GREENVILLE, S.C. -- A big beginning and a strong finish proved to be just enough for Virginia on Tuesday night.
Senior guard Malcolm Brogdon scored 18 points and the fourth-ranked Cavaliers dominated the first five minutes and the final five minutes en route to a 64-57 victory over Clemson in an Atlantic Coast Conference game at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
Virginia (23-6, 12-5 ACC) defeated Clemson (16-13, 9-8) for a fifth consecutive time and all but extinguished the Tigers' hopes for an NCAA Tournament at-large bid.
The Cavaliers, meanwhile, moved into sole possession of third place in the ACC with their 10th victory in 12 games. They are one game behind North Carolina and a half-game behind Miami.
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Virginia has won at least 23 games for four straight years and 12 league games for three consecutive years, but the latest victory didn't come easily.
"In this league, it's razor thin between teams," Virginia coach Tony Bennett said. "We came out right and played good, but then there were some breakdowns that cost us. It took three guys in double figures and two others with nine points, so that balance was important."
Clemson junior forward Jaron Blossomgame scored 31 points -- his 15th game of 20 or more points this season and his eight in the last 10 games. He is averaging 26 points in the Tigers' last six games.
Virginia went to a four-guard lineup in an effort to slow Blossomgame, who had 17 points in the second half.
"It was by necessity due to the way Jaron was playing," Bennett said. "We just didn't have anybody who could match up with him. He was terrific, so that forced us to go unconventional.
"But we righted the ship with those four guards, figured out our ball-screen defense."
Blossomgame scored the first 12 points of the second half for Clemson, helping to pull the Tigers ahead for the first time.
Clemson led 47-46 with 6:50 remaining, but Virginia scored seven consecutive points, including six from senior forward Anthony Gill, to regain control. The Tigers never drew closer than four points the rest of the way.
Clemson outshot Virginia, 43.5 percent to 40.4 percent from the field, but the Cavaliers were 9 of 19 from 3-point range and 13 of 15 from the free throw line, which proved too much for the Tigers to overcome.
And Blossomgame got little help as the only Clemson player in double figures.
"It's similar to our team two years ago when we had one great player (K.J. McDaniels)," Clemson coach Brad Brownell said. "We need one more guy to go with him. Virginiia has three superstar players who can have big nights against you. We just haven't consistently had that second or third guy."
Junior guard London Perrantes added 13 points and Gill had 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Cavaliers.
Brogdon scored 14 points to spark an early long-range barrage from Virginia on the way to a 33-27 halftime lead.
Virginia bolted to a 12-0 lead and never trailed, connecting on five 3-point shots in the first 10 minutes. Brogdon was 4 of 5 from beyond the arc in the first half.
Clemson missed its first 10 shots from the floor, then proceeded to make six in a row to begin cutting into its early deficit.
"They executed from the start and our guys showed great resilience," Brownell said. "To be down 12-zip and come back and take the lead is pretty good. There was probably a 25-minute stretch there where we outplayed them. But they know how to win close games."
Behind Blossomgame, the Tigers closed within three points on two occasions late in the half, the last when Blossomgame converted two free throws with 2:16 left to cut Virginia's lead to 28-25.
Virginia shot 43 percent from the field in the first half but 60 percent (6 of 10) from 3-point range.
Perrantes, the ACC's leading 3-point shooter, scored eight first-half points and was 2 of 3 from beyond the arc.
NOTES: Virginia G London Perrantes leads the ACC in 3-point field goal percentage at 51.9 percent. ... Virginia G Malcolm Brogdon has scored 20 or more points in nine of Virginia's last 14 games. ... F Donte Grantham leads Clemson with 53 3-pointers, the most by a Tigers player since the 2011-12 season. ... Clemson C Landry Nnoko has 69 blocked shots this season for an ACC-leading 2.4 average per game.
