DALLAS (AP) Jaeden Zackery had 19 points, including a career-best five 3-pointers before halftime, plus six rebounds, seven assists and five steals to help No. 18 Clemson beat SMU 79-69 Saturday.
Chase Hunter added 17 points and Viktor Lakhin had 16 for the Tigers (22-5, 14-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), who are tied for second with Louisville and one-game behind Duke.
Chuck Harris scored 16 points, and Matt Cross and B.J. Edwards had 12 each for the Mustangs (20-7, 11-5).
Clemson ended the first half on a 7-2 run after SMU took its only lead of the game at 30-29, then scored the first nine points of the second half. The Tigers’ largest lead was 18 points.
Clemson: The Tigers tied a program record for conference wins set two years ago. They can match or surpass their highest poll position this season, which was No. 16 in mid-December.
SMU: Boopie Miller, who leads the team averaging 13.4 points and 5.7 assists per game, missed his third consecutive game with a bruised left foot. A win could have vaulted the Mustangs into the Top 25 for the first time since the 2016-17 season. They’re instead 0-3 against ranked teams, losing by an average of 17.3 points.
Zackery’s mid-range miss at the 24-second buzzer early in the second half was rebounded by Lakhin. That led to Hunter’s 3-pointer amid the 9-0 run opening the second half.
Clemson, 61st in Division I averaging nine 3-pointers per game, matched that total with 6:17 left in the half. The Tigers hit 14, matching their season high, on 29 shots.
Clemson will host Notre Dame on Wednesday, when SMU visits California.
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| STARTERS | PTS | REB | AST | PF |
| J. Zackery | 19 | 6 | 7 | 2 |
| C. Hunter | 17 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| V. Lakhin | 16 | 6 | 1 | 3 |
| I. Schieffelin | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| D. Hunter | 2 | 2 | 7 | 3 |
| BENCH | PTS | REB | AST | PF |
| C. Wiggins | 8 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| M. Foster | 4 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| D. Jones | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| J. Heidbreder | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D. Nauseef | – | – | – | – |
| C. Reeves | – | – | – | – |
| M. Kelly | – | – | – | – |
| A. Latiff | – | – | – | – |
| J. Roberts | – | – | – | – |
| Total | 79 | 23 | 24 | 18 |
| STARTERS | PTS | REB | AST | PF |
| C. Harris | 16 | 4 | 5 | 2 |
| B. Edwards | 12 | 9 | 4 | 1 |
| M. Cross | 12 | 6 | 2 | 1 |
| S. Yigitoglu | 10 | 7 | 1 | 4 |
| K. Oquendo | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| BENCH | PTS | REB | AST | PF |
| K. Ambrose-Hylton | 9 | 4 | 1 | 2 |
| J. Colbert | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| A. George | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Y. Traore | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| T. Utter | – | – | – | – |
| N. Kalischer-Stork | – | – | – | – |
| C. Puryear | – | – | – | – |
| T. Gorener | – | – | – | – |
| J. Young | – | – | – | – |
| Total | 69 | 35 | 16 | 12 |