Joseph Girard III leads undefeated No. 24 Clemson over TCU

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) only led by one at halftime but burst out of the gate in the second half. A 14-3 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 they have a way to go to match their 16-0 start from the 2008-09 campaign. That was the last time the Tigers won their first nine games of the season.

Senior P.J. Hall scored 17 points for the Tigers, grabbing six rebounds. Junior Ian Schieffelin chimed in with 14 points and nine rebounds.

Despite the loss, TCU has started with wins in seven of their first eight games for the third consecutive season.

The 66-point performance were the fewest number of points scored by the Horned Frogs this season, as the team 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 points, and Jameer Nelson Jr. scored 10.

Clemson shot 41.4 percent. It marked the sixth time this year that the Tigers shot under 50 percent as a team.

—Field Level Media