No. 21 Clemson snaps skid with 89-78 win over Boston College

Field Level Media|published: Sat 13th January, 17:24 2024

Jan 13, 2024; Clemson, South Carolina, USA; Clemson Tigers guard Joseph Girard III shoots the ball against Boston College Eagles guard Claudell Harris Jr. (1) during the first half at Littlejohn Coliseum. credits: Ken Ruinard-USA TODAY Sports

PJ Hall and Joe Girard III each scored 26 points to help lead No. 21 Clemson to an 89-78 win over visiting Boston College in ACC play on Saturday in Clemson, S.C.

RJ Godfrey added 11 points on 5-for-6 shooting for the Tigers (12-4, 2-3 Atlantic Coast Conference), who snapped a three-game losing skid. Chase Hunter, Ian Schieffelin and Chauncey Wiggins each chipped in seven points for Clemson, which shot 54.2 percent (32-for-59) from the field.

Boston College (10-6, 1-4) was led by Jaeden Zackery, who finished with 18 points. Claudell Harris Jr. added 17 points for the Eagles, who have lost three of their last four. Mason Madsen and Elijah Strong poured in 14 apiece for Boston College.

While holding a 50-42 lead with 16:35 remaining, Clemson went on a 9-0 run, which included a Girard triple — his 343rd career 3-pointer, passing Trajan Langdon for 4th all-time in ACC history.

At the 8:32 mark, a Hall layup gave Clemson a 72-53 lead — its largest lead of the game to that point.

Girard knocked down a step-back triple — his fifth of the game — with 4:04 remaining that pushed the Clemson advantage to 19 points en route to the Tigers win.

After Boston College jumped out to a 7-2 lead to start the game, Clemson responded with a 12-2 run, punctuated with a Dillon Hunter 3-pointer at the 12:50 mark of the first half.

Girard was fouled on a 3-point attempt with 3 seconds left and made all three free throws, giving Clemson a 44-35 halftime lead. Hall led Clemson with 12 first-half points while Girard added nine points.

Boston College's first-half scoring was paced by Harris's 10 points.

Neither team got off to efficient 3-point shooting starts, as Boston College was 3-for-12 (25 percent) from long range, while Clemson shot 4-for-13 (30.8 percent) on 3-pointers in the opening half.

Boston College's leading scorer Quinten Post (16.9 points per game) and third leading rebounder Prince Aligbe (6.6 rebounds per game) were scratched with the flu.

—Field Level Media