Photos by Clemson Athletics
Clemson needed a palate cleanser following its difficult last-second loss at Cameron Indoor Stadium this past weekend. Louisville came into Tuesday’s game at Littlejohn Coliseum on a slide, having won just one conference game in nine tries, offering the Tigers a prime opportunity to get the bad taste of Saturday’s loss out of their mouths. But if Louisville was a cupcake, Clemson nearly choked on it before making enough plays down the stretch to come away with a 70-64 bounce back victory.
Clemson (14-6, 4-5) closed the first half on an 8-0 run to take a 34-22 lead into the break. Chase Hunter, who surpassed 1,000 career points during the course of the game, hit his first four shots and scored 11 of his 16 points in the first half. Brad Brownell’s group was locked in defensively and held Louisville to 2 of 20 shooting from beyond the arc, a major factor as the Tigers built a 24-point lead.
Despite the seemingly insurmountable deficit, Louisville fought back, cobbling together an 11-2 run that cut the lead to six with 3:35 to play. The Tigers fed all-conference forward P.J. Hall on the next two possessions and his baskets pushed the lead back to double digits. Hall led Clemson with 25 points before fouling out with 1:28 remaining. Things got dicey as Louisville scored the next six points to trim the lead to four with 29 seconds to play. But Chauncey Wiggins and Joseph Girard, III knocked down their foul shots to wrap up Clemson’s 14th win of the season. Girard finished with 13 points and passed Georgia Tech’s Dennis Scott for sole possession of third place on the ACC’s all-time 3-point list with 353.
Clemson mixed in some zone defense which gave Louisville problems, but it also left the Tigers vulnerable on the boards and the Cardinals won the rebounding battle 48-29. Louisville crashed hard and came away with 21 offensive rebounds and 17 second-chance points.
Clemson’s homestand continues against Virginia Tech, Saturday. Tipoff between the Tigers and the Hokies is set for 2 p.m.