Getting big games from R.J. Godfrey and Dillon Hunter, Clemson went on the road and knocked off Syracuse 64-61 in its ACC opener on Wednesday afternoon in the JMA Wireless Dome. The Tigers have now won four straight.

Clinging to a 63-61 lead with 14.9 seconds to go, Clemson’s Carter Welling hit one of two free throws, leaving the Orange with an opportunity to tie the game and send it into overtime. However, a three-point attempt by JJ Starling was off the mark, sealing the win for the Tigers.

Godfrey paced Clemson (11-3, 1-0) with a team-high 14 points, while pulling down four rebounds. Hunter added 10 points while knocking down three critical shots late.

The Tigers quickly raced out to a 12-3 lead, with Welling, Jake Wahlin and Godfrey all making plays in the paint. However, Syracuse was able to quickly battle back as the Tigers went just 1-of-10 from beyond the arc in the opening half. Twice in that first half, the Orange was able to force Clemson into a shot clock violation as the Tigers took a 29-28 lead into the break.

A 10-1 run about six minutes into the second half, highlighted by an Ace Bucker layup off his own steal and a Jestin Porter three-pointer, put Clemson up by ten at 43-33. Syracuse went more than five minutes without a bucket during the stretch.

The Orange again battled back, pulling to within four at 49-45 after an alley-oop slam by William Kyle III with just over eight minutes left. It was Kyle’s first points of the game. A bucket by Godfrey with just over six to go would push the lead back out to six at 51-45, but he would pick up his fourth foul on the other end, sending him to the bench until the final couple of minutes.

Back-to-back three-pointers by Hunter would put Clemson back up by seven at 57-50 with just over four minutes remaining. Hunter then hit a layup coming out of a timeout to extend the lead to nine at 59-50.

After two free throws and a three-pointer by Donnie Freeman, the Orange were right back to within four at 59-55, but a driving layup by Porter on the other end pushed the Tigers’ lead back out to six with just under two minutes to go. In his return from injury, Freeman led Syracuse with a game-high 18 points, all of them coming in the second half.

Owning the Paint, Not the Perimeter

The Tigers outscored the Orange 46-24 in the paint. Godfrey, who had multiple dunks, was a force down low in this one. It was from the outside that Clemson struggled, with the Tigers shooting 4-of-16 from three-point land. When they needed a couple of big ones, Hunter did knock them down in a couple of the game’s biggest moments.

Free Throw Discrepancy

The Orange came in as a poor free-throw shooting team, but you wouldn’t have known it by watching this one. Syracuse was 9-of-12 in the first half and 20-24 overall, while Clemson made just 12 trips to the charity stripe in the entire game.

Up Next

Clemson remains on the road to start ACC play, with the Tigers travelling to Pitt on Saturday. Tipoff is set for noon on The CW.