Ace Buckner leads unbeaten Clemson against North Dakota
Guard Ace Buckner is off to a great start, and that's great news for Clemson Tigers as it takes the first steps toward what it hopes will be a fourth consecutive season of reaching the NCAA Tournament.
Buckner will lead the Tigers (2-0) into their third consecutive home game to open the season when they meet North Dakota Fighting Hawks (1-1) on Monday night.
Buckner is the centerpiece of Clemson's guard-centric offense this season and is averaging 23 points per game after wins against Stetson and American University.
Buckner's 26 points against the latter was a career high, and he is the first Clemson guard since the 2004-05 season to record back-to-back 20-point games to open a season.
Tigers coach Brad Brownell said he'd like to see improvement in other areas from Buckner, who had six assists against American but also three turnovers.
"I'm not worried about him scoring. I didn't think he did some of the other things as well," Brownell said. "Defensively, he wasn't as good as he is. But when the game was on the line, he made the plays to win, and he's got that in him. That's what big-time players do, and he certainly is one."
Clemson's Liutauras Lelevicius (15 points per game), Dylan Faulkner (14) and Cole Certa (11.5) are averaging in double figures in scoring through two games.
North Dakota will play its second power-conference opponent in three games to open the season. The Fighting Hawks lost at Minnesota 85-50 last Monday to open the season before winning 93-90 at Winthrop on Saturday.
Samuel Hincapie had 24 points and seven rebounds against Winthrop, and Luke Winkel had 16 points and six assists.
Hincapie bounced back after being held to five points against Minnesota and is averaging a team-best 5.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks after two games. Winkel (10 ppg, 4 rpg) and Andrija Radojevic (12.5 ppg) are off to positive starts as well.
"It's the process. It's the growth and learning how to play against good teams that stress you in so many ways," North Dakota coach Paul Sather said last week.
-Field Level Media
Copyright 2026 STATS LLC and Field Level Media. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Field Level Media is strictly prohibited.
| Time | Team | Play | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3:59 |  | TV timeout | ||
| 3:59 |  | Fighting Hawks offensive rebound | ||
| 3:59 | | Jayden Moore misses two point layup | ||
| 4:04 | | Jayden Moore defensive rebound | ||
| 4:06 | | Jayden Thomas blocks Dallas Thomas's two point dunk | ||
| 4:30 | | +2 | Andrija Radojevic makes two point layup (Jayden Moore assists) | 29-33 |
| 4:51 | | +3 | Dallas Thomas makes three point jump shot (Cole Certa assists) | 27-33 |
| 5:13 | | Dallas Thomas defensive rebound | ||
| 5:15 | | Carter Evanson misses three point jump shot | ||
| 5:24 | | Zach Kraft defensive rebound | ||
| 5:26 | | Cole Certa misses three point jump shot | ||
| 5:34 | | +2 | Jayden Moore makes two point layup | 27-30 |
| 5:53 | | +3 | Dallas Thomas makes three point jump shot (Ace Buckner assists) | 25-30 |
| 5:59 | | Cole Certa defensive rebound | ||
| 6:01 | | Andrija Radojevic misses two point jump shot | ||
| 6:29 | | +1 | Dallas Thomas makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 25-27 |
| 6:29 | | +1 | Dallas Thomas makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 25-26 |
| 6:30 | | Daemon Ely shooting foul (Dallas Thomas draws the foul) | ||
| 6:38 | | Dallas Thomas defensive rebound | ||
| 6:40 | | Jayden Moore misses two point jump shot | ||
| 7:01 | | +3 | David Fuchs makes three point jump shot | 25-25 |
| 7:26 | | Tigers defensive rebound | ||
| 7:28 | | David Fuchs blocks Luke Winkel's three point jump shot | ||
| 7:48 | | Daemon Ely offensive rebound | ||
| 7:50 | | Luke Winkel misses three point jump shot | ||
| 8:04 | | Daemon Ely offensive rebound | ||
| 8:06 | | Luke Winkel misses three point jump shot | ||
| 8:29 | | Fighting Hawks 30 second timeout | ||
| 8:29 | | +2 | Liutauras Lelevicius makes two point layup | 25-22 |
| 8:29 | | Dylan Faulkner offensive rebound | ||
| 8:31 | | Cole Certa misses three point jump shot | ||
| 8:42 | | Liutauras Lelevicius defensive rebound | ||
| 8:44 | | Zach Kraft misses three point jump shot | ||
| 8:51 | | Harris Reynolds turnover (lost ball) (Zach Kraft steals) | ||
| 9:20 | | +2 | Zack Parks makes two point jump shot | 25-20 |
