No. 21 Clemson snaps 3-game ACC skid with an 89-78 win over Boston College
CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — Clemson coach Brad Brownell brought his three leading scorers — PJ Hall, Joe Girard III and Chase Hunter — into his office after a loss at Miami last week that started a three-game losing streak.
“When you guys play poorly,” Brownell told them, “we’re probably going to lose.”
The three-double digit scorers put it all together for the first time in more than two weeks as the 21st-ranked Tigers got back to winning with an 89-78 victory over short-handed Boston College on Saturday.
Hall and Girard had 26 points apiece and Hunter kept the offense clicking by finding his teammates in the right spots.
Clemson (12-4, 2-3 ACC) had lost their scoring touch after their 11-1 start that had them as the league’s top team in the NET rankings.
“I’m probably the biggest sore loser there is,” Girard, a transfer from Syracuse, said after having a season high for points. “I needed that feeling of winning again. We all needed it.”
Hall is the 6-foot-10 senior who passed on going pro for another season with the Tigers. He thought his team settled too much on outside shots during the three losses and was happy they got back to working the paint down low.
That came at practice after an 87-72 loss at Virginia Tech and showed itself against the Eagles (10-6, 1-4), who have lost three of their past four.
“When you have the funk,” Hall said, “you figure out a way to get back.”
The Tigers struggled early in league play, but Hall and Girard led the way to their first victory since topping Radford 93-58 more than two weeks ago.
Hall, the team’s leading scorer, responded with his first 20-point performance in five games and had a game-high 11 rebounds. Girard, who had five 3-pointers combined in Clemson’s last three losses, hit five against the Eagles (10-6, 1-4), who lost for the third time in four games.
Boston College played without leading scorer Quinten Post, who was among three players out with the stomach flu. Post averages 16.9 points a game.
Jaeden Zackery led Boston College with 18 points.
Clemson, coming off those three losses, opened slowly and missed seven of its first eight attempts and were still up just 31-29 after Donald Hand Jr.’s driving basket with 4:12 left.
But the Tigers outscored Boston College 13-6 the rest of the half with Girard connecting on a 3-pointer, then getting fouled shooting from behind the line in the final 4 seconds and hitting the three foul shots for a 44-35 lead at the break.
THE BIG PICTURE
Boston College: The Eagles had just seven scholarship players available as three regulars, including leading scorer Post due to illness. Still, BC kept things close for a nearly a half before running out of gas at Clemson.
Clemson: Brownell’s strong words last time out had the desired effect on his leaders, particularly on Hall and Girard. Both were crisper at home, a good sign for the Tigers to get back in the chase for a league title.
POLL POSITION
Clemson hung on in the Top 25 after losses to Miami and No. 7 North Carolina last week. The team may not be so fortunate after its 1-1 week. The Tigers had been ranked in the past six polls.
BAD FOOD
Boston College coach Earl Grant said he was out of action Friday with what hit Post, his leading scorer. But Grant felt better Saturday and hopes his affected players will be as well for their next game Monday. “They thought it could’ve been something that we ate,” Grant said.
