The Clemson Tigers‘ fell 87-82 to the Memphis Tigers Saturday at Littlejohn Coliseum, snapping a six-game winning streak.
Early on, the Tigers’ “basketball for brunch” felt more like a hangover. Clemson (9-2 overall) fell behind 10-0 to start the game and went almost the first six minutes without a basket.
By contrast, Memphis got a blistering start from Colby Rogers, who opened 5-for-5 and gave his Tigers a 27-20 lead with 5:30 to play in the first half after scoring eight straight points.
Clemson took its first lead with 1:50 to go in the half on a 3-pointer from Ian Schieffelin for a 29-28 lead. A big turning point occurred just before halftime. With 6.3 seconds left on the clock, Jaeden Zackery tried to inbound the ball but his pass from the baseline was picked off by Tyrese Hunter, who raced up the floor and drained an open 3-pointer for a 33-32 Memphis lead at intermission.
Memphis (8-2) started the second half on a 7-0 run capped by another trey from Hunter that forced Brad Brownell to take a full timeout as Memphis went ahead 40-32.
Penny Hardaway’s Tigers led 59-51 near the under-8 timeout after a 3-pointer from Nicholas Jourdain as part of a 14-8 run.
Clemson made its own run afterwards, an 11-0 spurt that included a pair of Chase Hunter jump shots, a 3-pointer from Dillon Hunter, and two layups from Viktor Lakhin.
Clemson took its biggest lead when Schieffelin made a layup with 2:22 to play to go up 69-63. But Memphis refused to go away and after Jourdain made a steal, Tyrese Hunter found Dain Dainja for a game-tying layup with 20 seconds left in the second half.
That sent the game into overtime at 72-72 after Chase Hunter missed a 3-pointer at the end of regulation.
Two big 3-pointers by Tyrese Hunter gave Memphis an 83-81 lead with 58 seconds to play in overtime. Dainja sank two foul shots with 15.3 seconds left to put Memphis up 85-82.
Chase Hunter missed a 3-pointer that would have tied it with 10 seconds left to send Memphis to the free-throw line to ice the game.
Memphis’ Hunter had 23 points, followed by Rogers with 22. Lakhin led Clemson with 23 points, and Schieffelin and Chase Hunter both added 17 points apiece.
Memphis shot 52 percent from the field (31-of-60) while Clemson made 45 percent of its shots (30-of-67). Brownell’s Tigers were 10-of-31 (32 percent) from behind the arc; Memphis was 12-of-25 (48 percent).
Clemson basketball schedule 2024-25
Clemson will head to Columbia for their annual matchup with South Carolina (6-3) on Tuesday. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. ET. The game will be televised on SEC Network.