Chase Hunter puts up 23 as Clemson clobbers Syracuse

Chase Hunter scored 23 points to propel Clemson to an 86-72 home victory over Syracuse on Wednesday.Viktor Lakhin chipped in 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Tigers (16-4, 8-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), who have won seven of their past eight games. Jaeden Zackery contributed 14 points for Clemson, while Ian Schieffelin pitched in with 11 points.The Orange (9-10, 3-5) were led by J.J. Starling’s 25 points, while Eddie Lampkin Jr. notched 14 points and nine rebounds. Syracuse shot well from the field (53.8 percent), the 3-point arc (11 of 21) and the foul line (5 of 6) but was undone by 14 turnovers and the inability to stop the dynamic Clemson offense.The Tigers shot 56.4 percent from the floor and a crisp 9 of 20 from 3-point range. They also finished with 11 fastbreak points to zero for the visitors.Kyle Cuffe Jr. made a 3-pointer about nine minutes into the contest that brought Syracuse within 20-19, but Clemson took over from there.The Tigers unleashed a 12-2 run, beginning with a 3-pointer from Hunter. Shortly thereafter, Del Jones scored five straight points to expand the lead to nine before Jake Heidbreder’s layup made it 32-21.Starling knocked down a pair of 3-pointers, but each time Lakhin answered with a bucket.