CLEMSON — Clemson’s R.J. Godfrey and SMU’s Boopie Miller took over the game in the second half Wednesday night, but Godfrey had a little bit more help from his friends than the 24th-ranked Mustangs’ guard, as the Tigers held on for a 74-70 victory at Littlejohn Coliseum.
Clemson held the Mustangs 22 points below their season average.
“Our defense has been stout, especially the first three (ACC) games,” Godfrey said. “We are a team that plays hard. I know we had a pretty good non-conference. Our defense is how we hold up.”
SMU shot just 37 percent from the field (19-51) and was just 6 of 17 from 3-point range (35 percent). Clemson also forced 13 turnovers, including five steals.
“We knew they were a very offensive team,” guard Dillon Hunter said. “Their three guards take the majority of their shots, so we want to get them to take difficult shots. That was the main focus of the game. We wanted to frustrate them and not let them be easy.
“That was our main gameplan. We did it well in the first twenty minutes, but they are good players. They are going to make shots. Down the stretch, they were not able to make enough.”
Godfrey finished the night with 17 points and six rebounds, including 13 points in the second half. Miller dropped in a game-high 23 points, including 14 second-half points in a losing effort.
Clemson (13-3, 3-0 ACC) also got 10 points and 4 assists from Hunter. Guard Butta Johnson and forward Nick Davidson each added nine points for the Tigers.
Johnson hit back-to-back 3-pointers, as part of an 8-0 run that extend Clemson’s lead back to 13 points, 50-37, with 13:48 to play. The Tigers led by as many as 13 points in the first half.
Clemson’s defense continued to harass the Mustangs (12-3, 1-1 ACC) in the second half. At one point, in a span of three minutes, SMU connected on just 1 of 12 shots from the field, including nine straight misses.
The Tigers built their lead to as many as 15 points, 62-47, on a Hunter layup with 7:05 to go. However, SMU rallied behind Miller, who got an old-fashioned three, a couple of free throws and then a three-pointer from the right side to cut the Tigers’ lead to six, 64-58, with 4:30 to go.
Miller added two more free throws with 1:23 to play, making it a four-point game, 71-67, with 1:21 remaining. However, the Mustangs got no closer, as the Tigers hung on for the four-point win.
“Our guys played really hard. Played hard for forty minutes,” Clemson head coach Brad Brownell said. “It is hard to stop those guys. They did a good job in the second half and they made a couple of adjustments and got the ball inside on us. We, obviously, fouled some in the second half.
“But, again, our guys found ways to make some plays in the second half, whether it was a big stop, a big free throw, or a basket late.”
QUAD 1 WIN
With the win over SMU, Clemson improved to 2-0 in Quad 1 games this season. The Tigers’ other Quad 1 win came against No. 18 Georgia on Nov. 23 in the Charleston Classic.
BEING CONSISTENT
Thanks to Wednesday night’s win, Clemson opened ACC play 3-0. It marks the third time in the last four seasons, the Tigers have opened conference action with a 3-0 record.
FIRST THREE
Godfrey’s 3-pointer with 12:37 to play, gave the Tigers a 53-40 lead. It was not just any 3-pointer, though, it was the senior’s first 3-pointer of the season.
Godfrey’s last 3-pointer came in the Sweet 16 Round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
NOT ON BROWNELL’S WATCH
SMU came into Wednesday’s game averaging 91.5 points per game, 14th in the country. However, against the Tigers they scored 25 first half points. The Mustangs shot 8-for-24 from the field in the first 20 minutes and 1-for-6 from behind the arc.
“I thought our defense in the first half was about as good as it could be,” Brownell said.
Clemson held the Mustangs to 54 points in its ACC Tournament victory last year. It is tied for the fewest points SMU has scored in the 49 games since Andy Enfield became the Mustangs’ coach. Virginia also held SMU to 54 points last year.
GETTING DEFENSIVE
Clemson’s defense is ranked 30th nationally (65.7 points per game). The Tigers are also 14th in the nation
in 3-point percentage defense, allowing opponents to shoot just 28.0 percent from long distance through the first 15 games.
SMU shot 33.3 percent from the field in the opening half and 16.7 from 3-point range. The Tigers also forced 11 Mustang turnovers, including six steals in the first 20 minutes of the game.
SLOW START
Clemson got off to a slow start on Wednesday. The Tigers struggled from the field early, as they made just 1 of their first 7 shots from the field. However, they made 11 of their last 22 shots to end the first half and shot 41 percent (12-29) overall.
The Tigers were just 4-for-17 from 3-point range, but led 34-25 at the break. Their largest lead was 13 points, 30-17, with 4:10 to play in the half.
UP NEXT
Clemson will hit the road for the third time in four games to start the ACC season on Saturday, as the Tigers travel to South Bend, Ind., to face Notre Dame at the Joyce Center. Tip is set for 6 p.m.
–photo by Bart Boatwright / The Clemson Insider