RJ Godfrey and Ace Buckner each had 13 points to lead No. 20 Clemson to a 77-55 Atlantic Coast Conference victory over Cal on Saturday night at Berkeley, Cal.
The Tigers (20-4, 10-1 ACC) tied Duke at the top of the conference standings, won their fourth in a row and their 13th in their past 14 games. Clemson also extended its road winning streak to 14 in a row.
Cal (17-7, 5-6 ACC) was unable to pick up a Quad 2 victory that could have boosted its NCAA Tournament chances and had a two-game winning streak snapped.
The Tigers reached the 20-win mark for the fourth consecutive season.
Clemson seized control in the first half with a 23-1 run over a stretch of 12:40.
The Tigers defended well and took advantage of a terrible shooting stretch for Cal, which went scoreless from the field for 7:44 and scored their lone point on a Chris Bell free throw.
The Golden Bears shot 0 for 13 during that stretch and committed eight turnovers.
Cal led 13-9 following a Justin Pippen 3-pointer before the Tigers’ run began.
Clemson led 32-14 before Dai Dai Ames’ layup with 2:41 left in the first half snapped Cal’s shooting drought.
The Golden Bears made only 6 of 25 shots in the first half. Although it shot much better in the second half, going 13 for 23 (56.5%), Cal never pulled closer than 15.
Pippen led the Golden Bears with a game-high 19 points along with five rebounds and two steals. Bell had 13 points and Ames finished with 12.
For the Tigers, Jake Wahlin and Carter Welling also contributed 11 points each. Clemson shot 55.1% (27 for 49) from the field and made 12 of 26 from 3-point range.
Wahlin led Clemson on the boards with six while Buckner had four assists.
