Clemson falls to Virginia in semifinals of ACC Tournament

Virginia held off Clemson for a 64-58 win in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament Friday night in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Clemson led the Cavaliers 20-13 midway through the first half, but the Tigers struggled on offense late in the first half and trailed 32-23 at the break.

Virginia led by as many as 14 in the second half before the fourth-seeded Tigers rallied.

Clemson pulled to within 62-58 late, but the Cavaliers made clutch plays down the stretch to secure the victory.

Virginia, the No. 1 team in the country and No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament, will play the winner of North Carolina and Duke in Saturday’s ACC Tournament championship game.

The Cavaliers were led by Kyle Guy, who finished with 15 points, five rebounds and two assists.

Ty Jerome added six points, four rebounds and 10 assists for Virginia.

Shelton Mitchell and Elijah Thomas reached double figures for Clemson.

Mitchell led the Tigers with 18 points, while Thomas added 15 points and seven rebounds.

Virginia has likely locked up a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, which begins next week.

Clemson will find out its seed and NCAA Tournament destination on Selection Sunday. The Tigers are expected to be a top five seed and make the tournament for the first time in seven years.

This story was originally published March 9, 2018 at 9:13 PM with the headline "Clemson falls to Virginia in semifinals of ACC Tournament."