Clemson Knocks Off Rival Gamecocks 70-56

CLEMSON- It wasn't one of Clemson's better shooting nights, but the Tigers shot well enough to beat South Carolina 70-56 on Saturday inside Littlejohn Coliseum, giving Brad Brownell's team a three-game winning streak.

After a first half that saw both teams struggle to shoot the ball, Clemson used a 9-3 run to close out the half and go into the break with a 30-24 lead. The Tigers would then use a 16-0 run early in the second half to push the lead to 52-27 with just under 12 minutes to play.

The Gamecocks would slowly chip away at the lead for the rest of the second half, but could never get any closer than 12 points.

Three Tigers hit the double-digit mark in scoring. Hunter Tyson led the way, recording his first career double-double, with 18 points and a career-high 13 rebounds. Six of those boards came on the offensive end. PJ Hall also had 16 points and eight rebounds, while David Collins pitched in with 12 and grabbed eight rebounds.

With the game not being played last season, this was Hall's first opportunity to take part in the rivalry series,

"It was fun to go head to head with them, finally get on the court with them," Hall said. It was sad we couldn't last year because of COVID, but going against your in-state rival is fun."

Clemson came in ranked No. 3 in the nation in 3-point shooting percentage (42.3), but hit just 2-11 in the first half and shot just 26% for the game from beyond the arc. Although, the Tigers would outrebound the Gamecocks 51-35, had 16 second-chance points, and outscored South Carolina 32-20 in the paint.

"I mean those guys are big and strong," Tyson said. "One of the points of emphasis from coach all week was that we can't get out-toughed. We have to take the physicality to them, because a lot of times they're the ones being more physical and outrebounding. We didn't want that to happen tonight. And I think that's a big reason why we were so successful,"

Player of the Game: Hunter Tyson paced the Tigers, as he was a factor down low all night. His double-double included six offensive rebounds, as the senior was crashing the boards from start to finish.

Newcomer Impact: David Collins had another solid night for the Tigers, adding a steal and a block to his 12 points and eight rebounds.

Stat of the Game: (19) Not only did Clemson outrebound the Gamecocks 51-35, they also grabbed 19 offensive rebounds, leading to those 16 second-chance points.

Up Next: The Tigers will hit the road as they travel to Charlottesville for an ACC matchup with the Virginia Cavaliers.

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