The No. 16 Clemson Tigers fell to No. 8 North Carolina by a score of 65-55 at Littlejohn Coliseum on Saturday afternoon.
The story of the game for Clemson was its poor shooting throughout the contest, as the Tigers made just one shot from three-point range on 18 attempts. Despite being tied at halftime, a season-low 21 points in the second half handed the Tigers (11-3, 1-2 ACC) their first home loss of the season.
“You can’t go 1-for-18 and win the game from three,” head coach Brad Brownell said.
Although the Tigers struggled from beyond the arc, they held the Tar Heels to a 34-34 tie at halftime after the first 20 minutes. Plenty of mid-range success, as well as success in the post, granted Brownell’s squad chances despite not scoring a three-point shot in the first half.
Through a couple of scoring droughts for Clemson and key shots for North Carolina, the Tar Heels began to create a lead in the second half and did not look back, putting guard Joseph Girard III and center PJ Hall in foul trouble to limit their minutes on the court. Hall later fouled out in the game, finishing with a season-low 10 points on 4-for-13 shooting. Girard also had problems finding the net, scoring five points on 1-for-10 shooting.
Despite a low-scoring result for both squads, the game was incredibly physical. Both teams combined for thirty fouls and put up big numbers for rebounds — the Tar Heels got the edge on the glass, however, grabbing 44 to Clemson’s 33. North Carolina (11-3, 3-0 ACC) also collected 14 offensive rebounds for potential second-chance point opportunities, which hurt the Tigers.
If there was a bright spot to come out of the team’s loss, it was junior forward Ian Schieffelin, who left it all on the court, scoring 16 points and grabbing 11 rebounds to mark the fifth double-double of his collegiate career. He also had a career-high in blocks and steals in the contest, with four and five, respectively.
“I’m proud of the way our team battled,” Brownell said. “I thought it was much better than the second half in Miami, so it was nice to go back to that.”
The loss marks the team’s second straight, creating the first losing streak of the season. The result also grants Clemson its first home defeat of the season, where it has been a great threat for the last two seasons.
Clemson will travel to Virginia Tech to take on the Hokies next Wednesday night as the team hopes to get back to .500 in ACC play.
