Chauncey Wiggins gave No. 24 Clemson a big boost of offense with 15 points and the Tigers overcame an 11-point second-half deficit to remain undefeated by topping visiting South Carolina 72-67 on Wednesday night.
PJ Hall supplied 14 points, Joe Girard III had 12 points, Ian Schieffelin supplied 12 points and 12 rebounds and Chase Hunter notched 10 points for Clemson (8-0), which continued its best start in seven years.
The in-state rivals put on quite a show with a back-and-forth battle down the stretch. Hunter’s 3-pointer pushed Clemson to a 65-59 edge with less than two minutes to play. It was his first successful trey in four attempts.
Meechie Johnson poured in 26 points to go with a game-high four assists and Stephen Clark and B.J. Mack each had 10 points for the Gamecocks (7-1), who were in their first true road game of the season.
South Carolina was dinged by 10-for-30 shooting on 3-pointers. Johnson was 6-for-10, while the rest of the team was 4-for-20.
Wiggins, who entered the game averaging 4.4 points per outing, hit three 3-point baskets in the second half.
South Carolina led 44-33 early in the second half before Clemson scored 11 consecutive points to pull even on RJ Godfrey’s basket.
Wiggins made consecutive 3-pointers to send the Tigers into a 54-51 lead at the 7:20 mark. South Carolina was up about two minutes later after a pair of Mack free throws before Schieffelin posted the next five points and Clemson led the rest of the way. The Tigers went 7-for-8 on free throws in the last 38 seconds.
The Gamecocks led 30-23 at halftime, aided by a couple of strong stretches.
South Carolina burst out to a 10-2 lead, though Clemson caught up. Then tied at 23-23, the Tigers were scoreless for the rest of the first half for a span of 7:40.
South Carolina managed only seven points in the final nine minutes before the break.
–Field Level Media
