No. 13 Clemson falls short at Memphis to suffer first loss

Clemson fell short late of reaching 10-0 by falling at Memphis (file photo).

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Sat Dec 16 17:26:36 GMT-04:00 2023

Turnovers and an inability to make shots late cost No. 13 Clemson the chance to go 10-0.

Clemson went toe-to-toe with Memphis on the road Saturday, but it was Memphis that made enough big shots late to hold on for the 79-77 win at the FexEx Forum.

Memphis had 17 points off of 15 Clemson turnovers, while Memphis turned it over just six times. Clemson held the edge in rebounds (37-35), but Memphis' bench outscored Clemson’s bench 25-5.

Clemson falls to 9-1 while Memphis improves to 8-2. Saturday marked the first-ever meeting between the two programs. Penny Hardaway’s Tigers were on a two-game winning streak and own wins over Missouri, Michigan, Arkansas, and Texas A&M and now can add Clemson to the list.

Chauncey Wiggins scored a career-high 19 points, while PJ Hall led Clemson with 21 points. Ian Schieffelin notched his third career double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds with six assists. David Jones of Memphis scored 22 to lead all scorers.

The first half was a half of runs, and it was Clemson with the hot start. Schieffelin scored the game's first five points, and Clemson ran out to an 11-2 lead three minutes into the contest. Memphis countered with a 13-2 run of its own to take a 15-13 lead, but Clemson battled back. Chauncey Wiggins got loose inside and led 29-23 with a little over six minutes left in the half.

Wiggins later hit a 3-pointer for a 35-25 Clemson lead and led 39-32 at intermission.

Memphis started the second half on an 8-0 run, and when Nick Jourdain hit a 3-pointer 45 seconds later and then a layup, Memphis was back in front 45-40 after opening the second half on a 13-1 run. Clemson continued to battle, and the teams then went on a spree of trading baskets and the lead.

The teams were tied at 68-68 with just a little over four minutes remaining when Memphis got two free throws from Jahvon Quinerly and a dunk by Malcolm Dandridge off a Clemson turnover, and Memphis led 72-68 with 3:31 remaining.

Chase Hunter split the defense with a driving layup that made it 72-70, but Memphis responded with a second-chance free throw to go up 73-70 at the 2:34 mark Dillon Hunter took it coast-to-coast for a layup of his own at the 1:32 mark to trim the Memphis lead to one at 73-72, but Quinerly hit a driving layup of his own 17 seconds later for a 75-72 advantage.

Clemson committed yet another turnover – its 15th of the game – and Wiggins was forced to foul Memphis’ David Jones with 34 seconds left. Jones hit both free throws, and Memphis led 77-72.

Just six seconds later, Chase Hunter was fouled, and he hit both free throws to pull Clemson to within three at 77-74 with 28 seconds left on the clock. Clemson immediately fouled Memphis, but Jones missed both free throws, and Chase Hunter was fouled after grabbing the rebound. He hit both free throws, and it was 77-76 Memphis with just 17 seconds left.

Clemson immediately fouled Jaykwon Walton out of the timeout, and he hit both free throws for a 79-76 lead, and Clemson called timeout with just nine ticks left on the game clock. Out of the timeout, Hall missed a three-pointer, and Memphis was able to grab the rebound. Memphis once again missed both free throws but fouled Clemson, forcing free throws instead of a chance at a tying 3-pointer.

Clemson returns home with two games to finish out December and the non-conference portion of the schedule. Clemson hosts Queens next Friday at 6 pm, and then Radford a week later at 7 pm. Clemson jumps back into ACC play on January 3rd, traveling to face Miami.