CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Joe Harris scored 21 points and outscored Clemson by himself for most of the game Thursday night as Virginia used one of its best defensive efforts of the year to embarrass the Tigers 78-41.
Akil Mitchell added 16 points and Justin Anderson 14 as Virginia (16-6, 6-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) avenged one of its worst performances of the season, a 59-44 loss at Clemson on Jan. 12.
The Tigers (12-10, 4-6), who shot 77 percent in the second half of that game against the nation’s 10th-best field goal percentage defense (37.3 percent), had no such success on the Cavaliers’ home floor. Not until Devin Booker’s putback with 12:04 left made it 55-22 did they have more points than Harris.
The Tigers trailed 35-10 at halftime, the lowest scoring in a half against Virginia since Maryland did it in 1981, and became the eighth team to fail to score 20 points in a half against the Cavaliers.
