No. 21 Clemson snapped a three-game ACC losing streak with an 89-78 victory over Boston College at Littlejohn Coliseum Saturday. The Tigers led by nine at halftime and would push the lead to as many as 19 in the second half.
Here’s what Clemson coach Brad Brownell said after the game.
On the offense’s performance:
“Really good offensive game. I thought our guys showed really good poise and patience. We thought we had an advantage inside. Quinten Post not playing for them certainly helped us with size a little bit inside. We did a nice job. We went to the high-low (offense) a bunch. I thought it got us off to a great start.
“We had that stretch at the end where we turned it over a few times, and that kept the game from being 20 (points). I think our offensive execution in the second half was 69 percent and it was mostly at the rim and inside. I’m really proud of the way our guys handled it.”
On Quinten Post’s absence from Boston College’s lineup:
“At some point, you’ve got to play smart. That’s what we do a lot. Obviously I think PJ (Hall) shot a couple of 3’s in some of these games where we settled. Sometimes we get behind and he just wants to help so much that I think he tries to shoot our way out of it. I think we’ve got to make sure we’re executing inside-out. There are some big guys he’s playing against.
“The other thing is, when you see Ian Schieffelin getting 15 points two games in a row, it’s because PJ is away from the basket and we’re creating space for Ian when Ian has a better matchup like at Virginia Tech or North Carolina. RJ (Godfrey) had 11 points today because he had a good matchup on some things. There are times when PJ’s ability to shoot, even when he doesn’t shoot the ball, it opens things up for other players.
“But we really didn’t find out exactly (about Post’s absence) until about 15 minutes before the game. We heard that a couple of guys weren’t playing. The hard part for us was that we’d planned defensively to play against a little more inside-out offense of theirs. Then all of a sudden, we’re dealing with four guards and we’ve got to go small.
“They did a few things that we hadn’t really practiced on just in the last couple of days. Give [Boston College] credit. They made some shots. Elijah Strong, who has barely played as a freshman, comes in and gets 14 points. He hadn’t made a 3 all year and he makes two 3’s. Sometimes when you play without a guy (like Post), you’re just playing on the road with a free mind. You’re just so relaxed and loose. You’re not supposed to win.
“So I think they kind of played that way in the second half when we had them down. I’m disappointed that we didn’t win by 20 or what-not, but I’m also very pleased because it’s hard to win these games. The way our guys played offensively for 40 minutes was terrific. We played pretty good defense for about 25 minutes. The last couple of minutes, it got away from us.”
On Joe Girard’s five 3-pointers:
“That was huge. It was good to see him get going. He actually missed some stuff early. It’s crazy but the first three or four minutes of the game, we got four or five really, really good shots but we didn’t make a basket. It was a little bit like, ‘Oh my goodness. This was (last week vs.) North Carolina. Let’s not do this again.’
“But I think our guys really hung with it and kept executing. I thought we stayed patient. We didn’t shoot the quick ones today. We stuck with things. Obviously I think we wore them down defensively. Sometimes I think just the inside-out, just posting up, there’s a wearing effect on guys. I thought Joe was the beneficiary of some of that.”
On the crowd and overall atmosphere:
“Terrific. Really good. Military Appreciation Day and everybody in purple was awesome. I’m thankful for all those folks and appreciative of the crowd today. Good to get back on track. Let’s validate it on Tuesday.”
UP NEXT: Clemson will host Georgia Tech (8-8 overall, 1-4 conference) Tuesday night. Tipoff is scheduled for 9 p.m. EST. The game will be televised by ACC Network.