Marcquise Reed sat out again, but this time Shelton Mitchell and the rest of the Clemson team took care of things in his stead.
Mitchell scored 20 points to lead the Tigers, picking up the slack on the backcourt scoring typically headlined by Reed.
David Skara pitched in 16 points, while Elijah Thomas added 15 points and 9 rebounds despite spending much of the game in foul trouble.
The game was tightly contested throughout the first half, with Clemson taking a 31-30 lead into the break. The Tigers scored the first basket of the second half, but a subsequent 10-0 run by the Highlanders gave them a 40-33 lead.