| 9:48 | | +3 | Liutauras Lelevicius makes three point jump shot (Cole Certa assists) | 23-20 |
| 9:59 | | +3 | Zach Kraft makes three point jump shot (Luke Winkel assists) | 23-17 |
| 10:14 | | Harris Reynolds turnover (bad pass) (Samuel Hincapie steals) | ||
| 10:26 | | Liutauras Lelevicius defensive rebound | ||
| 10:28 | | Dylan Faulkner blocks Zack Parks's two point layup | ||
| 10:39 | | Zack Parks offensive rebound | ||
| 10:41 | | Luke Winkel misses two point layup | ||
| 10:56 | | Zach Kraft defensive rebound | ||
| 10:56 | | Dylan Faulkner misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | ||
| 10:56 | | Dylan Faulkner misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | ||
| 10:56 | | Josh Jones shooting foul (Dylan Faulkner draws the foul) | ||
| 11:00 | | Tigers offensive rebound | ||
| 11:02 | | Cole Certa misses three point jump shot | ||
| 11:14 | | +2 | Luke Winkel makes two point jump shot | 20-17 |
| 11:28 | | +1 | Cole Certa makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 18-17 |
| 11:28 | | +1 | Cole Certa makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 18-16 |
| 11:28 | | Josh Jones shooting foul (Cole Certa draws the foul) | ||
| 11:46 | | TV timeout | ||
| 11:46 | | Zack Parks turnover (lost ball) | ||
| 12:10 | | Jayden Thomas defensive rebound | ||
| 12:12 | | Dallas Thomas misses three point jump shot | ||
| 12:30 | | +2 | Jayden Thomas makes two point layup | 18-15 |
| 12:50 | | +2 | David Fuchs makes two point dunk (Ace Buckner assists) | 16-15 |
| 13:01 | | Ace Buckner defensive rebound | ||
| 13:03 | | Jayden Moore misses two point jump shot | ||
| 13:21 | | +1 | David Fuchs makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 16-13 |
| 13:21 | | +1 | David Fuchs makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 16-12 |
| 13:21 | | Carter Evanson shooting foul (David Fuchs draws the foul) | ||
| 13:29 | | Cole Certa defensive rebound | ||
| 13:31 | | Andrija Radojevic misses three point jump shot | ||
| 13:44 | | Dallas Thomas personal foul | ||
| 14:02 | | Harris Reynolds turnover (bad pass) (Carter Evanson steals) | ||
| 14:25 | | +3 | Carter Evanson makes three point jump shot (Zack Parks assists) | 16-11 |
| 14:45 | | TV timeout | ||
| 14:45 | | Liutauras Lelevicius turnover (bad pass) | ||
| 14:47 | | +2 | Luke Winkel makes two point jump shot | 13-11 |
| 15:19 | | +2 | Cole Certa makes two point jump shot | 11-11 |
| 15:35 | | +2 | Samuel Hincapie makes two point layup | 11-9 |
| 15:46 | | Ace Buckner turnover (bad pass) (Zach Kraft steals) | ||
| 16:03 | | +3 | Zach Kraft makes three point jump shot | 9-9 |
| 16:28 | | +2 | Dylan Faulkner makes two point layup (Cole Certa assists) | 6-9 |
| 16:44 | | +3 | Zach Kraft makes three point jump shot (Luke Winkel assists) | 6-7 |
| 16:54 | | Cole Certa turnover (bad pass) (Carter Evanson steals) | ||
| 17:11 | | Liutauras Lelevicius defensive rebound | ||
| 17:13 | | Samuel Hincapie misses three point jump shot | ||
| 17:31 | | Josh Jones defensive rebound | ||
| 17:33 | | Liutauras Lelevicius misses three point jump shot | ||
| 17:39 | | Ace Buckner defensive rebound | ||
| 17:41 | | Luke Winkel misses two point layup | ||
| 18:01 | | +2 | Dylan Faulkner makes two point layup | 3-7 |
| 18:30 | | +3 | Carter Evanson makes three point jump shot (Samuel Hincapie assists) | 3-5 |
| 18:56 | | +3 | Chase Thompson makes three point jump shot (Cole Certa assists) | 0-5 |
| 19:16 | | Ace Buckner defensive rebound | ||
| 19:18 | | Samuel Hincapie misses three point jump shot | ||
| 19:47 | | +2 | Chase Thompson makes two point layup (Dylan Faulkner assists) | 0-2 |
| 20:00 | | (Tigers gains possession) |
| Min. Per Game | ||
| Pts. Per Game | ||
| Ast. Per Game | ||
| Reb. Per Game | ||
| Field Goal % | ||
| Three Point % | ||
| Free Throw % |
|
Fighting Hawks offensive rebound | 3:59 |
|
Jayden Moore misses two point layup | 3:59 |
|
Jayden Moore defensive rebound | 4:04 |
|
Jayden Thomas blocks Dallas Thomas's two point dunk | 4:06 |
| |
+ 2 | Andrija Radojevic makes two point layup (Jayden Moore assists) | 4:30 |
| |
+ 3 | Dallas Thomas makes three point jump shot (Cole Certa assists) | 4:51 |
|
Dallas Thomas defensive rebound | 5:13 |
|
Carter Evanson misses three point jump shot | 5:15 |
|
Zach Kraft defensive rebound | 5:24 |
|
Cole Certa misses three point jump shot | 5:26 |
| |
+ 2 | Jayden Moore makes two point layup | 5:34 |
| Team Stats | |
|
|---|---|---|
| Points | 29 | 33 |
| Field Goals | 12-27 (44.4%) | 11-17 (64.7%) |
