Griffin shoots Syracuse past Clemson

Alan Griffin scored 22 points —including 19 in the second half — to lead Syracuse to a 64-54 win over Clemson in the Carrier Dome on Wednesday.

The Orange led by just three at the half, but Griffin made three of his six 3-pointers in the first three minutes of the second half to push the Syracuse lead to 36-22 before the Tigers made another basket. Clemson never got within single digits the rest of the way.

The Tigers surprisingly shot well enough from 3-point range to win the game (35 percent) but were abysmal from inside the arc — especially in the first half, when they made just three of their 15 2-point attempts. By contrast, Clemson shot 60 percent on twos in the teams’ first meeting a month ago.

Even then, the Tigers kept the game close through one half, but Griffin’s early flurry and continued shot-making in the second half helped Syracuse maintain a comfortable lead.

Al-Amir Dawes and Alex Hemenway each scored 11 points for Clemson, but they didn’t get enough help. Aamir Simms mustered just six points, and Nick Honor didn’t score after making five threes against the Orange in Littlejohn.

The loss snapped a five-game winning streak for the Tigers, who conclude regular-season play on Saturday against Pittsburgh.