CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — Jailen Bedford scored 23 points, Ben Hammond had 17 of his 19 points in the second half and Virginia Tech knocked No. 20 Clemson out of a first-place Atlantic Coast Conference tie with No. 4 Duke, beating the Tigers 76-66 on Wednesday night.
Bedford was the first-half spark with Hammond taking over after halftime as the Hokies (17-8, 6-6) snapped a two-game losing streak with their first win at Clemson since coach Mike Young’s first season in 2019-20.
The Tigers (20-5, 10-2) moved into tie for the top after the Blue Devils’ drama-filled loss to rival North Carolina on Saturday night. But Virginia Tech used an 11-5 run, fueled by Bradford’s eight points, to close the first half up 40-33.
Clemson got to 40-38 early on in the second half, but gradually fell behind by 12 points, 52-40, on Hammond’s second 3-pointer. The Tigers closed to 69-64 on Carter Welling’s three-point play with 2:36 remaining. Bedford followed with his fourth 3-pointer to thwart Clemson’s comeback hopes.
Bradford got things going for the Hokies with two 3-pointers, then had a three-point play, an inside basket and a 3-pointer as Virginia Tech took control;.
Clemson, coming off nearly a week on the West Coast with back-to-back wins over Stanford and Cal, had won 27 of its last 30 ACC regular-season games. But the Tigers looked a step slow throughout and allowed the Hokies to shoot 52% for the game, including 11 of 21 from three-point range.
Welling had 19 points and six rebounds to lead Clemson. RJ Godfrey, the Tigers leading scorer at 11.9 points coming in, was held to six points.
Up next
Virginia Tech: Hosts Florida State on Saturday.
Clemson: At No. 4 Duke on Saturday.
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Pete Iacobelli, The Associated Press
