Clemson’s last trip to Tobacco Road ended in heartbreak, but the Tigers exorcised it in its final chance for a statement win in ACC play, as Clemson stormed into the Dean Smith Center and took down No. 3 North Carolina, 80-76, Tuesday night.

The win over the Tar Heels was just the second win ever in Chapel Hill, N.C., moving the Tigers to 2-60 all-time. It was also the highest ranked win on the road for the Clemson program since those Tigers beat No. 2 Maryland on January 21, 1976.

Clemson, who beat UNC in Chapel Hill for the first time back in 2020, was 0-37 against ranked North Carolina teams in Chapel Hill prior to Tuesday night.

Hall put together a dominant performance with 25 points and nine rebounds. Girard matched the energy with 21 points, including five makes from behind the arc. Those two led the way when the Tigers needed them.

Ian Schieffelin had his second double-double of the season against the Tar Heels as he went for 14 points and 11 rebounds. He had 16 points and 11 rebounds in last month’s meeting at Littlejohn Coliseum.

The Tar Heels (18-5, 10-2 ACC) clawed back from 16 points down to tie the game at 70, the first gridlock since 2-2. Facing one of the best teams in the country in an electric environment, Clemson didn’t back down. Joseph Girard III nailed a three-pointer to silence the game at 75-70, which went on to be the dagger.

Brad Brownell couldn’t have asked for a better start out of his team, rushing out to a 15-2 lead on a 13-0 run. The star power for the Tigers was in full force as PJ Hall and Girard combined for 26 points on 9 of 18 shooting before the break. The Tigers were 48 percent from the floor and 43 percent from behind the arc, as they charged to a 43-34 lead at the break.

The first half was often personified by the matchup with Hall and UNC’s Armando Bacot, who had 14 points and was the only Tar Heel to shoot over 50 percent in the first half. The rest of his team shot 7 of 28 from the field.

Clemson (15-7, 5-6 ACC) maintained a double-digit lead for nearly the entire first half, but the Tar Heels responded with a 6-0 run before the break. It was the largest deficit North Carolina faced at halftime this season.

Problems came thanks to Hall’s foul trouble, as he took on the physical Bacot in the paint. He had a plus/minus of 12 while the Tigers were minus eight with him off the floor. Hall committed his third foul two minutes into the second half, opening the door for the Tar Heels to come back.

With Clemson’s engine off the floor, UNC cut the lead to 56-54 with 10:46 left to play. Hall returned and made an immediate impact with two points at the free throw line which helped the lead stick on their way to a rare road victory at Chapel Hill.

Rebounding is never easy against North Carolina. The pair of Schieffelin and Jack Clark mitigated that issue with 18 combined rebounds, limiting the Tar Heels to nine second-chance points. On top of that, the Tigers had 13 second-chance points in the second half after none in the first 20 minutes.

Bacot led UNC with 24 points and 13 rebounds. RJ Davis finished with a strong 22 points, but shot just 7 of 21 from the field overall.

UP NEXT

Following a three day break,  a second road trip awaits, this time at Syracuse, where Joseph Girard will take on his former team. The Tigers tip off against the Orange Saturday at noon. The game will be televised on ESPN2.

Photo courtesy of Bob Donnan, USA TODAY Sports

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