Gamecocks Fall at No. 24/20 Clemson, 72-67

CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) – Chauncey Wiggins scored 13 of his career high 15 points in the second half, Ian Schieffelin had 12 points and 12 rebounds and No. 24 Clemson rallied to beat South Carolina 72-67 on Wednesday night.

The game marked the first time in the 173-game series between the instate rivals — dating to the 1912-13 season — that both teams went in 7-0.

Schieffelin — who picked up his fourth personal foul moments earlier — hit a 3-pointer, grabbed a rebound on the other end and then threw down a contested two-hand dunk in a 29-second span to give Clemson a 59-56 lead with 4:53 to play. Schieffelin’s steal led to a Chase Hunter layup with 3:04 left. After PJ Hall missed the second of two free throws, Schieffelin sent the offensive rebound to Hunter who gave the Tigers a 65-59 lead — their biggest of the game — with 1:52 remaining.

Hall had 14 points, eight rebounds and four blocks, Joseph Girard III added 12 points for Clemson (8-0) and Hunter scored all of his 10 points in the second half.

Meechie Johnson hit 6 of 10 from 3-point range and led South Carolina with 26 points. B.J. Mack had 10 points and seven rebounds and Stephen Clark — who left the game due to an injury with about 7 minutes to play and did not return — also scored 10.

Johnson made two free throws to give South Carolina (7-1) an 11-point lead — its biggest of the game — with 15 minutes left. RJ Godfrey sandwiched two layups around a 3-pointer by Girard to tie it 4 minutes later and Ta’Lon Cooper answered with a 3 with 10:32 remaining.

Wiggins made back-to-back 3s to put Clemson up 54-51 before Johnson missed a 3-point shot on the other end but Collin Murray-Boyles grabbed the offensive rebound and kicked it back to Johnson at the same spot for a 3-pointer to tie it with 6:50 left.

KEY STAT

• Clemson utilized an 11-0 run over four minutes in the second half to erase a 44-33 deficit. The Tigers held South Carolina to just 35.6 percent (22-for-61) from the floor and 33.3 percent (10-for-30) from three.

NOTABLES

• Junior guard Meechie Johnson recorded his third straight 20-plus point game this season leading Carolina with 26 points and four assists. Johnson is averaging 26.3 points per contest over his last three games and shooting at a 55.3 percent clip (26-for-47).
• Three Gamecocks scored in double figures: Johnson (26), B.J. Mack (10), and Stephen Clark (10). It marked Johnson and Mack’s seventh double-figure scoring games of the year and Clark’s first in a Gamecock uniform.
• The Gamecock defense forced 10 turnovers marking the seventh game this season forcing 10 or more takeaways.
• Carolina had a 10-9 advantage on the offensive glass and a 12-9 advantage in bench points.

UP NEXT

The Gamecocks (7-1) remain on the road for a Saturday battle at East Carolina (6-3). Tip is set for noon (ET) on Saturday with Matt Schick (pxp) and Mark Wise (analyst) on the call. It will be South Carolina’s final true road game of the non-conference portion of the schedule.

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