Both teams in the Dome came in wearing orange this weekend, but Joe Girard, III's, had some purple to it for the first time ever, having transferred for his final season of eligibility to the Clemson Tigers.
Clemson entered holding an 8-6 all-time advantage in their head-to-head series with Syracuse, and won the last match-up in their home in South Carolina after Syracuse had won the two previous contests.
In this game, their 15th overall match-up, the Orange began the scoring when sophomore forward Maliq Brown stole the ball from junior forward Ian Schieffelin and elevated for a two-handed, transition dunk.
Syracuse was ahead 10-9 off of a three-pointer by sophomore guard Judah Mintz at the 16:03 mark.
However, Clemson would follow with an 18-2 run, clawing their way to a 27-12 advantage with a little over seven minutes before halftime.
During this run, Girard's first make in the Dome wearing another team's orange came from beyond the arc on a right-wing three by the 11-minute mark. His second field goal of the day, another deep shot, was the make that put Clemson up 27-12.
The Orange would end their scoring drought when Mintz fed fellow sophomore guard Quadir Copeland for a dunk at 6:31 remaining, with the time between Syracuse field goals, and points in general, being six minutes and 17 seconds.
Two threes by sophomore forward Chris Bell in the final three minutes of the first half brought the score to 33-22 Tigers.
Clemson would move the ball around on the final possession of the first half, with graduate forward Jack Clark feeding senior guard Chase Hunter who was cutting to the basket. Hunter elevated and made his finger-roll off the backboard to beat the clock, bringing the score to 37-24 Tigers at the break.
Girard took two shots versus his old team in the first half, making them both, going 100% from three-point range.
Orange sophomore guard J.J. Starling scored the first two baskets of the second half in general, a two-point jumper followed by a three, to shrink the Orange deficit to under double-digits, 37-29.
Bell would be fouled shooting a three. He would make the deep ball, but miss the free throw, moving Syracuse to within five, down 37-32.
Behind 42-34, the Orange went on a 7-4 run, bringing the Orange back to within five of the Tigers, 46-41. Starling went 1-for-2 on the line at the end of this run.
After a Girard three that made it 51-45 Clemson, Syracuse went on a 6-1 run to make it a one-possession game with 10:59 to play.
Girard would nail another three when the Tigers came out of the media timeout that happened at 10:39, raising him to a 4-for-5 outing from long range and getting the Tigers' lead back to two possessions, 55-49.
With under 7:30 to play, Bell made both of his freebies to get the Orange within one-possession again, this time at 57-55.
A tough take to the rim by Starling would get Syracuse back to down two, 59-57.
Copeland would be fouled on a fast break and went 1-for-2 from the line, putting the Orange down one, 59-58.
After senior center PJ Hall went 1-for-2 himself from the line, Syracuse responded with a jumper by Starling to tie the game at 60.
But the Orange continued to have no response inside, and Hall and Hunter took advantage by each going to the basket for driving layups to move the Tigers back ahead by two possessions, 64-60 with 2:37 remaining.
With 1:12 to go, Girard went 2-for-2 at the line, extending the Clemson lead to eight, 71-63, and giving him 16 points in his return to the Dome.
At the 1:02 mark, Girard would knock down two more free throws, getting him to 2,000 collegiate career points on the nose after coming in with 1,982 points and accumulating 18 here in his return in the Dome.
The Tigers held on, winning 77-68, improving to 16-7 overall and getting back to .500 in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) at 6-6.
Resulting from this loss, the Orange are now 15-9 overall and dip below .500 in the ACC at 6-7.
Girard led all scorers on both teams, with 18 points, going 5-for-6 from the field, including 4-for-5 from long distance, and 4-for-4 at the charity stripe. He also had four rebounds, two assists, and no fouls, playing in approximately 37 of the 40 minutes.
Hall had 15 points for the Tigers, followed by Hunter with 14 and Schieffelin with 13.
For the Orange, Starling and Bell finished with 16 points apiece, followed by Mintz with 14 and Copeland who had 13 off the bench.
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