In a day full of flips in the world of college football, Clemson flipped a college basketball game in its favor. The Tigers just couldn’t hold on. After trailing by 19 points in the first half, Clemson rallied in the second half to take a brief lead, only to see 12th-ranked Alabama spurt ahead in the final minutes for a 90-84 win in the ACC-SEC Challenge.
The Tigers got off to a miserable start, making just three of their first 16 shots, and they trailed by 19 points with eight minutes to play in the half. They were able to cut the margin to 15 by halftime at 45-30.
The second half was a different story as the Tigers found their shooting eye. They made 14 of their first 18 shots of the half, with most of the damage coming inside on dunks, layups and paint jumpers. The Tigers also stepped up defensively, and finally caught up with the Crimson Tide at 54-54 with 12:05 to play.
From there, it was a tight battle with Clemson taking its first lead since 2-0 on a dunk by Jake Wahlin with 8:54 to play that made it 66-64. Alabama responded with a 6-0 run to retake the lead at 70-66 with 7:38 remaining.
Alabama was able to push the lead back to six with 4:23 on the clock, then the Tigers went on an 8-0 run capped by a three-point play from RJ Godfrey to go back on top 83-81 with 2:41 left in the game.
That would be the last hurrah for the Tigers. LaBaron Philon scored five straight points to put Alabama back on top 86-83. Meantime, Godfrey missed a pair of free throws, Butta Johnson was off on a three-pointer, and Zac Foster and Dillon Hunter missed layups. All in all, the T9gers went 0-7 from the floor over the final two-plus minutes of the game.
Clemson finished with a 41% shooting night, including 4-19 from three. Godfrey led the Tigers with 19 points, while Hunter had 13 points and Foster 12.
The loss is the first for Clemson int the ACC-SEC Challenge in three games. The Tigers are now 7-2 and will next face BYU Tuesday night in Madison Square Garden.
