Tyson punches his way to double-double as Tigers defeat Gamecocks

Hunter Tyson scored 18 and grabbed 13 rebounds.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Sat Dec 18 20:28:49 GMT-04:00 2021

CLEMSON – Hunter Tyson earned his first career double-double and Clemson used a 22-3 run to start the second half in defeating outmanned South Carolina 70-56 in the annual rivalry game Saturday evening at Littlejohn Coliseum.

Tyson scored 18 tough points and grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds for the double-double. PJ Hall also scored 16 while David Collins added 12. Alex Hemenway scored nine points on 3-of-4 shooting from 3-point range. Chico Carter, Jr., scored 21 to lead South Carolina.

Clemson improves to 8-4 overall while South Carolina falls to 8-3. The Gamecocks are dealing with COVID issues and played without three of their top six scorers.

With the victory, Clemson has won 11 of its last 13 games against members of the SEC, including four out of the last five against the Gamecocks. South Carolina holds a 91-80 lead in the series, but the Tigers have held a 38-19 upper hand since the Gamecocks left the Atlantic Coast Conference following the 1971-72 season. Head coach Brad Brownell is now 6-5 during his Clemson tenure against South Carolina.

Neither team could gain much traction in a ragged first 15 minutes of the game. It took the Tigers just a little over two minutes to score the game’s first points, but as the game started to settle in the Gamecocks took early control. Chico Carter, Jr., hit a 3-pointer that gave South Carolina a 9-6 lead with 13:45 to play in the first half.

The Gamecocks kept a working margin for most of the next 10 minutes as the Tigers continued to struggle from the field. However, PJ Hall hit a layup that gave the Tigers the lead at 21-10 with just over three minutes remaining in the half. The Gamecocks quickly tied the score, but Hall and Hemenway hit back-to-back 3-pointers for a 27-21 lead with 1:14 to go in the half. The Tigers led 30-24 at intermission.

Clemson came out on a roll in the second half.

The Tigers scored the first six points of the half, but Carter hit two free throws at the 16:30 mark that made it 36-27. Hemenway nailed a 3-pointer, Hunter Tyson hit a layup and free throw after a foul, and when Hemenway nailed another 3-pointer from the top of the key, South Carolina was forced to call a timeout down 45-27. When Al-Amir Dawes hit a free throw with just over 12 minutes to play, it capped a 16-0 run and a 22-3 run to start the second half.

The Gamecocks then went on a 12-0 run over a span of 3:22, forcing Brownell to call a timeout with Clemson leading 52-39 at the 8:32 mark of the second half. The Tigers came out of the timeout and Hall hit a layup, then Hall bounced a pretty backdoor pass to a cutting Tyson for a dunk and a 56-39 lead.

The Tigers were able to cruise the rest of the way for the victory.

Clemson returns to the court next Wednesday (Dec. 22), traveling to Charlottesville to take on Virginia. The game will tip off at 8 pm and is scheduled to be broadcast on the ACC Network.