DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Ian Schieffelin played a pivotal role in Clemson’s impressive comeback by scoring 12 of his 18 points during a strong second half, alongside grabbing 13 rebounds, as the Tigers triumphed over San Francisco with a score of 70-55 in the Sunshine Slam Beach Division semifinal held on Monday night.

With this victory, Clemson improved its record to 5-1 and is set to face Penn State in the championship game on Tuesday. The Nittany Lions secured their place in the final by defeating Fordham in an earlier semifinal matchup.

The first half was challenging for the Tigers, who managed to shoot just 33% from the field and struggled from beyond the arc, hitting only 2 of 9 attempts. They found themselves trailing 29-24 by halftime.

However, the second half proved to be a turning point for Clemson. Schieffelin sparked a 16-4 run to start the half with three layups, helping his team to pull ahead decisively.

Throughout the game, Schieffelin connected on 7 of his 15 shots but had an off night from three-point range, missing all four attempts. He did go 4 of 5 from the free-throw line and contributed five assists for his team.

Viktor Lakhin added 12 points on an impressive 6-for-7 shooting performance. Dillon Hunter provided a strong bench presence, hitting three 3-pointers for a total of 11 points.

On the San Francisco side, Malik Thomas emerged as the leading scorer with 14 points. Impressively, he netted 12 of those in the first half but fell silent after the break, triggering worries about the Dons’ offensive strategy.

Clemson significantly improved its shooting performance in the second half, hitting 64.3% of their shots (18 out of 28) and finishing the game shooting at 48.3% overall. From three-point territory, they made 7 of 17 attempts and went 7 for 10 at the free-throw line.

In contrast, the Dons concluded the game with an overall shooting percentage of 39.2%, successfully making 8 of 24 from distance and converting all seven of their free-throw attempts.