American’s hot shooting made Clemson work for its second victory, but the Tigers had an answer in Ace Buckner. The sophomore guard delivered a career-high 26 points Friday night, helping Clemson pull away for an 82-73 win at Littlejohn Coliseum.

Buckner scored 19 of his points after halftime, building on his 20-point performance in the season opener against Stetson. He finished 9-for-14 from the field and 5-for-8 from 3-point range, setting career highs in both made field goals and made threes.

His biggest stretch came with Clemson protecting a 51-46 advantage. Buckner scored the Tigers’ next 10 points, providing the offense needed to create some separation against an American team that continued to threaten from the perimeter.

The Eagles knocked down seven first-half threes and trailed just 39-35 at the break. After American pulled within six in the second half, Clemson responded with six unanswered points to push its lead to 69-57 with 7:10 remaining.

Liutauras Lelevicius gave the Tigers another reliable outside option, connecting on five of his seven 3-point attempts and recording his first Clemson double-double. Dylan Faulkner contributed 12 points, six rebounds and two steals, while Cole Certa added 10 points.

Madden Collins paced American with 23 points on 10-for-20 shooting. The Eagles finished 13-for-28 from beyond the arc, while Clemson made 12 of its 27 attempts.

The Tigers improved to 2-0 and will continue their season-opening homestand Monday against North Dakota. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. on ACC Network Extra.