No. 24 Clemson traveled internationally on Saturday and remained undefeated, but another second-half eruption made the Tigers feel right at home.
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Behind Joseph Girard's 21 points, the Tigers (9-0, 1-0) stayed unbeaten in a 74-66 win over the TCU Horned Frogs at the Coca-Cola Coliseum in Toronto, Ontario.
The game, the first-ever for Clemson in Canada, was part of the Discount Tire Hall of Fame Series. It also marked the Tigers’ first game outside of the United States since facing Creighton in the Cayman Islands in November of 2018.
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Much like the Tigers were accustomed to doing so far this season, it took another surge in the second half to close the deal after holding a 36-35 edge at halftime.
TCU's Chuck O'Bannon connected on a three-pointer with 14:54 left in regulation, with the Horned Frogs continuing to press the issue against Clemson.
As the Tigers hunkered down for what appeared to be another wire-to-wire finish, Girard was ready to blow things open.
With TCU trailing by six, Girard went on a personal 9-0 run that put the Tigers up double figures for the first time all afternoon.
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He started with a three-pointer that was met with contact, which translated to a four-point play at the line.
On the Tigers' ensuing possession, he drove to the right side of the basket and watched the ball dance around the rim to give Clemson a 12-point lead.
Girard connected on another three-pointer with 13:05 left to play, giving Clemson its largest lead of the half.
From there, the Tigers didn't look back.
Girard was not alone in his offensive contributions, as PJ Hall continues to put together a solid start to his senior year.
Despite Hall adding 17 points on the afternoon, he struggled with foul trouble that kept him out for most of the second half.
With Hall forced to ride the bench, the Tigers searched for an additional source of offense.
They didn't have to look far.
Ian Schieffelin, who is averaging close to a double-double on the season, continued to do a little bit of everything on the court Saturday, finishing with 14 points, nine rebounds, and five assists. Seven of his nine rebounds came on the offensive side, granting the Tigers additional chances to finish possessions.
The Horned Frogs found a way to cut the Clemson lead to six with 8:40 left in the second half, but Schieffelin had timely answers to TCU's attempt at a comeback.
Schieffelin connected on two jump shots to quickly wipe away any momentum the Horned Frogs mustered, bringing Clemson's lead back to 14.
Brad Brownell moves to 2-0 against TCU, with the Horned Frogs falling to 7-1. The Tigers are now 4-0 all-time versus TCU.
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Clemson shot 41.4-percent on the afternoon, hitting just 7-of-27 (25.9%) from long range. The Tigers were 19-of-24 (79.2%) from the foul line.
Chase Hunter did not score, going 0-for-7 from the field. R.J. Godfrey added a team-high 10 rebounds off the bench.
TCU shot just 32.2% and was 3-of-16 (18.8%) from beyond the arc. The Horned Frogs converted 25-of-33 (75.8%) from the foul line.
Clemson is now 20-9 all-time in games played outside of the United States.
The Tigers have a week off before heading to Memphis to take on the Tigers on Saturday in FedEx Forum at 3:00 p.m.
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