BOSTON — In a triumphant return to Chestnut Hill, Jaeden Zackery led No. 11 Clemson to a 78-69 win against Boston College by scoring 21 points, including a critical 3-pointer that halted a comeback attempt by his old team on Wednesday night.
Chase Hunter contributed 18 points while Viktor Lakhin added 11 points and pulled down 13 rebounds, supporting the Tigers’ (25-5, 17-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) ongoing winning streak, now at seven games.
For Boston College (12-18, 4-15), Jayden Hastings led the effort with 18 points. The Eagles found themselves trailing by 16 points in the first half, yet they closed the gap to 62-53 halfway through the second half. They managed a seven-point run that brought them within two points, but Clemson quickly responded. Lakhin’s forceful scoring under the basket and Zackery’s decisive 3-pointer from the corner stretched the Tigers’ lead back to seven.
Key points to note include Clemson’s remarkable resilience this season, having dropped only two games in regulation. Their sole loss in the past two months was an intense triple-overtime battle against Georgia Tech.
As for Boston College, the season’s struggles have positioned them among the bottom three in the ACC standings, eliminating their chances of advancing to the conference tournament.
A memorable moment came before the game when Zackery, who transferred from BC after averaging just under 11 points per game over three seasons, warmly embraced his former coach Earl Grant.
An important statistic from the match showed Clemson’s strong first-half performance from the 3-point line, hitting 6 of 10 attempts. However, they cooled off in the second half, making just 2 of 10.
Looking ahead, Clemson will host Virginia Tech on Saturday to conclude their regular season. Meanwhile, Boston College will cap off their schedule with a match against Pittsburgh.
