Tigers go ice-cold from long range, lose at home to No. 8 Tar Heels |
CLEMSON – Clemson picked a bad day to go cold.
The No. 16 Tigers shot just 1-of-18 from 3-point range and suffered through a scoring drought late in the game as No. 8 North Carolina pulled away for a 65-55 victory in front of a packed Littlejohn Coliseum Saturday afternoon. The Tigers have now lost two in a row, both in the ACC, and fall to 11-3 overall and 1-2 in league play. North Carolina improves to 11-3 and is undefeated in ACC play at 3-0. North Carolina is now 16-3 in the series when the teams are ranked at the time of the game. Clemson last beat a top-10 North Carolina back in 2001. Clemson scored four in a row to trim the North Carolina lead to just 55-53 with 5:02 to play, but those would be the last points the Tigers would score as the Heels closed the contest on a 10-0 run. Clemson missed its last six shots and its final two free throws. North Carolina had the edge in rebounds at 44-33, despite Ian Schieffelin’s 11-rebound effort. Schieffelin also scored 16 points, while Chase Hunter scored 17 and PJ Hall added 10. Guard Joe Girard was just 1-10 from the field and 0-4 from beyond the arc, while Hall (0-4) and Hunter (0-5) also struggled from long range. The first half was even from beginning to end. Ryan Cormac’s three-pointer a few minutes into the game gave UNC an 11-6 lead, but the Tigers battled back, and Schieffelin’s layup at the 11:45 mark put Clemson back in front at 16-15. The lead changed hands five more times as neither team could gain an advantage. However, Clemson was 0-for-8 from 3-point range in the first half, while North Carolina had a 10-4 lead in fouls. Harrison Ingram’s free throw gave the Heels a 34-30 lead with 1:59 remaining in the half, but UNC was shut out the rest of the way. Clemson added a Chase Hunter jumper and two Joe Girard free throws and the score was tied at 34-34 at intermission. Schieffelin’s hustle and rebounding prowess helped the Tigers start the second half on a 4-0 run, but the Tigers kept missing from long range and the Heels shot their way to the largest lead of the second half to that point at six, at 55-49, on Armand Bacot’s shot with just over six minutes remaining. Chase Hunter and Hall hit back-to-back shots to pull the Tigers to within two at 55-53, but the Heels scored five of the next seven points and took a 60-55 lead into the under-four timeout. Out of the timeout and in the midst of two-plus minute scoring drought, Hall charged into the lane and drew a foul on Bacot. However, he missed both free throws and Ingram not only grabbed the rebound but scored on the other end to give the Heels a 62-55 advantage at the 2:20 mark. Chase Hunter missed another shot, and Bacot grabbed the rebound and the Heels called timeout with 1:52 remaining. Hunter fouled Ray Davis out of the timeout and Davis hit both free to five North Carolina the 64-55 lead as precious time ran off the clock. The Heels added another free throw for the final points. Clemson plays at Virginia Tech next Wednesday at 7 pm.
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