NEW YORK — Gabe DeVoe scored 25 points and Shelton Mitchell had 21 as No. 19 Clemson beat Boston College 90-82 on Thursday to advance to the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament semifinals for the first time since 2011.

The fourth-seeded Tigers (23-8) will face top-seeded and No. 1-ranked Virginia on Friday night.

The Eagles’ excellent backcourt of Jerome Robinson (20 points) and Ky Bowman (23 points) combined to shoot 10 for 32 from the field, a day after the pair scored 50 points to carry BC (19-15) to an upset of North Carolina State.

Clemson, picked to finish 13th in the ACC in the preseason, instead is having its best season in seven years under coach Brad Brownell. In their first game of this tournament, the Tigers were energetic on the defensive end and on target with their shots.

Clemson made 9 of 17 from 3-point range in the first half and Bowman and Robinson combined for seven points. That the Eagles (19-15) were down only seven was remarkable, but it quickly turned into a 15-point lead for Clemson in the second half — thanks to DeVoe.

The senior converted a steal into a layup, hit a 3, found Marcquise Reed under the basket for a lay-in and then dropped in a mid-range jumper in the first four minutes of the second half to make it 52-37.

Robinson and Bowman finally got going and BC closed the gap to 63-61 on Bowman’s corner 3 with 5:46 left. That was as close as it got. Clemson righted itself behind Mitchell and DeVoe and beat Boston College for the seventh straight time.

BIG PICTURE

Boston College: Maybe the fatigue of three games in three days caught up to the Eagles against a rested, quality opponent. Since the tournament became a five-day event in 2014, no team that played on Day 1 had ever made it to Day 3. BC also didn’t get much from center Nic Popovic against Clemson. After scoring a combined 35 points in victories against Georgia Tech and North Carolina State, Popovic scored nine points against Clemson while dealing with foul trouble.

Clemson: DeVoe, Mitchell, Reed and the rest of Clemson’s perimeter players held strong against Bowman and Robinson, cutting off lanes to the basket, forcing tough shots and getting help from center Elijah Thomas in the lane.

UP NEXT

Boston College: The Eagles are going to the NIT and that’s a big deal after six straight losing seasons.

Clemson: The Tigers scored 36 points in a loss at Virginia on Jan. 23, including 13 in the second half.