CLEMSON — Jack Clark’s three-pointer from the top of the key with one second to play bounced off the back of the rim, as Virginia survived for a 66-65 victory over Clemson Saturday at Littlejohn Coliseum.

It was just that kind of afternoon for the Tigers, who trailed for much of the day.

The Cavaliers’ aggressive style of defense wore on the Tigers. Clemson shot just 36 percent from the field, while consistently missing shots at the rim. Virginia was not much better, but it was good enough to steal a much-needed road victory.

The Tigers had no field goals over the last 5:36 and missed six of their last seven shots. Yet, they still had an opportunity to win the game when Virginia’s Dante Harris missed the front end of a one-and-one with seven seconds to play.

“Virginia just wears you down with their defense,” Clemson head coach Brad Brownell said. “So you have to sustain.”

Clemson’s Jack Clark grabbed the rebound and got a quick outlet to Hunter, who raced up the floor, but instead of attacking the rim due to a double team, he threw it to Clark, who was trailing the play. Clark had no option but to lift up for a 21-footer as time ran out.

“I just made a quick decision and gave it to the open man,” Hunter said. “We still got a good look.”

The Tigers were just 7 of 20 from behind the arc.

The Cavs (17-5, 8-3 ACC) were led by Isaac McKneely’s and Reece Beekman’s 14 points, while Jacob Groves came off the bench to add 17 more.

Clemson (14-7, 4-6 ACC) got 19 points from PJ Hall, though he was just 4-for-16 from the field. The Clemson star was 10 of 12 from the foul line. The Tigers also got 14 points from Joe Girard, 13 points and nine rebounds from Ian Schieffelin and 12 points from Hunter.

“We shot ourselves in the foot a couple of times,” Hall said.

Hunter’s two free throws with 1:07 to play brought the Tigers within two points, 64-62, but Virginia’s Ryan Dunn tipped in a Jordan Minor shot with 36.3 to go.

Hall tried to cut it back to two points with 26.2 to go but his shot at the rim did not go in and the Cavaliers grabbed the rebound.

Hall later bounced back by making three free throws with seven seconds to play, cutting the Cavaliers’ lead to one point, 66-65.

With Virginia up one, McKneely nailed a three from the top of the key and drew a foul from Chase Hunter for a 64-59 lead with 2:11 to play.

Hall drained a three from the left side that gave the Tigers a 57-56 lead with 5:36 to go. It was Clemson’s first lead since 8-5 at the 16:47 mark of the first half.

The Cavaliers led by as many as 12 points early in the second half when McKneely knocked down a floater in the lane for a 38-26 advantage with 18:37 to play.

Clemson slowly battled back, cutting the Cavs’ lead to one basket on several possessions before Hall’s three put the Tigers briefly on top.

The Cavaliers led 34-26 at the break, thanks to Groves’ three from the left side with one second to play in the half.

Groves was 3-for-4 from behind the arc in the first half, the rest of the Cavs were 0-for-5.

Virginia used a 9-0 run to take a 27-16 lead, but the Tigers rallied with an 8-0 run of their own thanks to a Josh Beadle three from the right corner with the shot clock running down and a deep three from Girard on the left side on the next possession.

Beadle then laid a shot in with 2:27 to go to cut the score to 27-24.

Next: Clemson will travel to No. 3 North Carolina Tuesday night for a 7 p.m. tip on ESPN.