CLEMSON- After a shooting slump that had stretched across multiple games, Joe Girard exploded for 26 points in Clemson's 89-78 win over Boston College on Saturday.
Girard was 5-of-11 from beyond the arc in the win, with three of those coming in a second half that saw the Tigers go up by as many as 19 points on more than one occasion.
Coming in having lost three straight, the win came at an opportune time. Not only for the team, but also Girard, who said losing can, at times, can make him a hard person to be around.
"For me personally, it's just amazing," Girard said. "I have said it before, I am probably the biggest sore loser there is. Sometimes I wear it with my energy and stuff like that, which isn't good, but I just need that feeling of winning and I know we all kind of needed it. Especially in ACC play. You got to get as many as you can."
While getting back on the court is always soothing, nothing beats the feeling of winning.
"I'm just quiet," Girard said. "The thing that makes it seem easier is just getting back to basketball. Whenever you are in the gym with the guys working out with coaches, it gets your energy going. Gets your blood flowing. Takes your mind off of what happened in the past. Just like anybody, with anything you do, you are sitting around at home just thinking... you are always going to think of the negatives. That is just kind of human nature. But whenever you are on the court, it makes your life a lot easier."
During the three-game skid that saw the Tigers lose on the road to Miami and Virginia Tech, as well as dropping a tough one at home to North Carolina, Girard admitted that he was probably not an easy person to be around.
"My family probably needed it more than me because I have not been fun to be around," Girard said. "But I needed it bigtime. Like I said, I am a sore loser, I don't like losing. Love to win. And the guys around me are kind of the same way."
Each of Clemson's last five NCAA Tournament teams have suffered through three-game losing streaks at some point during the season, including the Sweet 16 team from the 2017-18 season. And now that this losing skid is over, the goal is to start a winning streak, and the Tigers get that opportunity on Tuesday night when Georgia Tech rolls into town.
"It feels really good for us but just like it is after a loss, after a win, you got to move to the next one at this point."
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