LITTLEJOHN COLISEUM: Clemson is now 4-0 in rematch games this season. Florida State and Clemson were neck and neck in the ACC standings, but the Tigers’ season sweep of the Seminoles guaranteed then the tiebreaker in the standings. Clemson built a double digit lead at the end of the first half, which FSU chewed into in the second half, but it wasn’t enough to stop the Tigers, who won 74-63 Saturday night at Littlejohn Coliseum.
Clemson outscored Florida State 8-2 down the stretch of the first half for a 38-28 halftime lead. The first half was a whistle friendly show. The Tigers and Seminoes had 18 total fouls combined. Clemson was 13-14 from the line while the Seminoles were 6-6.
The Tigers stretched their lead to 16 in the second half with a 15-9 start to the second half to make it 53-37. Florida State got back into the game with a 16-5 run that cut the Clemson lead to 58-53 with 6:05 left in the game.
The Tigers were still up by five points a minute later when PJ Hall, who was held to a season low seven points before fouling out after playing a season low 16 minutes. completed a three-point play to make it 63-55. From there, the Tigers held the Seminoles at bay from the foul line making 9-12. Joseph Girard was 6-6 from the line during that stretch. The Tigers were 24-30 from the line for the game.
Girard led all Tigers in scoring with 24 points. He hit four of Clemson’s six three-pointers was perfect from the line going 10-10. Chase Hunter ended his night with 15 points and RJ Godfrey added 12 points off the bench.
FSU’s two primary scorers, Jamir Watkins and Primo Spears, combined for 34 of the Seminoles’ 63 total points. The rest of the team shot a combined 12-38 from the field, a 31.5% clip.
With the win, Clemson moved to 19-8 overall and 9-7 in the ACC. The Tigers will host Pittsburgh Tuesday night in a crucial ACC matchup with both teams equal in the league standings.
Story by Brooks Thomason
Final Stats
