In a matchup north of the border, the only undefeated team left in the Atlantic Coast Conference kept its perfect record intact thanks to a strong second-half performance from senior Joseph Girard III, as No. 24 Clemson pulled out a 74-66 win over TCU in Toronto on Saturday.
Girard was a big part of the Tigers’ offense throughout the game, scoring seven of his side’s first nine points in the first half. The guard shot 5 for 13 from the floor and 8 for 9 from the free-throw line, leading Clemson with 21 points. It was the third time this season that the Glens Falls, N.Y., native has hit the 20-point mark.
The Tigers (9-0) led by only one at halftime but burst out of the gate in the second half. A 19-3 run, which saw Clemson score nine straight points, gave them a 15-point lead less than seven minutes into the half. The Horned Frogs (7-1) managed to shrink the gap to six points, but the Tigers’ work from the charity stripe helped put the game out of reach.
Clemson continues to impress early on this season, though it has a way to go to match its 16-0 start from the 2008-09 campaign. That was the last time the Tigers won their first nine games of the season.
Senior PJ Hall scored 17 points for the Tigers, grabbing six rebounds. Junior Ian Schieffelin chimed in with 14 points and nine rebounds, seven on the offensive end.
Despite the loss, TCU has started with wins in seven of their first eight games for the third consecutive season.
The Horned Frogs scored their fewest points of the season and shot 32.2 percent from the field, their lowest mark so far. Scarborough, Ontario, native Emanuel Miller led TCU with 16 points, Micah Peavy put up 12 and Jameer Nelson Jr. 10.
Clemson shot 41.4 percent. It marked the seventh time this year that the Tigers shot under 50 percent as a team.
–Field Level Media
