Clemson basketball scores season low against UNC, suffers second consecutive ACC defeat
CLEMSON -- Clemson, which was tied with No. 9 North Carolina with nine minutes to play, faded down the stretch and lost to the Tar Heels 65-55 on Saturday at Clemson’s Littlejohn Coliseum.
Clemson (11-3, 1-2 ACC), which is ranked No. 16 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll, lost to the Tar Heels (11-3, 3-0) for a third consecutive time and for the fourth time in their past seven meetings.
Clemson fell to 6-1 at Littlejohn this season and 15-3 over the past two seasons.
Leading scorer PJ Hall had a rough game, scoring a season-low 10 points, less than half his average. He made just four of 13 shots and fouled out with 1:26 remaining in the game.
"When you're playing Armando Bacot, there's going to be contact on every play," Clemson coach Brad Brownell said of the Tar Heels' 6-foot-11, 240-pound forward, an AP preseason All-American.
Clemson was just 1-of-18 from 3-point range, the team's worst performance of the season from long range.
The 65 points for UNC were a season low, 20 below its season average. That was plenty enough against the Tigers, who were held to 55 points, 17 fewer than their previous season low.
North Carolina remained unbeaten in ACC play after recent victories against Florida State and Pitt. The Tar Heels got 14 points from RJ Davis, the league's leading scorer, and 14 points and 16 rebounds from Bacot.
Ian Schieffelin sparks Clemson again
Schieffelin continues to be the Tigers’ X-factor. He had 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field and filled up the stat sheet with 11 rebounds, five steals, three blocked shots and two assists.
"Ian was phenomenal," Brownell said. "Incredible effort as usual."
He helped the Tigers get off to a solid start in the first half when he had 10 points, four rebounds and three steals in the first 20 minutes. Schieffelin has had double-digit rebounds in five of the Tigers' past eight games.
Chase Hunter posts third big game in a row
Prior to the game, Coach Brad Brownell said that his team would need another big game from Hunter to challenge the Tar Heels, and the Tigers got it. Hunter, coming off back-to-back 16-point performances, had nine first-half points on 4-of-6 shooting from the floor and finished with 17 points.
It was a reversal of fortune for Hunter, who had made just 6-of-24 shots in his career against the Tar Heels.
Joseph Girard III struggles vs. Heels
Girard struggled in the first half, making just 1-of-7 shots from the field, including missing both of his 3-point shots. His shooting woes continued early in the second half as he missed his first two long-range shots ... and continued to misfire.
The Tigers' second-leading scorer and most accurate 3-point shooter, Girard finished with just five points on 1-of-10 shooting from the field, including 0-for-4 from beyond the arc.
Scott Keepfer covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at skeepfer@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @ScottKeepfer
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: No. 16 Clemson basketball comes up short at home against No. 9 UNC
