Holmes’ 17 leads Clemson past Boston College

Point guard Avry Holmes scored 17 points and added a career-best 10 rebounds to lead Clemson to an 82-68 win over Boston College on Saturday.

After a sluggish start, Clemson (16-14, 6-12 ACC) finished the first half with 11 straight points, including back-to-back 3-pointers by Holmes. The senior went 4-of-5 from behind the arc in the first half on senior day.

Then after Clemson’s 21-point second half lead dwindled to 66-54 with less than six minutes to go, Holmes hit a 3-pointer to end the Boston College (9-22, 2-16) run.

Saturday’s victory was Clemson’s largest in the ACC this season, a relief for a team that hasn’t been successful sweating things out. Clemson is 1-8 in league games decided by six points or less.

Jaron Blossomgame added 17 points in his last game at Littlejohn Coliseum.

Jordan Chatman led Boston College with 17 points, while Jerome Robinson – the ACC’s fourth leading scorer at 19 points a game – had nine points, four rebounds and five assists before fouling out.

Both teams were locked into playing on the first day of the ACC tournament before the game started.

Clemson’s two-game winning streak might give it some momentum, critical when even a miracle trip to the ACC final might not be enough to get back on the bubble. But since the league expanded to a five-day tournament in 2014, no one who won on the opening day has gone on to another victory on Day 2.

This story was originally published March 4, 2017 at 9:44 PM with the headline "Holmes’ 17 leads Clemson past Boston College."