Clemson Makes History

Tigers 6-0 in the ACC for first time ever

CLEMSON, S.C. — Clemson made history on the basketball court Wednesday night.

Thanks to its 83-70 victory over Louisville at Littlejohn Coliseum, the Tigers improved to 6-0 in ACC play, the first time in program history they started an ACC season 6-0. The program’s previous best start in league play was 5-0, which they also did in 1996-’97.

This is the 70th season of ACC Basketball.

“It is obviously, fantastic. It’s great, but you know,” Clemson head coach Brad Brownell said, “it is just like when you say there is nothing less important than the score at halftime, right? That is where we are.

“But it is significant for our guys in that we have worked really hard. We’ve figured our team out a little bit during this process. We have had to adjust to some situations – losing Alex Hemenway, PJ (Hall) not being all the way back. Chase (Hunter) playing the point. There have been some things we had to do, and we are in a very good groove right now.”

Now one was in a better groove than Hunter Tyson.

Clemson (14-3, 6-0 ACC) got a game-high 28 points and 11 rebounds from the graduate senior, his fifth straight double-double and ninth of the season.

“Amazing that he’s the one guy on this team that we sort of wanted to target. Target meaning know where he is at all times, and he gets 28 and 11,” Louisville head coach Kenny Payne said. “That goes to show he plays hard, he’s skilled, he passes the ball, he’s not selfish. He lets the game come to him, and he’s efficient. Hell of a player.”

The Tigers also got 13 points and seven rebounds from Hunter and 10 points from Hall and Brevin Galloway. Hall scored all 10 of his points after Louisville cut what once a 17-point lead below 10 late in the second half. Before that, he spent much of the game on the bench in foul trouble.

“PJ is still working (to get healthy), but he is still a great player as he is right now,” Tyson said. “He was big for us tonight in the second half. He was on the floor. He got in foul trouble early, but once he gets going, that guy is unstoppable.”

Using a 17-2 run around the midway point of the first half to grab the lead, Clemson controlled much of the game. Tyson’s three-pointer gave the Tigers a 24-18 lead with 7:11 to play before halftime.

Clemson led 40-28 at the break and by as many as 17 points, 49-32, in the second half.

Louisville (2-15, 0-6) tried to make a game of things and got within six points, 72-66, on Kamari Lands’ three with 2:51 to go. But on the ensuing possession, Tyson made a three-pointer of his own to extend the lead back to nine points with 2:29 to play.

After the Cardinals cut the lead to six for a second time in the final moments, Hall completed a three-point play to seal the victory with 1:04 remaining in the game.

Louisville was led by Mike James’ 17 points. El Ellis, the Cardinals’ top player, scored 12 points, but finished the night just 4-of-16 from the field.

Of Note: Clemson closed the first half by outscoring the Cardinals 33-12 over the last 12:40.

Stat of the game: Clemson won its 10th consecutive ACC regular season game, the longest in program history.

Injury update: Guard Alex Hemenway missed his fifth straight game due to injury. Brownell said his junior guard will not play against No. 24 Duke on Saturday. He said Hemenway is getting better, but he is not ready to play just yet.

Player of the Game: Tyson scored 28 points and had 11 rebounds for his fifth straight double-double of the year. The graduate senior finished the night 9-of-14 from the field.

Key Moment: Trailing Louisville 16-7 with 12:40 to play in the half, the Tigers went on an 11-0 run over the next four minutes to grab an 18-16 lead with 8:50 to go. They never trailed again. Clemson was 4-for-4 during that 11-0 run, while the Cardinals turned the ball over five times.

Up next: Clemson will host No. 24 Duke Saturday at 5 p.m.

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