Wesley helps Notre Dame jump out early, beat Clemson 76-61

CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — Blake Wesley scored 18 of his 21 points in the first eight minutes of the game as Notre Dame cruised to a 76-61 victory over Clemson on Saturday night.

Notre Dame (18-7, 11-3 Atlantic Coat Conference) has won four straight and eight out of its last nine games. Clemson (12-13, 4-10 Atlantic Coast Conference) has lost four consecutive games and five of its last six.

Dane Goodwin added 20 points and Cormac Ryan 13 for Notre Dame, which shot 53% (29 of 55) from the field and 54% (13 of 24) from long range. Wesley, Goodwin and Ryan combined for 11 3-pointers.

PJ Hall scored 19 points for Clemson. Nick Honor added 12 points and Naz Bohannon 10.

Wesley made his first six field-goal attempts that included four 3-pointers and grabbed five of his six rebounds as the Irish jumped out to a 28-11 lead and a 38-28 halftime advantage.

Clemson cut the deficit to 41-34. Goodwin then scored the next five points, Wesley and Ryan added 3s, and the Irish pulled away with a 15-5 run.

The Tigers were without senior guard David Collins, who was serving a one-game suspension from the ACC following the flagrant foul 2 that led to his ejection from Thursday’s game against Duke. Collins is averaging 10.5 points and 6.7 rebounds this season.

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