The Clemson men’s basketball team had the #8 ranked North Carolina Tar Heels right where they wanted them in front of a raucous home crowd at Littlejohn Coliseum on Saturday afternoon. With the game tied at 34-34 to begin the second half, two straight incredible hustle plays by Ian Schieffelin off missed shots resulted in two lay-ups, the lead, and a roaring contingent of fans.
Unfortunately, the #16 Tigers (11-3, 1-2) could not carry that momentum the rest of the way as the Tar Heels (11-3, 3-0), behind strong second halves from Armondo Bacot and R.J. Davis rallied, to pull away in a 65-55 defeat of their ACC rivals.
The game see-sawed back and forth for the entirety of the first half and into the final 20 minutes. Neither team, in fact, led by more than six points until North Carolina’s decisive run with under five minutes to play in the contest. It was myriad reasons that doomed the Tigers, from a woeful game from the three-point line, defensive lapses down the stretch, and the effort from a gritty collection of Tar Heel reserves that outplayed and outscored the Clemson bench.
Clemson head coach Brad Brownell, in his postgame interview, still pointed back to the two plays to open the second half, and lamented the missed chance to put much-needed distance between the Tigers and the Tar Heels.
“Our defense was good,” he said. “We continued to stop (North Carolina), I think, for the next three or four possessions but we never scored to extend the lead and put a little more game pressure on North Carolina. We kept bailing them out. There were a couple of shots in that time frame that I didn’t like and I thought we settled. That’s the part of being a really good team and a smart team, kind of knowing you have them a little on the ropes, don’t bail them out with bad shots.”
Brad Brownell
The defensive effort for Clemson was phenomenal in the first half, as the Tigers held North Carolina’s All-ACC tandem of Bacot and Davis to a combined 10 points. It was only the sharpshooting of the Tar Heels’ Cormac Ryan, who scored 10 first half points by himself, that kept North Carolina in the game.
Meanwhile, a battle was brewing in the paint between P.J. Hall and Bacot, who traded blows under the rim all afternoon in a physical and intense battle of big men reminiscent of a bygone era of basketball. Bacot scored six in the opening 20 minutes, but it was his ability to slow down Hall, the Tigers’ leading scorer, down the stretch that proved pivotal.
One bright spot for Clemson was the play of Schieffelin, who turned in one of the best games of his career with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Ian was seemingly the first to every loose ball and kept multiple possessions alive for Clemson. After the game, Brownell lauded the play of his big man.
“I’m really proud of (Ian),” Brownell said. “He didn’t play quite as well against Miami, but today he stepped up and was huge. The two plays at the beginning of the (second) half, if you can’t root for that…when I walk around town the first guy people mention to me is Ian Schieffelin. His heart is so big. If you don’t enjoy coming to games and watching that dude play, then you’re missing out.”
Brad Brownell
Schieffelin noted the physicality of this game in the lane, though he wished he could have done even more to help the Tigers come out on top. It was a yeoman’s effort, but not quite enough across the board. Still, Schieffelin did more than his part.
“We just try to out physical the other team and kind of set the tone for the game,” explained Schieffelin. “We just have to get better. Just staying together. Everybody in that locker room all cares about each other.”
Ian Schieffelin
North Carolina head coach Hubert Davis knew coming in that it would be a tough test for his team. With the victory, the Tar Heels remain undefeated in ACC play at 3-0, while the Tigers find themselves in the unenviable position of dropping to 1-2 in conference action.
“We felt fortunate and good at halftime to be tied,” said Davis. “We put them on the free throw line 15 times and R.J. had not gotten a lot of open looks. He leads the league in scoring, and I can’t think of another guard in the country who is playing better than him so he is going to garner a lot of attention. Other guys are going to have to step up and Cormac (Ryan) did.”
Chase Hunter led all scorers with 17 for Clemson. Schieffelin tallied 16 and 11 rebounds. Hall chipped in with 10 points and five boards, though he scored well under his season average of 20.2. Clemson finished an abysmal 1-18 from the three-point line compared to 8-23 for North Carolina.
“Our kids played unbelievably hard,” added Brownell. “It was physical and bodies were colliding all over the place. But their guys made more plays, so they won the game.”
Brad Brownell
North Carolina was led by 14 points apiece from Bacot and Davis, with Ryan adding 10. The North Carolina bench outscored the Clemson reserves 14-2.
The Tigers are back in action on Wednesday, January 10th against Virginia Tech.
