Syracuse and Clemson were close for all but about 11 minutes of the game. However, the Tigers (16-4, 8-1 ACC) dominated the Orange (9-10, 3-5) in the run-up to halftime, 28-10, and rode that strong play to an 86-72 home win. The victory gave the hosts their seventh win in their last eight outings.
SU simply could not slow down Clemson, as they shot 56.4 percent overall and 45.0 percent from 3-point range. That strong shooting made one of the best shooting nights of the season for Syracuse – 53.8 percent from the field featuring season-highs of 11 3-pointers and 52.4 percent shooting from behind the arc.
J.J. Starling hit five of those 3’s for the Orange as he led all scorers with 25 points, including 17 in the first half. Eddie Lampkin, fell just shy of extending his streak of four straight double-doubles with 14 points and nine rebounds. Kyle Cuffe Jr. added nine points and Jaquan Carlos seven.
The Tigers had a balanced attack with seven players scoring at least six points, led by Chase Hunter, who hit four 3-pointers for over half his 23 points. Viktor Lahkin had a double-double, tallying 16 points and ten rebounds. Jaeden Zackery tallied 14 points and Ian Schieffelin chipped in with 11.
Starling opened the scoring with a jumper, setting a trend for the opening minutes. The junior guard hit his first four shots, including a 3, for nine points in less than five minutes to propel SU to a 12-9 lead. A couple minutes after that, the Clemson backcourt took control, as Hunter (five) and Zackery (four) combined for all the scoring in a 9-2 run that put the hosts in front, 20-16, and earned a Syracuse timeout.
Cuffe hit a triple to stop the bleeding, but it was only temporary, as the Tigers roared back with a 12-2 burst to push their lead into double digits at 32-21. That streak came in the middle of a sizzling shooting stretch by Clemson, as they made 13-of-17 shots in one span.
The Orange hung around for a few more minutes, matching the hosts’ productivity, but the offense went nearly five minutes without a point to close the half. Adrian Autry switched to the 2-3 zone in an effort to slow down the Tigers, but it only worked for a couple minutes as they posted the final ten points of the half for a 48-29 lead at the break.
The second half saw the margin reach 24 points in favor of the home side with 8:51 remaining. SU outscored Clemson by a 22-12 margin before the final horn, but it was far too little too late.
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