Clemson never found its shooting touch in a 54-45 loss to Yale at Littlejohn Coliseum, Sunday. The Tigers were 0 of 9 from behind the arc in the first half and just 4 of 20 (20%) for the game. Clemson’s offense struggled to get on track throughout the afternoon and no Tiger scored more than 11 points. The Tigers shot just 31.9% from the field and were outrebounded 35-27.

A pair of foul shots from Khavon Moore briefly gave Clemson (6-6) a 38-36 lead, but the Tigers scoring woes resurfaced and the home team scored just four points over the next eight minutes while falling hopelessly behind. Defensively, Clemson had no answer for Yale junior forward Paul Atkinson. Atkinson scored a game-high 20 points on 8 of 10 shooting. Atkinson also tallied four assists, as many as Clemson’s team total in the same category.

Sophomore wing Hunter Tyson came off the bench to pace the Tigers with 11 points on 4 of 7 shooting. Junior center Aamir Simms joined Tyson in double figures with 10 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Guards Tevin Mack, Curran Scott and Al-Amir Dawes combined for just 2 points and 2 assists on 0 of 8 shooting. The Clemson reserves outscored the starters 26-19.

Clemson did force 19 Bulldogs turnovers, but were unable to convert them into easy baskets, producing only seven fast break points. The Tigers also continue to struggle when their outside shots aren’t falling. While the 3-point shooting (4-11) and free throw opportunities (10-14) improved in the second half, the Tigers only made a pair of two-point shots over the final 20 minutes.

The Tigers return to conference play Dec. 31, playing host to Miami at 4 p.m. The game will be broadcast on the ACC Network.