CLEMSON — Down by as many as 11 points in the second half, No. 24 Clemson rallied to take down rival South Carolina, 72-67, Wednesday night at Littlejohn Coliseum.

The Tigers, who improved to 8-0 for the first time since the 2008-’09 season, trailed South Carolina 44-33 with 15:02 to play. However, Chauncey Wiggins dropped in 15 points, including 13 in the second half to lead Clemson back.

Ian Schieffelin added 12 points and 12 rebounds for his first double-double of the season, while Joe Girard added 12 points, as well. PJ Hall finished with 14 points and eight rebounds to go with three assists.

Meechie Johnson led USC with a game-high 26 points.

Clemson, who handed the Gamecocks their first loss of the year, finally grabbed control of the game in the last two minutes. The big moment came when Hall missed his second free throw with 2:09 to play and Clemson clinging to a 62-59 lead. However, Schieffelin grabbed the rebound and a few seconds later Chase Hunter drained a three-pointer for a 65-59 lead with 1:52 to go.

Hunter finished the night with 10 points, four rebounds and three assists.

Wiggins’ back-to-back triples gave the Tigers a 54-51 lead with 7:20 to play. The three-point lead, at the time, was Clemson’s biggest.

A Schieffelin three and then a dunk gave Clemson another three-point lead, 59-56, with 4:53 to play in the game.

The Gamecocks (7-1) got some separation early in the second half and built a 44-33 lead on two Johnson free throws with 15:02 to play.

However, the Tigers fought back, using a 15-3 run to take a one-point lead. The 48-47 advantage was their first lead since 14-13 at the 12:28 mark of the first half.

Clemson struggled to shoot the ball in the opening half. The Tigers went the last 7:40 of the first half without a basket. They missed their last eight shots and turned the basketball over five times during that stretch.

The Tigers were just 9-for-29 from the field overall (31 percent) in the opening 20 minutes, including just 2-for-8 from behind the arc.

The Gamecocks used Clemson’s struggles to build a 30-23 lead at the break. They outscored the Tigers 7-0 in the last 5:52.

Hall was 4 of 8 from the field in the first half, while the rest of the team combined to go 4-for-21.

But the Tigers shot 59.3 percent from the field in the second half, including 60 percent from behind the arc to complete the comeback.

To honor Clemson’s special senior class Dear Old Clemson is selling footballs signed by 7 of Clemson’s Avengers for only $100.  These limited edition footballs are signed by Thomas, Orhorhoro, Davis, Mascoll, Henry, Murphy and Williams.  Get one while supplies last.