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12/16 20:50 CST Clemson beats South Carolina 68-61 behind Buckner's 19 points Clemson beats South Carolina 68-61 behind Buckner's 19 points CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) --- Ace Buckner scored 19 points, and Clemson jumped out early to cruise past South Carolina 68-61 on Tuesday night. Carter Welling added 16 points for Clemson, which is 9-3 overall and 7-0 at home. The Tigers had their largest lead, 56-43, on Welling's three-point play with 6:55 remaining. Nordin Kapic scored five straight points inside the final three minutes to pull the Gamecocks to 65-59 with 48 seconds left. Welling then hit a free throw, and Bucker added two more from the line to help seal the game with 15 seconds to play. Kobe Knox and Mike Sharavjamts each scored 13 points to lead South Carolina (7-4). Sharavjamts also grabbed seven rebounds. Clemson took the lead for good nearly eight minutes into the first half and built a 34-27 halftime advantage. Welling scored eight points as Clemson shot 50% (13 of 26) from the floor. Sharavjamts scored nine points to pace South Carolina, which shot 39% (11 of 28) overall and made just 2 of 15 from distance in the first half. The previous three games between the teams had been decided by five points or less. The last time South Carolina won at Clemson was a 67-54 victory on Dec. 15, 2019. It was the 175th game in the series, which South Carolina leads 93-82.

Up next Clemson faces Cincinnati on Sunday in the Greenville Winter Invitational. South Carolina hosts Albany on Dec. 30. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

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