Clemson’s futility continued Saturday at Duke’s Cameron Indoor Stadium as the Tigers defeated the Blue Devils 72-71.
Duke’s Tyrese Proctor made two free throws with .6 seconds remaining to provide the final margin.
Clemson has not won on Duke’s home court since 1995 – 29 years and 21 games ago.
“It’s hard to win here for a lot of reasons, it really is, and tonight was an example of that,” Clemson coach Brad Brownell said. “I think a lot of people in the room, on the court, get into the spirit of the game, and I thought that happened tonight. Really disappointed with how it ended. Give Duke’s kids credit for being aggressive and taking drives to the basket, but this is really bad. That’s bad.”
Brownell, who is in his 14th season as Tigers coach, is winless in eight games at the prestigious venue.
“The whole day was tough,” Brownell said. “We had a hard time making baskets. It was a battle, but I kept telling them I think we have a real chance today, guys. I think we’re gonna win this game. We made some big plays and some Hit big shots.”
It was the fifth loss in seven games for Clemson (13-6, 3-5 ACC), which started the season 11-1. No. 12 Duke (15-4, 6-2) has won 10 of its last 11 games.
Clemson led 69–65 with 1:33 remaining, but opened the door for the Blue Devils by taking the ball on three consecutive possessions. Kyle Filipowski gave Duke a 70–69 lead with an old-fashioned three-point play with 15.2 seconds remaining, but PJ Hall’s free throws with 7.4 seconds remaining provided a one-point lead for Clemson.
Proctor provided heroics after being fouled to seal the win.
Brownell was questioned on some of the calls made by the authorities.
Several suspicious calls from authorities took a toll on Brownell. His teams have now lost three games by two points or less at the Cameron Indoor Stadium and he was having difficulty digesting some of the officiating he saw on Saturday.
“It’s tough, I won’t lie to you,” Brownell said. “I’m angry, trying to watch what I say here a little bit, but, yes, the game felt like it was taken away from us a little bit in the end.”
It appeared that Proctor should have been whistled for a traveling violation when attempting to drive to Clemson’s basket with less than a second remaining, but instead he was fouled at the free throw line.
A technical foul called against the Tigers’ Jack Clark in the first half also looked questionable. After a shot by the Tigers, Clark fumbled the ball out of bounds for a Duke player.
“He said he threw the ball into him,” Brownell said. “It’s really shocking, really disappointing.”
Clemson was benched for the second consecutive game.
The Tigers continue to get production off the bench. After scoring 28 bench points in last Saturday’s win at Florida State, the trend continued against Duke with 20 points from the reserves.
RJ Godfrey led the way, scoring seven points and adding four rebounds and three assists. Josh Beadle contributed six points and two assists and Dillon Hunter scored four points. Clark came off the bench and added three points, three rebounds, one assist and one steal.
“RJ was awesome,” Brownell said. “We have some athletes. He brings some juice defensively, some athleticism. It gives us a different look. I am proud of those people. He has done a lot of good things here recently and he is a real key for us in finishing the season the way we all want.
Clemson got another solid game from Chase Hunter
Chase Hunter has continued to have strong play recently, which is what this team needs from its senior guard heading into the home stretch of the season.
Hunter scored 11 points, including a driving layup that gave Clemson a 65–63 lead with 3:41 remaining. His penetration was crucial, and it marked Hunter’s third consecutive game in double figures and sixth in his last eight games.
He also had four rebounds and two assists. Hunter has made 30 of his most recent 34 free throw attempts.