| 3-Pointers | 5-13 (38.5%) | 5-10 (50.0%) |
| Free Throws | 0-0 (0.0%) | 6-8 (75.0%) |
| Total Rebounds | 9 | 13 |
| Offensive | 3 | 1 |
| Defensive | 5 | 10 |
| Team | 1 | 2 |
| Assists | 5 | 7 |
| Steals | 5 | 0 |
| Blocks | 1 | 2 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 6 |
| Fouls | 4 | 1 |
| Technicals | 0 | 0 |
|
| Team Stats | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
71.5 PPG | 43.0 RPG | 9.0 APG |
|
|
83.5 PPG | 40.5 RPG | 16.0 APG |
| Starters | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | STL | BLK | TO | OREB | DREB |
| Z. Kraft | 9 | 2 | 0 | 3/4 | 3/4 | 0/0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| C. Evanson | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2/3 | 2/3 | 0/0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| L. Winkel | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2/7 | 0/3 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| S. Hincapie | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1/3 | 0/2 | 0/0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| J. Jones | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Starters | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | STL | BLK | TO | OREB | DREB |
| Z. Kraft | 9 | 2 | 0 | 3/4 | 3/4 | 0/0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| C. Evanson | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2/3 | 2/3 | 0/0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| L. Winkel | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2/7 | 0/3 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| S. Hincapie | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1/3 | 0/2 | 0/0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| J. Jones | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Bench | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | STL | BLK | TO | OREB | DREB |
| J. Moore | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| J. Thomas | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| A. Radojevic | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Z. Parks | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| D. Ely | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| K. Ouse | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| T. Wagner | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| D. Dungey | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| S. Hanson | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 29 | 8 | 5 | 12/27 | 5/13 | 0/0 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| Starters | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | STL | BLK | TO | OREB | DREB |
| C. Thompson | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2/2 | 1/1 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| L. Lelevicius | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2/3 | 1/2 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| D. Faulkner | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2/2 | 0/0 | 0/2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| C. Certa | 4 | 2 | 4 | 1/4 | 0/3 | 2/2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| A. Buckner | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Starters | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | STL | BLK | TO | OREB | DREB |
| C. Thompson | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2/2 | 1/1 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| L. Lelevicius | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2/3 | 1/2 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| D. Faulkner | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2/2 | 0/0 | 0/2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| C. Certa | 4 | 2 | 4 | 1/4 | 0/3 | 2/2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| A. Buckner | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Bench | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | STL | BLK | TO | OREB | DREB |
| D. Thomas | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| D. Fuchs | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| H. Reynolds | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| A. James | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| B. Davidson | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| T. Steinour | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| W. Stevens | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 33 | 11 | 7 | 11/17 | 5/10 | 6/8 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 10 |