Ace Buckner scored 26 points on 9-for-14 shooting, and host Clemson held on for an 82-73 win over American on Friday night.
It was Buckner’s second straight game setting a new career scoring high after he dropped 20 in the season opener. Liutauras Lelevicius added 17 points and 10 rebounds for Clemson (2-0), which remained perfect on its home court to start the season.
Dylan Faulkner finished with 12 points and six rebounds, and Cole Certa contributed 10 points.
Madden Collins scored 23 points to lead American (0-2). Wyatt Nausadis scored 11 points off the bench, and Julen Iturbe and Greg Jones finished with 10 points apiece.
Clemson won the rebounding battle 40-29.
The Tigers led by single digits for much of the game but pulled ahead by double digits midway through the second half. Buckner converted a layup and a free throw to put Clemson on top 57-46 with 13:25 remaining.
American scored the next five points to close the gap to 57-51. Collins made a layup and Nausadis buried a 3-pointer.
Clemson regrouped to climb back on top by double digits, as Certa made a 3-pointer to put Clemson ahead 63-52 with 11 minutes left.
The Eagles briefly got back within six before the Tigers got away.
American jumped to a 13-6 lead in the first five minutes of the game. Collins made a layup to finish the early run for the Eagles.
Clemson responded with an 8-0 run to grab a 14-13 advantage with 10:53 left in the first half. Buckner made a layup and a jump shot, Faulkner made a layup and Certa sank a pair of free throws to give the Tigers the lead.
The back-and-forth battle continued as American evened the score at 22-all with 6:26 remaining in the half. Eric Michaels made a hook shot to pull the Eagles into a tie.
Lelevicius drained a 3-pointer on the next possession to help Clemson regain a 25-22 lead. The Tigers led for the rest of the first half and took a 39-35 lead into the half.