Girard sparks Clemson to 85-68 victory over Boise State

CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — Joe Girard scored 17 of his 23 points in the second half to help Clemson pull away for an 85-68 victory over Boise State on Sunday.

O’Mar Stanley’s three-point play to begin the second half pulled Boise State (2-1) even at 41. Jack Clark answered with a basket and PJ Hall sank four free throws as Clemson (4-0) took a two-possession lead. Girard hit two 3-pointers, scoring 12 in a 21-9 run from there and the Tigers led 68-50 with 8:32 remaining.

Girard sank 9 of 17 shots with three 3-pointers, adding four rebounds and three assists for the Tigers. Chase Hunter totaled 14 points, six rebounds and four assists. PJ Hall pitched in with 14 points and four boards.

Chibuzo Agbo sank four 3-pointers and scored 18 to lead the Broncos. Cam Martin had 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Stanley scored 11 off the bench.

It was the first meeting between the schools. Clemson will travel to Idaho to play Boise State next season.

Clemson is 4-2 all-time against the Mountain West but this was the first time the Tigers hosted a team from the conference. No team has ever traveled farther to play Clemson than the Broncos (2,283 miles). The previous record was the 1,860 miles the Arizona Wildcats traveled to play the Tigers in 2012.

The Tigers will host Alcorn State on Friday. Boise State heads to Kissimmee, Florida, to play Virginia Tech in the ESPN Events Invitational on Thursday.

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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball