Clemson gets hot but can’t snap winless skid at UNC
Not even a run of 15 consecutive made shots was enough to end Clemson’s losing streak at North Carolina.
The Tar Heels built a 15-point halftime lead and overcame an incredible display of shot-making by Clemson in the second half to beat the Tigers 87-79 Tuesday night at the Dean Smith Center.
The loss is Clemson 59th consecutive defeat in Chapel Hill. Clemson remains winless at UNC, a streak dating to the 1925-26 season.
“At the outset, we didn’t do anything to set a tone that we were a really good team coming in here to win,” Tigers coach Brad Brownell said. “We just played the game, and that’s disappointing.”
The sluggish start nearly allowed the game to get away from Clemson in the opening 20 minutes.
The Tigers shot 32 percent from the field, 20 percent from the 3-point line and 40 percent from the free-throw line in the first half, allowing the Tar Heels to jump out to a 38-23 halftime lead.
Clemson turned the ball over four times in the first five minutes and was down double digits in the opening six minutes of the game.
“I think we got caught up in the moment, really, especially with us, how we haven’t won here. I think we all got caught up in the moment. I think some of us were trying too hard,” Tigers leading scorer Marcquise Reed said. “I think once we started out we kind of got in a slump and then we dug ourselves a hole way too deep.”
But unlike some Clemson teams that fell behind by a large margin at UNC and were unable to cut into the deficit, the Tigers never quit.
Clemson scored 56 points in the second half and cut an 18-point lead to two before running out of gas late.
The Tigers did not miss a shot from the 18:45 mark of the second half until 7:02 remained in the game.
“We executed some things better. I thought we were a little more patient. Some of it is law of averages,” Brownell said. “We did miss some open shots in the first half, too. We just played better, settled into the game, actually got a few stops so now you’re not playing against a set defense every time.”
North Carolina coach Roy Williams said of Clemson's 15 consecutive made shots, “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
But after North Carolina’s lead was cut to 66-64, the Tar Heels made big shot after big shot down the stretch to pull away.
UNC’s Cameron Johnson made a 3-pointer to push the lead to five, and Luke Maye followed with a 3 moments later as the Tar Heels regained control.
Johnson led North Carolina with 21 points, including 6 of 9 shooting from 3-point range, while Joel Berry added 17.
UNC shot 51 percent from the field and made 48.4 percent of its 3-point attempts.
“We never really defended like a team that’s a good team, and they just made us pay all night,” Brownell said.
Reed finished with 21 points, scoring 19 in the second half to keep the Tigers in the game, but it wasn’t enough.
Shelton Mitchell added 18 points and four assists for Clemson, while Elijah Thomas finished with 16 points and six rebounds, despite battling foul trouble.
“I was always confident we were going to make a run … I knew we were never going to give up, no matter if we were down 20 with 20 seconds,” Reed said. “I think the biggest thing in the second half is we all kind of relaxed. We didn’t get caught up in the moment. We started playing Clemson basketball.”
The Tigers will return to action Saturday afternoon, hosting Notre Dame at 4 p.m.
CLEMSON (15-3): Grantham 1-9 2-2 5, Thomas 7-9 2-7 16, DeVoe 4-7 0-0 11, Mitchell 6-10 3-3 18, Reed 7-14 4-4 21, Simms 1-1 1-2 3, William 0-0 0-0 0, Skara 0-3 0-0 0, Donnal 1-2 0-1 3, Trapp 0-0 0-0 0, Oliver 0-1 2-2 2, Spencer 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-56 14-21 79.
NORTH CAROLINA (15-4): Maye 4-8 2-4 11, Pinson 2-7 8-8 12, Williams 5-9 3-4 15, Berry 4-12 5-5 17, Johnson 7-10 1-2 21, Miller 0-0 0-0 0, Huffman 0-0 0-0 0, Rohlman 0-0 0-0 0, Manley 1-2 1-1 3, Brooks 1-1 0-0 2, Rush 0-0 0-0 0, Felton 0-0 0-0 0, Ma 0-0 0-0 0, Robinson 2-2 0-0 6, Platek 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-51 20-24 87.
Halftime—North Carolina 38-23. 3-Point Goals—Clemson 11-31 (DeVoe 3-6, Mitchell 3-7, Reed 3-8, Donnal 1-2, Grantham 1-5, Oliver 0-1, Skara 0-2), North Carolina 15-31 (Johnson 6-9, Berry 4-9, Robinson 2-2, Williams 2-5, Maye 1-2, Pinson 0-4). Fouled Out—Thomas. Rebounds—Clemson 24 (Thomas 6), North Carolina 26 (Pinson 7). Assists—Clemson 14 (Grantham 5), North Carolina 23 (Pinson 6). Total Fouls—Clemson 19, North Carolina 21. A—20,155 (21,750).
This story was originally published January 16, 2018 at 9:10 PM with the headline "Clemson gets hot but can’t snap winless skid at UNC."