The Clemson men’s basketball team closed out their home campaign with a win against the Syracuse Orange, winning 90-75 on Tuesday night at Littlejohn Coliseum.
With a performance to remember by the seniors on Senior Night, the Tigers (21-9, 11-8 ACC) took an early lead and never looked back, earning a win against a top ACC opponent and sweeping the season series against the Orange (20-11, 11-9 ACC).
Clemson shot lights-out in the victory, shooting 62.5% from the field as well as drilling over 40% from 3-point range. It led to four players scoring 15 points or more for the squad, led by senior center PJ Hall, who scored a team-high 25 points in the victory.
The Tigers opened up the contest in hot fashion. The team jumped out on an 11-0 run in the first five minutes, hitting three 3-pointers en route to a 16-5 lead. Their lead would remain for the rest of the contest.
Despite the Orange fighting to cut the early Clemson lead, the Tigers used another 12-2 run to close out the half. The run was capped off by a play by Chase Hunter, who drove to the rim and delivered an emphatic dunk to put the team up by 12 going into the break.
Following Hall in the scoring was another senior, Joseph Girard III, who added 21 points and four assists against his former squad. The guard would add four assists.
Ian Schieffelin scored 16 points while shooting perfectly from the field. He also added 16 rebounds, marking his ninth double-double of the season. It is the third straight game that the junior has scored a double-double.
“I hope he’s the Most Improved [Player],” head coach Brad Brownell said of his forward. “The guy has been unbelievable. That performance, 16 rebounds? Unbelievable.”
Chase Hunter added 17 points of his own, dishing out three assists. Two of those points included his curtain call at Littlejohn, catching a pass from Schiefflin, and putting down another slam dunk to get almost every Clemson fan on their feet with under three minutes to go.
“It was an emotional day,” Hunter said. “[A] lot of stuff was going on but once we got on the floor, it’s just basketball. It was fun to play with these guys one more time.”
The win brings the team one step closer to reaching a double-bye spot in the ACC Tournament, defeating a Syracuse team who came into the game in fourth place in the standings.
Despite the win, Hall is excited to continue the season, despite playing his final game at home.
“We got some big plans in March,” he said, “it’s going to be fun.”
The Tigers will be back in action for the final time in the regular season on Saturday night, when they will travel to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to face the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.
