Syracuse's Second Half Rally Comes up Short Against Clemson
Syracuse basketball's second half rally came up short as the Orange fell to 77-68 Clemson inside the JMA Wireless Dome Saturday afternoon. With the loss, Syracuse dropped to 15-9 (6-7) on the season. Next up for Syracuse is hosting North Carolina in the Dome Tuesday night. That game will tip at 7:00 p.m. and be broadcast on ESPN.
The beginning stages of the game were back and forth, but Clemson took control midway through the first half. Syracuse went more than five minutes without scoring the Tigers took advantage with an 11-0 run to extend its lead to 15. Clemson would take a 14 point edge into halftime.
Syracuse came out strong after intermission, with a 9-0 run to trim the lead to five. The lead would stay in the four to six point range for most of the half until the final few minutes. JJ Starling would hit an off balance mid-range jumper with 3:21 left to tie the game at 60.
The Tigers, though, would respond. With Maliq Brown at four fouls, just one away from fouling out, Clemson attacked the post. That resulted in back to back buckets to take a four point lead with 2:28 remaining. The Tigers would then hit an open corner three to push the lead to seven and cruise down the stretch.
Joe Girard scored 18 points in his return to Syracuse on 5-6 shooting including 4-5 from beyond the arc. Syracuse was led by JJ Starling and Chris Bell, each of whom scored 16 points in the loss.
Clemson dominated the boards, outrebounding Syracuse 41-24. They also controlled points in the paint 48-32. The Tigers shot 61% from the field overall while the Orange shot just 39%. The Syracuse defense did force 21 Clemson turnovers, however.
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