Clemson hadn’t beaten its in-state rival on the hardwood in nearly three years, but the Tigers’ defense made sure that drought didn’t last any longer Saturday.
In what more closely resembled a rock fight for the first 20 minutes and change, Clemson used a suffocating stretch late in the first half and well into the second to pull away from South Carolina for a 70-56 win at Littlejohn Coliseum. Hunter Tyson had 18 points and 13 rebounds for his first double-double of the season while PJ Hall added 16 points and eight boards for the Tigers (8-4), who notched their third straight win.
It was Clemson’s first over Carolina (8-3) since Dec. 22, 2018. The matchup with the rivals’ first since Carolina’s win at Littlejohn during the 2019-20 season with last year’s matchup being canceled amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Saturday’s game was in limbo as recently as Friday with COVID-19 issues again popping up in Carolina’s program. But the Gamecocks tested again Friday morning and still made the trip to Clemson late that afternoon without half of their top six scorers because of COVID-related issues and injuries. Carolina inserted three new players into the starting five, but both teams struggled to hit shots early.
They combined for just eight made baskets through the first 13 minutes, 40 seconds of game time before Clemson made six of its last 11 shots of the first half. Hall’s putback gave Clemson a brief 21-19 lead, and after a Carolina basket, the Tigers ripped off a 9-0 run for their largest lead of the half, taking a 30-24 advantage into the break after Chico Carter’s 3 at the buzzer for Carolina.
But the Tigers were just getting started.
Clemson opened the second half on a 22-3 spurt, which was part of a 31-6 run beginning at the 2:57 mark of the first. The Gamecocks missed their first 11 shots coming out of the locker room, going more than 8 minutes without a basket until J’Von Benson’s putback dunk ended Carolina’s drought with 11:54 left in the game.
By that point, Clemson led by 23, and the Gamecocks never got closer than 11 the rest of the way. The Tigers shot just 33.3% from the floor but raised that clip to 38% in the second half. Clemson also gave itself plenty of second and third looks with 19 offensive boards, part of a plus-16 rebounding advantage (51-35) for the Tigers.
It proved to be enough given Carolina’s struggles to score. The short-handed Gamecocks shot just 32.7% from the field, including a 25% clip from 3-point range. Their leading scorer coming in, Jermaine Couisnard, finished with just five points on 1 of 3 shooting – seven points fewer than his season average.
With non-conference play in the books, Clemson will try to keep its winning streak going when it jumps back into ACC play Wednesday at Virginia.
This story will be updated.