Social media reacts: Clemson basketball wins at Syracuse in ACC opener

1 week ago 2

The Clemson Tigers started ACC play off on the right foot with a 64-61 win over the Syracuse Orange at JMA Wireless Dome in New York.

Clemson (11-3 overall, 1-0 conference) got 14 points from forward RJ Godfrey and 10 points from Dillon Hunter. The win was the Tigers' fifth in a row over Syracuse (9-5, 0-1) since February 2023.

Carter Welling made the first of two fouls with 14 seconds left to give Clemson its final tally. His miss on the second free-throw attempt gave Syracuse a chance to tie the game on its final trip down the floor, but leading scorer Donnie Freeman missed an open look 3-pointer with less than 10 seconds to play.

Welling made a steal and advanced the ball to Jake Wahlin up the floor as the Tigers ran out the final seconds on the clock.

Clemson led by as many as 10 in the second half. Butta Johnson's 3-pointer with 13:36 to play pushed the Tigers' lead to 43-33. Syracuse fought back behind Freeman, whose 18 points led both teams. His layup with 43 seconds to play made it a two-point game at 63-61 before Welling sank the final foul shot.

Clemson shot 48 percent from the field and held Syracuse to 40 percent shooting. The Tigers were 4-of-16 from beyond the arc, which included two 3-pointers from Hunter in as many attempts.

Coach Brad Brownell's Tigers will return to the court Saturday at Petersen Events Center when the face the Pitt Panthers. Tipoff for Clemson-Pitt is noon ET. The game will be televised on The CW.