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ATLANTA (AP) - Gabe DeVoe scored a career-high 25 points, Marcquise Reed hit a decisive layup in the closing seconds and No. 18 Clemson held off Georgia Tech 72-70 on Sunday night.
The Tigers (17-4, 6-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) snapped a three-game road losing streak. They took their first lead on Elijah Thomas' three-point play early in the second half and didn't trail again even though Georgia Tech tied it at 70-all on two free throws by Josh Okogie with 41.2 seconds remaining.
Okogie missed an ensuing layup that set up Reed's layup at the 25-second mark, and Reed, with 3 seconds remaining, whiffed on his only free throw attempt of the game and his first in 15 attempts overall. Ben Lammers rebounded for Georgia Tech, but time expired before Jose Alvarado's long 3-point attempt bounced off the rim.
Okogie finished with 26 points, and Abdoulaye Gueye added 14 for Georgia Tech (10-11, 3-5), which has dropped four straight.
Clemson needed a dominant performance after getting blown out last Tuesday at No. 2 Virginia. The Tigers committed a season-high 19 turnovers against the Cavaliers, but they had just seven against the Jackets.
Lammers' lengthy one-handed putback gave the Jackets their first 10-point lead with 13:03 left in the first half. They were up by 12 twice before DeVoe's layup made it 29-24 at the 5:47 mark. Mitchell converted a four-point play in the last minute of the first half to make it 38-36 at intermission.
DeVoe kept the score close in the first half with 18 points. He was 4 for 5 on 3s before intermission.
GET TO THE RIM
Clemson lost its most accurate 3-point shooter when Grantham went down, but the Tigers' bigger problem is taking the ball to the rim. They began the game with the ACC's fourth-fewest free-throw attempts and ended a 51-minute streak without a two-shot attempt late in the first half when Shelton Mitchell hit a pair of free throws.
UP NEXT
Clemson: Hosts No. 10 North Carolina on Tuesday night.
Georgia Tech: Hosts Syracuse on Wednesday night.