Clemson Tigers vs Syracuse Orange Match Player Stats On Mar 03, 2021

Alan Griffin scored 22 points, including 19 in the second half, as host Syracuse broke open a close game and coasted to a 64-54 victory against Clemson Wednesday night.

In notching a victory on Senior Night, Syracuse won for the fifth time in seven games and improved to 13-1 this season at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse. The Orange, fighting to keep its postseason hopes alive, improved to 15-8 overall and 9-7 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Clemson, which had a five-game winning streak snapped, fell to 15-6, 9-6.

Griffin, who scored just three points in the opening half, came up big in the second half and finished with a double-double. He made 8 of 14 shots from the floor, including 6 of 12 from 3-point range, and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.

It was quite a bounce-back for Griffin, who was coming off a four-point, 1-for-10 performance in Syracuse's win at North Carolina on Monday.

Buddy Boeheim added 17 points for the Orange despite making 2 of 10 shots from beyond the arc.

Alex Hemenway and Al-Amir Dawes each scored 11 points to pace Clemson.

It was an unimpressive first half for both teams. Syracuse led by as many as seven points several minutes in, but Clemson's Hemenway scored eight straight points to keep the Tigers close. The Orange and Tigers combined to make just 14 of 59 shots (24 percent) from the floor in the first half, which ended with Syracuse leading 25-22 behind eight points from Boeheim.

Griffin, who went 2 of 13 from the floor in Syracuse's 17-point loss at Clemson on Feb. 6, opened the second half with three consecutive 3-pointers to spark a 15-2 run and the Orange never looked back.

Syracuse led by as many as 17 points with 13 1/2 minutes left and Clemson never drew closer than 10 points the rest of the night.

Leading scorer Aamir Simms and guard Nick Honor were conspicuously absent for the Tigers, with Simms scoring six points and Honor being held scoreless. The pair combined for 33 points in the first meeting against Syracuse this season.

Syracuse has concluded its regular season while Clemson is scheduled to finish Saturday with a home game against Pitt.

--Field Level Media