National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Clemson 66, Syracuse 53
When: 4:00 PM ET, Saturday, January 17, 2015
Where: Littlejohn Coliseum, Clemson, South Carolina
Officials: # Roger Ayers, # Dwayne Gladden, # Sean Hull
Attendance: 10000

Clemson 66, Syracuse 53: Jaron Blossomgame posted 15 points and 12 rebounds as the host Tigers topped the Orange.

Donte Grantham was 4-of-8 from 3-point range en route to 16 points for Clemson (10-7, 2-3 ACC), which rebounded nicely from scoring a season-low 42 points against Virginia on Tuesday. Rod Hall pitched in 15 points and six assists for the Tigers, who dominated the boards, 40-30.

Rakeem Christmas scored 21 points with 10 rebounds and Tyler Roberson grabbed 13 boards to pace Syracuse (13-5, 4-1), which received no points from its bench as its seven-game winning streak came to an end. Freshman Kaleb Joseph scored eight of his 12 points in the second half, but the Orange were unable to rally from a 21-point halftime deficit.

Hall and Blossomgame combined for 21 points on 9-of-10 shooting in the first half as Clemson cruised into the break with a 39-18 cushion. The Tigers shot 53.3 percent in the first half while holding the Orange to 25 percent, including 1-of-11 from long range.

Clemson only scored six points in the first 10 minutes of the second half, during which Syracuse climbed within 45-32 on Christmas' bucket, but Jordan Roper and Grantham each knocked down a 3-pointer to help the Tigers rebuild a 19-point cushion. Clemson, which entered shooting 29 percent from 3-point range, finished 8-of-20 from behind the arc, compared to a 2-of-15 effort by Syracuse.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Christmas shot 5-of-7 in the first half while his Syracuse teammates were 2-of-21. ... Orange G Trevor Cooney, who had made 12 3-pointers over the previous two games, finished 0-of-5 from the arc and 0-of-7 overall. ... Michael Gbinije chipped in 11 points for Syracuse.
Top Game Performances
 
Syracuse   Clemson
Rakeem Christmas 21 Scoring Donte Grantham 16
Trevor Cooney 2 Assists Rod Hall 6
Tyler Roberson 13 Rebounds Jaron Blossomgame 12
Trevor Cooney 5 Free Throws Made Rod Hall 5
Tyler Roberson 2 Steals Rod Hall 2
N/A Blocks Landry Nnoko 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Syracuse 53 36.8 2-15 9-14 7 30 0 5 9
Clemson 66 45.1 8-20 12-20 12 36 1 5 10