Without Hall, Tigers Fall at Louisville

Clemson loses its sixth straight game

CLEMSON, S.C. — Clemson lost its sixth straight game Saturday at the KFC Yum Center in Louisville, as the Cardinals downed the Tigers 70-61.

While Clemson (12-15, 4-12 ACC) lost its sixth straight game, Louisville snapped a seven-game skid, the program’s longest since the 1940s.

The Cardinals (12-14, 5-11 ACC) went on a 10-0 run during a four-minute stretch in the last five minutes of the game, which was capped by a Noah Locke 3-pointer with 1:11 to play. During that stretch, the Tigers were 0-for-7 from the floor.

"We got the game late into the second half with a chance," Clemson head coach Brad Brownell said. "I am disappointed we were not able to take it into the last minute. We needed to be able to get a couple of more stops in the second half and needed to make a couple of more plays.

"But I thought our guys played pretty aggressive. I thought we played pretty confidently and I thought our team adjusted well to, obviously, losing P.J. (Hall) in the first minute."

The story of the game was the injury to forward P.J. Hall. He went down with an injury a little more than a minute into Saturday's game and did not return.

"Like I told our guys, 'We are all on scholarship. We got to be able to overcome it and we still have to put ourselves in position with a chance to win the game. We are good enough to do that.' So, I was a little disappointed we did not make the plays in the second half to do that down the stretch," Brownell said.  

Hall injured his left foot with 18:53 to play in the first half. It is the same injured foot he has been playing on all season.

Brownell said after the game he cannot report anything new on Hall's injured foot, in terms of what the significance of the injury is and how long he might be out of the lineup.

The Tigers' leading scorer came down and twisted the foot when going up to catch an entry pass from David Collins around the Louisville basket. He tried to get up and walk it off, but eventually he limped off the court and walked to the end of bench where his left foot was iced.

"He just landed on his foot," Brownell said. "He kind of caught it on an awkward step. A little out of rhythm pass. Probably, maybe, a little ill-advised and he just did not quite have his balance. I think, he just kind of stepped a little awkwardly on that (left) foot. He tweaked it or whatnot. We took him out and put some ice on it to see what it would feel like.

"I knew. I told (the trainer), 'There is no reason to put him back in the game unless, but I can't imagine he is going to feel better.' So, we just decided to shut him down."      

Hall stayed on the bench for the majority of the half before leaving the floor for the locker room. When the Tigers returned following halftime, Hall came back with a boot on his left foot. He was averaging 16 points and six rebounds per night coming into Saturday’s game.

Louisville was led by Locke’s 15 points, while Clemson’s Al-Amir Dawes came off the bench to score a game-high 18 points in a losing effort. Naz Bohannon added 11 points for Clemson, as well.

"Give Louisville credit. I thought their kids made some big shots under some pressure in the second half," Brownell said. "Again, I am really proud of our group. I thought our guys battled and fought."

Key Play: With Clemson leading by a point, 54-53, Ian Schieffelin missed a cutting Chase Hunter on a backdoor screen that could have extended the Tigers’ lead with 7:00 to play. Instead, the turnover allowed the Cardinals to score on the next possession to regain the lead, which they did not lose again.

Player of the Game: Al-Amir Dawes led the Tigers and all scorers with 18 points. He also had seven rebounds and two assists with just one turnover. The guard was 6-for-11 from the floor, including 6 of 10 from 3-point range.

Stat of the game: Despite scoring 32 points in the paint, the Tigers attempted just four foul shots.

Injuries: P.J. Hall (left foot) left the game for Clemson at the 18:53 mark in the first half and he did not return. Hunter Tyson is out with a broken clavicle.

Up Next: The Tigers will host Wake Forest at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.