The last time Clemson’s men’s basketball team went on an extended break, the Tigers lost their first game back and went on to lose three of four after that.

How this return to play pans out over the next couple of weeks remains to be seen, but it’s already off to a better start.

Clemson got 15 points from PJ Hall and 12 apiece from Nick Honor and Chase Hunter, and the Tigers held off Florida State for a 75-69 win Wednesday at Littlejohn Coliseum. Clemson, playing for the first time since its narrow loss at Duke eight days earlier, also got 11 points from Naz Bohannon to notch its fourth Quadrant 2 victory.

“It’s hard to win games. It’s tough,” Clemson coach Brad Brownell said. “You’ve got to play really well, and you’ve got to keep it together. We hung in there and took a couple of punches, and it looked like it could turn there for a while. And our defense kind of held up.”

It’s the second time since late December that Clemson (12-9, 4-5 ACC) has returned from a pause lasting more than a week. The first time, which happened after the Tigers’ Dec. 29 home game against Duke was postponed (COVID-19 protocols), Clemson suffered a 17-point loss in a rematch against a Virginia team it beat on the road 13 days earlier.

Even without senior forward Hunter Tyson, who left late in the first half with an upper body injury and didn’t return, Clemson didn’t show as much rust this time around, shooting 52% from the field to lead FSU (14-8, 6-5) wire to wire. That included a handful of double-digit cushions, though the Tigers didn’t make it easy on themselves.

Clemson led 57-46 with 14:27 left, but FSU’s size and length was a problem at times for the Tigers, who committed 14 turnovers leading to 14 points that helped the Seminoles chip away. Clemson saw its lead dwindle to 69-67 with 2:25 left after a free throw from Caleb Mills, who led FSU with 16 points.

But FSU didn’t get any closer thanks in large part to Hall, who was animated down the stretch. As he stepped to the line before sinking two of four consecutive free throws in the final 2 minutes that extended the Tigers’ lead back to two possessions, Clemson’s sophomore big waved his arms as a gesture to many of the 6,578 fans in attendance to get loud.

“I’d say he’s the only kid I’ve ever coached that’s encouraging the crowd at the free-throw line,  which we probably need to have a conversation about,” Brownell said with a smile. “Let’s wait until we make the free throws and then do it. But that’s who he is. That’s who he is every day. He’s a fun kid to coach.”

Hall blocked a shot on the other end during that span. The Tigers also coaxed a turnover with a five-second call on one of FSU’s final possessions, holding the Seminoles without a bucket for the final 3:14.

RayQuan Evans added 11 points for the Seminoles, who played without their third-third leading scorer, Malik Osborne (injury).

“We’re going down (the stretch), and I knew if I could help get the crowd into it and obviously everybody else is playing just as hard as me, if I don’t give everything I’ve got, it’s a disrespect and a disservice to everyone else on the court on my team,” said Hall, who also pulled down seven of Clemson’s 37 rebounds. “It’s definitely a point I was trying to make to get the crowd into it and get us into it on the bench as well.”

Clemson led 45-36 at the half after getting off to a hot shooting start. The Tigers sank 61% of their shots from the field, including six straight to create some separation at the end of the half.

Honor’s jumper just before the buzzer capped Clemson’s late first-half surge after FSU tied the game at 30 with 4:15 left before the break. Honor had 10 first-half points while Bohannon added nine off the bench to help the Tigers keep their distance despite Tyson being out for the final 5 minutes and Hall playing just eight minutes in the first half after picking up two early fouls.

“They were huge,” Brownell said of Honor and Bohannon, who helped Clemson outscore FSU 32-22 in bench points.

Part of the reason FSU was able to keep the deficit at single digits in the opening 20 minutes was its defense. The Seminoles forced Clemson into nine turnovers in the first half, scoring 10 points off of those, but Clemson went the final 4:17 without coughing up a possession and ended the half on a 15-6 spurt.

Then Clemson’s defense bowed up. FSU missed seven of its last eight shots, including its last four. It all helped the Tigers start a stretch of four of five games at home on a winning note.

“Just a great team win,” Brownell said. “Really proud of our team. Thought we showed very good toughness and competitive fight, especially defensively in the second half late.”

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