Hunter Tyson scored 18 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead host Clemson past undermanned South Carolina 70-56 on Saturday night.
Chico Carter Jr. scored 21 points for the Southeastern Conference Gamecocks (8-3), who were without four players due to COVID-19 protocol.
South Carolina’s Wildens Leveque (10.5 points. 6.2 rebounds), James Reese V (9.5 points), Devin Carter (8.5 points) and 7-foot Josh Gray (4.4 rebounds) did not play. A.J. Wilson also was sidelined with a knee injury.
PJ Hall had 16 points and eight rebounds, and David Collins had 12 points and eight rebounds for the Atlantic Coast Conference Tigers (8-4), who outrebounded USC 51-35.
Jermaine Couisnard, who missed South Carolina’s previous two games with an ankle injury, scored five points in 24 minutes.
The Tigers open the second half with a 6-0 spurt — Al-Amir Dawes’ 3-pointer and layup, and Hall’s free throw — to build a 36-24 lead with 17:38 remaining.
Clemson scored 16 straight points to go ahead 52-27 with 11:54 to go. South Carolina never got closer than 12.
The Tigers used a 15-2 run late in the first half to build a 30-24 halftime cushion despite going without a field goal for a 6:40 stretch.
Collins had eight points and five rebounds, and Hall added seven points and five rebounds for Clemson, which had 11 offensive rebounds and nine second-chance points in the first half.
Carter’s eight first-half points led the Gamecocks.
Neither team shot well in the first half. South Carolina hit 8 of 25 (32 percent) from the floor and 4 of 13 from 3-point range. Clemson sank 10 of 34 shots (29.4 percent) and 2 of 11 (18.2 percent) from behind the arc.
Clemson hit 8 of 13 free throws in the first half, when South Carolina took only 4 foul shots (converting all).
–Field Level Media
