BC beats No. 20 Clemson 62-54; Tigers’ lead sliced atop ACC

BOSTON (AP) — Clemson wasn’t able to escape onthe road this time.

Makai Ashton-Langford had two key driving baskets in the closingtwo minutes and finished with 15 points to help Boston College beatthe 20th-ranked Tigers 62-54 on Tuesday night.

“I couldn’t get my guys under control. I couldn’t get them torelax. That’s my fault,” Clemson coach Brad Brownell said. “Forwhatever reason, we just didn’t do a good job tonight. I didn’t doa good job as a coach.”

On Saturday, Clemson escaped with an 82-81 victory at FloridaState.

Jaeden Zackery added 13 points for the Eagles (11-12, 5-7Atlantic Coast Conference). BC held Clemson to one meaningful fieldgoal — and that came with 18 seconds left — in the final 13:16.

Hunter Tyson led Clemson (18-5, 10-2) with 22 points and ChaseHunter had 12. The Tigers fell into a tie in the loss column atopthe ACC with No. 6 Virginia (9-2 ACC).

“It was one of those nights where the other team played betterthan we did,” Brownell said. “We had a lot of self-inflictedwounds. We didn’t share the ball much. When we got behind, we kindof panicked and hoped Chase and Hunter would bail us out. That’spoor coaching.”

The Eagles used a 5-0 spurt — with T.J. Bickerstaff hitting afree throw and getting a driving layup — to pull ahead 50-45 withjust over five minutes to play.

Clemson sliced it to 50-47 before Aston-Langford made his twobig baskets. He followed that by making two free throws with 32seconds left.

“That’s just about digging deep honestly,” Zackery said. “That’sjust all it was. We’ve been kind of talking about it all seasonthat we’ve just got to come out and grind.”

Trailing by 10 midway into the second half, the Tigers went on a10-0 spree, tying it at 45 when RJ Godfrey hit both ends of a1-and-1.

The Eagles had opened a double-digit lead twice in the openingsix minutes of the second half, the later 45-35 on Prince Aligbe’sfoul-line jumper with 14:12 to play.

BIG PICTURE

Clemson: Off to a solid start in conference play, the Tigerswere tested on the road for the second straight game after edgingFlorida State. It hasn’t been easy for them away from home with a4-3 record and with three away matchups against North Carolina,North Carolina State and Virginia to go, they’ll need to get itstraightened out of they’re going to win the ACC regular-seasontitle.

Boston College: The Eagles proved when they play defense thatthey’re a tough out in coach Earl Grant’s second season. A littlemore offense could make them very dangerous for top ACC teams toplay.

“I just tell the guys that we’re just trying to buildsomething,” Grant said of his team’s defense down the stretch. “Youare what you repeatedly do. You build habits.”

ARRIVING LATE

In the first half, Clemson’s man-to-man defense smothered theEagles’ offense for the opening 10 minutes, holding them in singledigits in scoring until just about the same time the studentsection finished filling up late, bringing some energy to a veryquiet building.

BC’s players then responded, closing the half with a 22-4 spreethat turned an 11-point deficit to a 30-23 halftime edge.

SIDELINED

Both teams were missing key players. Guard Brevin Galloway,Clemson’s fourth leading scorer at 10.6 points per game, wassidelined with an abdominal injury. For BC, guard DeMarr LangfordJr., who logs big minutes at the point, was out with a kneeinjury.

UP NEXT

Clemson: Hosts No. 23 Miami on Saturday.

Boston College: Hosts Syracuse on Saturday.