PJ Hall did all he could to try to help Clemson stop the bleeding.
The Tigers’ sophomore big, who has a strong case as the ACC’s most improved player this season, poured in more points than he ever has in his first two seasons in the men’s basketball program. Despite foot inflammation he’s dealt with for much of the season and being at the top of every opponent’s scouting report at this point, Hall still scored a career-high 28 points on 8 of 13 shooting from the floor and 12 of 13 shooting from the free-throw line Tuesday at Florida State.
“Obviously his efficiency in the offense (Tuesday) was fantastic,” Clemson coach Brad Brownell said of Hall, who’s averaging 21.2 points over the last five games. “I’m super proud of him. The kid is in a (walking) boot 90% of every day. He’s walking to games in boots. He’s giving us everything he has, and (Tuesday) he was special in terms of finishing plays.”
But, for multiple reasons, it was all for naught in an 81-80 loss to the Seminoles, which ran Clemson’s longest losing streak in five years to five games.
One was FSU guard RayQuan Evans, who scored 20.5 more points than his season average to match Hall’s 28 on a night when the Seminoles shot nearly 44% from the field and 42% from 3-point range (8 of 19). Throw in 17 points from forward Cam’Ron Fletcher, who came in averaging just 5.9 on the season, and it helped FSU overcome the absence of four of its top six scorers because of injuries.
Hall also didn’t get much help offensively from the backcourt, which has become a trend during Clemson’s skid. Junior guard Al-Amir Dawes bounced back from an 0-for-6 shooting performance against Notre Dame to score 18 points Tuesday, but the Tigers’ guards combined to make just 24.4% of their shots, which included a 23% clip from 3-point range.
Nick Honor and Chase Hunter combined to go 1 of 13 from the field. David Collins, back after his one-game suspension, shot 2 of 3 but missed his lone 3-point attempt.
“They’re not playing quite as well as I’d like or probably they’d like,” Brownell said. “There’s great effort, I thought. But we’re not making enough shots from the perimeter. And it’s problematic for us.”
Dawes, who shot 4 of 10 from beyond the arc, accounted for all but two of Clemson’s buckets from deep. In fact, Dawes is the only guard that’s made more than two 3-point shots in a game during the Tigers’ losing streak.
It’s uncharacteristic of Clemson, which still ranks fifth in the ACC in 3-point field-goal percentage (36.7). But the Tigers’ perimeter shooting has been a real struggle without stretch forward Hunter Tyson, who was shooting nearly 39% from 3 before breaking his clavicle in Clemson’s most recent win back on Feb. 2.
Clemson is shooting just 28.3% from 3-point range during its losing streak. The Tigers have gone three straight games with six made 3s or fewer. They haven’t made more than eight since sinking 11 3s against Duke on Jan. 25, which was seven games ago.
Brownell admitted there have been “a few bad ones.” But, for the most part, he said getting quality looks from deep hasn’t been the issue.
“The last two games (against Notre Dame and Duke), we have five and six turnovers, and we only score in the low 60s because we don’t make enough shots,” Brownell said. “It’s hard. It’s not like we’re not executing things. That’s the frustrating part. … When we go back and analyze it, we’re getting the ball to places where we like, and we’re just not making enough shots to be consistent to win.”
Clemson’s final possession against FSU was a prime example. After Evans converted an old-fashioned three-point play to give the Seminoles the lead with 14.4 seconds left, Brownell called a timeout with 4 ticks remaining once Clemson got the ball past halfcourt to draw up one last play.
Hunter inbounded the ball to Hall near the wing. As Hall tried to drive toward the basket, three defenders converged on him, leaving Alex Hemenway alone near the corner. Hall found him for a clean look at the buzzer, but Hemenway’s shot bounced off the front of the rim, capping a 2-of-8 shooting night from deep for a 39.5% 3-point shooter.
“We had obviously our best shooter coming open,” Brownell said. “Alex got a wide-open shot. It’s as good a shot as you’re going to get under the circumstances. He makes it a lot, and unfortunately it was short and didn’t go.”
Clemson’s next opportunity to end its late-season slide will come Saturday at Louisville. More consistent complementary play from the backcourt would go a long way in helping the Tigers’ chances.
“We have to do better,” Brownell said.
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