RJ Godfrey scored 14 points and Dillon Hunter added 10 as Clemson held on in the last minute for a 64-61 road win over host Syracuse on Wednesday in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for both teams.
The Tigers (11-3) notched their fourth straight victory despite shooting only 4 of 16 from 3-point range and 6 of 12 from the foul line. Only two Clemson players scored in double figures, although Jestin Porter (nine points) and Carter Welling (seven) supplied some clutch points for the visitors.
Donnie Freeman led Syracuse (9-5) with 18 points — all in the second half — and nine rebounds. The sophomore forward had not played in more than a month due to an injury.
Naithan George chipped in with 10 points, six assists and six rebounds for the Orange, who had their three-game winning streak snapped.
The Tigers used a 10-1 run early in the second half to turn one-point deficit into a 43-33 advantage. Butta Johnson’s 3-pointer capped the surge before the Orange scored six of the next seven points to trim the gap to five.
Syracuse got within four points several times down the stretch, but Clemson consistently had an answer. Hunter twice drained 3-pointers to restore a seven-point cushion. Porter drove for a pair of layups, both times again after the Orange had clawed within four.
Syracuse finally was able to break through the four-point wall with 43 seconds left, as George found Freeman for a finger-roll to bring the Orange within 63-61.
Welling made one of two free throws with 14 seconds left for Clemson, giving the Orange a chance to tie. However, Freeman’s 3-pointer hit off the side of the rim with 9 seconds left and George got the rebound but Welling made a steal and the Tigers ran out the clock.
Clemson opened the game on a 12-3 run before Tyler Betsey’s 3-pointer got the hosts moving in the right direction. However, the Orange still trailed by eight with about eight minutes left in the half before a 9-0 run — capped by George’s 3-pointer — put Syracuse ahead.
The teams jockeyed back and forth over the remainder of the half with Ace Buckner’s late bucket giving the Tigers a 29-28 edge at intermission.
Betsey and Godfrey led their respective teams with eight first-half points.
