Clemson falls to UMass in Charleston Classic Final

by CU Athletic Communications - Sun Nov 24 23:05:43 GMT-04:00 2013

CHARLESTON, SC – Clemson fell behind by as much as 14 before a late rally came up short in a 62-56 loss to UMass in the championship game of the Charleston Classic at TD Arena. The win improved the Minutemen to 6-0 on the season and dropped the Tigers to 5-1 overall.

Clemson was led by point guard Rod Hall, who posted a team-high 16 points and limited star UMass point guard Chaz Williams to 1-for-12 shooting. K.J. McDaniels, who was named to the all-tournament team, added 14 points and six rebounds. Devin Coleman came off the bench late to post 10 points in his most significant action of the season. Jaron Blossomgame added nine.

Cady Lalanne, the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, led UMass with 20 points and 12 rebounds. The Minutemen shot 40 percent for the game, but just 29 percent after halftime. Clemson struggled shooting the ball, connecting on just 36 percent of its attempts. UMass also won the rebound battle 44-40. The two teams combined for 28 turnovers.

The teams exchanged the lead multiple times early and after Clemson was up 10-7, the Minutemen put together 11 straight points that culminated with a three from the left wing by reserve Trey Davis. Clemson then ratcheted its defense up a hair, limiting UMass to just three points over the next 6:45 of game clock.

Clemson pulled within two at 23-21 on a backdoor lob to Blossomgame, but the Minutemen answered with a 9-0 run of its own to earn a double digit lead for the first time. UMass led by a score of 34-24 at the break.

The Tigers turned up the defensive pressure to start the second half and were able to get out and run, as McDaniels stuffed home a lead pass from Hall for a jam that cut the deficit to six at 36-30. But as it did all game, the Minutemen answered with a run, this one 9-2 that pushed the lead to 13 at 45-32.

McDaniels came to life to bring Clemson within eight at 49-41 on a rainbow three from the left wing. The Tigers actually pulled within seven on a three-point play by Hall, but UMass wing Sampson Carter buried a long trifecta with the shot clock dwindling to silence the Clemson faithful.

Coleman’s spurt helped Clemson pull within four inside the final minutes, and a Hall layup made it 59-56 inside the last 60 seconds. On UMass’s ensuing possession, Hall forced a wild shot by Williams, but Raphiael Putney was there to stick it back in and seal the win.

The Tigers return to action on Friday, Nov. 29 at home against Coastal Carolina. The game tips off at 7 p.m. from Littlejohn Coliseum.

Game Notes

TEAM

Clemson lost its first game of the 2013-14 season Sunday, 62-56 to UMass in the championship game of the Charleston Classic. The Tigers went 2-1 in the event, with wins over Temple and Davidson.

The loss dropped Clemson to 5-1 all-time in the Charleston Classic, and to 6-1 all-time at TD Arena.

UMass’s win evened the series at 1-1, as Clemson won the only previous meeting in 1984-85.

Clemson held UMass to a season-low 62 points. The Minutemen entered Sunday averaging 88 points per game, with at least 81 points in every game this season.

The Tigers held the Minutemen to .397 field goal accuracy, the fifth time in six games Clemson has held the opposition below a .400 figure.

Clemson shot a season-low .356 from the field, .588 from the free throw line and matched a season-high with 14 turnovers.

The Tigers matched a season-high with 15 offensive rebounds.

INDIVIDUAL

K.J. McDaniels was named to the all-tournament team, his first such honor. He averaged 18.7 points per game over the three-game stretch.

McDaniels scored double figures for the sixth straight game to start the season, finishing with 14 points.

McDaniels saw his streak of consecutive games with at least one blocked shot end at 21.

Rod Hall reached double figures in the scoring column for the fourth straight game, a career-long streak for the junior.

Hall scored a team-high 16 points and added four assists and just one turnover in 37 minutes.

Devin Coleman scored his first points of the 2013-14 season and ended up with double figures, posting 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting.

Jaron Blossomgame had a season-high nine points, and added a pair of blocked shots in 24 minutes.

Sidy Djitte matched a season-high with four rebounds.

Jordan Roper, who played just five minutes after suffering a blow to the head in the first half, did not score for the first time since Clemson’s game at Furman last season – the second game of his career.

Roper’s streak of 14 consecutive games with a three-pointer came to an end Sunday.