The calendar may have said December 16th, but the game felt more like one played in March as #13-Clemson and Memphis went toe-to-toe for forty minutes at the FedEx Forum. But when the dust settled, the home-standing Tigers nudged out a 79-77 victory behind 22 points from their star, David Jones. The loss knocked Clemson from the ranks of the unbeaten and provided Memphis with its third win over a ranked opponent this season.
In a game that had nine lead changes and six ties, it was Memphis’ depth that proved to be the difference. Memphis outscored Clemson’s reserves by twenty while also getting a more complete effort in the second half.
Trailing by seven at the break, Penny Hardaway’s club outscored Brad Brownell’s bunch 47-38 in the final stanza, while limiting the Tigers to 2-of-12 shooting from beyond the arc.
PJ Hall led four Clemson players in double figures with 21 points but missed all four of his three-point attempts while committing a team-high five turnovers. Chauncey Wiggins scored 19, with Chase Hunter (13) and Ian Schieffelin (11) also reaching double digits.
Memphis (8-2) had a chance to put the game away, leading 79-76 with :03 remaining and Caleb Mills at the free throw line. However, Mills missed both free throws, and Memphis elected to foul Chase Hunter with :01 left. Hunter made his first free throw attempt, but his intentionally missed second free throw was rebounded by Memphis as time expired.
Clemson (9-1) returns to action next Friday to host Queens University at 6 p.m.