Clemson got 18 points from Joe Girard, who reached 2,000th career points in his return to Syracuse, and the Tigers defeated the Orange, 77-68, at JMA Wireless Dome Saturday.
The win marks the first time the Tigers (16-7 overall, 6-6 ACC) have posted back to back wins in conference play this season.
Girard was a big reason why. He made five of his six shots for the game, including four of five from 3-point range, to lead Clemson in scoring.
“I’m proud of him. He did not take bad shots. He stayed within the offense,” Clemson coach Brad Brownell said of Girard afterwards.
Clemson made 60 percent of its shots in Saturday’s contest. PJ Hall had 15 points, Ian Schieffelin added 11, and Chase Hunter finished with 10 in the Tigers’ victory — their first at Syracuse since 2016.
Similar to Tuesday’s win at No. 3 North Carolina, Clemson got out to a big lead early but had to withstand a second-half surge to hold on.
The Tigers used a 14-0 run in the first half to open up a 15-point lead at 27-12 when Girard sank a long 3-pointer near the under-8 media timeout. It was part of an 18-2 overall run by Clemson, which led 35-24 by halftime.
Syracuse (15-9 overall, 6-7 ACC) made their run in the second half, and when JJ Starling hit a fadeaway jumper with 3:37 left, the game was tied at 60-all. Clemson answered when Hall went right back down the floor and made a spin move for a layup to put the Tigers back on top.
Turns out, Clemson wouldn’t look back.
Hunter drove to the rim on the Tigers next possession to lay one in with 2:37 to play to make it 64-60. Girard then hit Schieffelin for a wide-open 3-pointer to push the lead to 67-60 with under two minutes to play. Schieffelin would hit another basket under heavy pressure with 1:31 left to up the lead to 69-61.
Hunter sank two foul shots to close things out for Clemson’s last points of the afternoon to cap the game’s scoring.
But it was Girard who stole the show in his return to his old stomping grounds. The fifth-year senior from Glens Falls, N.Y. spent fours seasons at Syracuse under legendary coach Jim Boeheim before transferring to Clemson after the 2023 season.
“Joe’s efficiency is so good,” Brownell said. “There are a lot of guys that score 20 points in games, but they take 20 shots to get them. Joe rarely does that, and his poise down the stretch and the way he wanted the ball helped us break press and deal with pressure. He was terrific.”
Syracuse shot just 39 percent in the game and had two costly scoring droughts. They went over six minutes without a basket in the first half as Clemson built its 15-point lead, then went 4:36 without a basket in the second half.
By contrast, Clemson had one of its best starts of the season. The Tigers made 57 percent of their first-half shots and out-rebounded Syracuse, 26-11. Hunter managed to get off a shot at the buzzer with just one-tenth of a second on the clock to close out the half.
Clemson ended the day with 41 rebounds to Syracuse’s 24.
UP NEXT: Clemson will return to action on Wednesday when they host Miami at 7 p.m. EST at Littlejohn Coliseum. The game will be televised by ESPN2. The two teams met back on January 3 in Miami, a 95-82 Hurricanes victory.