Sports

Syracuse men’s basketball lost 77-68 to Clemson, big thanks to a familiar face

WAER | By Nate Cunningham

Published February 11, 2024 at 6:24 PM EST

Syracuse guard Judah Mintz (3) attacks the hoop in SU's loss to Clemson.

In Joe Girard's return to the dome, @ClemsonMBB outlasted @Cuse_MBB 77-68.

The grad student poured in a game high 18 points. @francescosim16 and @RealLiamGriffin had the call for the homecoming. pic.twitter.com/FnwLElc0Wa
— WAER Sports (@WAERSports) February 10, 2024

Syracuse men’s basketball (15-9, 6-7 Atlantic Coast Conference) had a late 2nd half comeback fall a little bit short in a 77-68 loss to Clemson (16-7, 6-6 Atlantic Coast Conference.) The Tigers defeated the Orange for the first time inside the JMA Wireless Dome since 2016.

Both teams started the game on a roll trading the lead 9 times in the opening 7 minutes. After that, the Tigers would go on a 14-0 run. A large part of that run was thanks to former Syracuse guard and current Clemson guard Joe Girard who hit 2 three’s during that stretch. The Tigers took a 13-point lead at the end of the half.

Former @Cuse_MBB guard Joe Girard made his return to the dome today to an unruly home crowd.@francescosim16 narrated the three ball from the familiar face.

🎙️https://t.co/BG0Q3sGq3P, @waer883 pic.twitter.com/kRszjKCouo
— WAER Sports (@WAERSports) February 10, 2024

Coming out of the locker room, Syracuse had to make a change and they did just that. The Orange opened the 2nd frame on a 10-2 run and made it a 5-point game. JJ Starling said the squad's defense helped SU battle back.

“We just started digging in on defense and playing together on offense,” said Starling. “Even when there was a stretch we weren't scoring, our defense kind of held on and finally we started hitting shots and that's what got us into the game.”

Syracuse guard JJ Starling (2) Drives to the basket in SU’s loss to Clemson.

The Orange kept clawing away at the Tigers bit by bit until there was 3:37 left in the 2nd half when JJ Starling hit a step-back jumper to tie the game at 60 a piece. The Orange had all the momentum along with the over 23,000 fans in attendance on their feet.

However, in just a minute and a half, The ACC’s 2nd leading scorer PJ Hall tallied a layup, Guard Hunter Chanse scored a breakaway layup and Joe Girard passed up a shot to a wide-open Ian Schieffelin in the left corner for a 3. The Orange fought for over 10 minutes to tie it up and in just 90 seconds it was a three-possession game once again. Syracuse head coach Adrian Autry explained that the loss falls solely on SU.

“I think it's all us,” said Autry. “That's the most frustrating thing. This game was us, the last 4 minutes. We did what we needed to do to get back into the game and then the last 4 minutes we didn't do what we needed to do to win.”

With the Orange down 7 with 1:30 to go, SU began to foul with the hopes of staying in the game. In the process, Joe Girard knocked down 4 free throws notching his 2,000 career point.

Syracuse looks to bounce back on Tuesday against North Carolina (18-5, 10-2 ACC). The last time the Orange and the Tar Heels faced off was earlier this season when UNC beat the Orange by 36. WAER’s coverage begins with McClurg Remodeling Countdown to Tipoff at 6:30 p.m.