A tale of two halves for Clemson Saturday in its 67-55 Senior Day win over Syracuse. The Tigers missed their first 13 shots of the game against the web-like 2-3 zone deployed by the Orange but managed to stay within reach by playing their own brand of sticky man-to-man defense.
Despite shooting 25% in the first half, the Tigers trailed only 31-24 at the break.
Clemson played much better on offense in the second half while keeping up the defensive effort. The Tigers tied the game for the first time at 38 as part of a 20-4 run that put them up 47-38 with 11:27 to play.
It was a five point game when Marcquise Reed took over and scored the Tigers’ next ten points as they stretched the lead to 11 at 58-47. The Orange never got closer than seven the rest of the way.
Reed had a massive overall game with 24 points, 10 rebounds, 5 steals and 2 assists. Fellow senior Elijah Thomas battled the taller Orange inside all day and finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
The Tigers crushed the Orange on the boards 45-30 including 18 on the offensive glass they converted to 11 points.
The Tigers are now 19-12 and 9-9 in the ACC and will face NC State Wednesday at noon in Charlotte in the ACC Tournament.
Brad Brownell postgame press conference
Jim Boeheim postgame press conference
Final Stats
