The Clemson men’s basketball overcame arguably its worst first-half performance of the year to defeat the South Carolina Gamecocks 72-67 in Littlejohn Coliseum on Wednesday night. 

After falling behind by as much as 11 and failing to score for roughly the last eight minutes of the first half, Clemson poured in 49 points after the break to come away with the win. 

Following a 23-point first-half performance, the Tigers took back the lead at the 9:21 mark in the second half. From that point forward, Clemson gained momentum and had the lead for the final five minutes and 22 seconds of the game. 

“Obviously ecstatic with the win. I thought both teams played really hard,” Clemson head coach Brad Brownell said. “It wasn’t one of the prettier basketball games at times, but the competitive spirit by the kids on both teams was really high.”

Clemson forward Chauncey Wiggins led the team in scoring, pouring in a career-high 15 points, 13 of which came in the second half to help propel the Tigers to the win. Wiggins shot 5 for 8 on the night, converting three of his five attempts from beyond the arc and hitting back-to-back three-pointers late in the game when it mattered most. 

“I have a lot of confidence in him as an offensive player,” Brownell said of Wiggins. “I think he’s an improving guy. I give him a lot of credit because he’s been able to kind of learn the system.”

With the victory, Clemson (8-0) stayed undefeated on the year and handed the Gamecocks (7-1) their first loss of the season. 

PJ Hall was instrumental on both sides of the ball for the Tigers, finishing with 14 points, eight rebounds and a game-high four blocks. 

“We had to score the ball. Obviously, we didn’t do our best in the first half,” Hall said.

The Tigers will be back in action on Saturday when they play TCU in Toronto, Canada, for the Discount Tire Hall of Fame Series Toronto.