Jaron Blossomgame had 14 points and seven rebounds for Clemson (15-10, 7-6 ACC), while Roper finished with a team-high five assists. Rod Hall added nine points and Landry Nnoko chipped in eight points, six rebounds and three blocks.
Malik Muller led Virginia Tech (10-15, 2-10) with 17 points, including five 3-pointers. Adam Smith had 13 points for the Hokies, who shot 36.7 percent from the field.
The Tigers jumped out of the gate fast, scoring the game's first 10 points, including eight by Roper, and the lead increased to 21-4 with just under 13 minutes to play on Sidy Djitte's layup. The lead hit 22 at 34-12 on Austin Ajukwa's free throws with under six minutes left before halftime, though Virginia Tech pulled back within 19 by the break.
Any hope the Hokies had of coming back in the second half was over in the first four minutes, as the Tigers went on a 17-2 run that included a pair of 3-pointers by Roper and one by Blossomgame. Clemson had just one field goal over a span of nine minutes but Tech was only able to cut the lead to 20 as the Tigers were never seriously threatened the rest of the way.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The Tigers won the rebound battle, 38-28. … The Hokies lost for the 11th time in 13 games. … Clemson came into the game averaging just 10.5 assists per game but had 16 on 27 made field goals.
Virginia Tech | Clemson | |
Malik Muller 17 | Scoring | Jordan Roper 21 |
Devin Wilson 5 | Assists | Jordan Roper 5 |
Christian Beyer 4 | Rebounds | Jaron Blossomgame 7 |
Adam Smith 3 | Free Throws Made | Rod Hall 4 |
Shane Henry 1 | Steals | Jordan Roper 2 |
Shane Henry 1 | Blocks | Landry Nnoko 3 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Virginia Tech | 54 | 36.7 | 8-23 | 10-16 | 8 | 24 | 1 | 3 | 11 |
Clemson | 75 | 47.4 | 11-29 | 10-15 | 16 | 37 | 5 | 7 | 8 |