Girard III Nets 24 in Sweep of the Seminoles, 74-63

CLEMSON, S.C. – Clemson University men’s basketball swept Florida State for the second consecutive season, recording a program record fourth-straight victory in the all-time series with a 74-63 win in Littlejohn Coliseum on Saturday night.

The Tigers (19-8, 9-7 ACC) were led by Joseph Girard III’s (Glens Falls, N.Y./Glens Falls) 24 points. Girard finished with four threes and was a perfect 10-for-10 at the foul line. Chase Hunter (Atlanta, Ga./Westlake) continued his impressive play with 16 points and four assists.

RJ Godfrey (Suwanee, Ga./North Gwinnett) filled in more than adequately for PJ Hall (Spartanburg, S.C./Dorman) who spent most of the game in foul trouble. Godfrey added 12 points and six rebounds to go with two blocks and two steals.

Hall finished 3-for-3 with seven points, two rebounds, two blocks and a steal in just over 16 minutes. 

Defensively, the 63 points were the third-fewest Clemson has allowed in league play this season. 

Clemson led by as many as nine in the first half before a Hunter 3-pointer was cashed as time expired on the opening stanza. The Tigers took a 38-28 lead into halftime.

The Tigers pushed its lead to a game-high 16, leading 53-37 with 13:20 left to play. The Seminoles whittled the lead down to just five before the Tigers suffocated them defensively to push its lead back to double digits. 

The 30 free throws were the second-most Clemson has attempted in a game this season and they connected on 24 of them (80.0%).

Ian Schieffelin (Loganville, Ga./Grayson)  and Jack Clark (Cheltenham, Pa./Cheltenham) each finished with 11 rebounds apiece, including five of Clemson’s 10 offensive rebounds.

Clemson returns to action on Tuesday, Feb. 27 when it hosts Pittsburgh at 7 p.m. on ACCN.