 2020.
–Field level media
