Clemson’s season ends with loss to Wichita State in NIT

The Clemson men’s basketball team had several close losses throughout the 2018-19 season. Clemson’s season came to an end on one Sunday afternoon at Littlejohn Coliseum.

Wichita State, led by South Carolina native Gregg Marshall, beat the Tigers 63-55 in the second round of the NIT. The Shockers advance to face Indiana in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.

Clemson trailed by as many as 13 points early in the second half, and the Tigers never led in the game. Clemson shot only 28 percent from the field and 14 percent from 3-point range in the loss.

Still, the Tigers stayed within striking distance and pulled to within 58-55 with 1:17 left. Clemson had a chance to tie or trim the deficit to one, but Elijah Thomas was unable to convert in the paint, and Wichita State’s Samajae Haynes-Jones drilled a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired on the ensuing possession to push the lead to six. Clemson never got any closer.

Jaime Echenique led the Shockers with 18 points, going 7-for-8 from the field. Wichita State’s Markis McDuffie added 16 points, while Haynes-Jones finished with 10.

Marcquise Reed led the TIgers with 18 points, but he needed 20 field goal attempts to get them. Reed was the only Clemson player to finish in double figures.

The loss marked the end of the careers of several Clemson seniors, including Reed, Thomas, Shelton Mitchell and David Skara. Mitchell did not play during the NIT because of a knee injury.

The four seniors helped Clemson to one of the best seasons in school history in 2017-18 as the Tigers advanced to the Sweet 16. Clemson entered this season with high hopes thanks to its seniors but was unable to live up to expectations.

Box score

WICHITA ST. (21-14)

McDuffie 5-12 3-6 16, Echenique 7-8 2-2 18, Haynes-Jones 4-15 0-0 10, Dennis 3-8 2-2 9, Burton 0-2 0-0 0, Brown 0-0 0-0 0, Poor Bear-Chandler 1-1 0-0 2, Midtgaard 3-4 0-0 6, Torres 1-2 0-0 2, Stevenson 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 24-55 7-10 63.

CLEMSON (20-14)

Simms 2-3 2-2 7, Thomas 2-8 4-8 8, Skara 1-5 4-4 7, Reed 5-20 8-10 18, Trapp 1-8 4-5 6, White 2-2 1-2 5, Tyson 0-0 0-0 0, Jemison 0-0 0-0 0, Newman 2-7 0-0 4, Davis 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 15-53 23-31 55.

Halftime: Wichita St. 29-24. Three-Point Goals: Wichita St. 8-24 (McDuffie 3-9, Echenique 2-3, Haynes-Jones 2-5, Dennis 1-5, Stevenson 0-2), Clemson 2-14 (Simms 1-2, Skara 1-3, Newman 0-1, Trapp 0-3, Reed 0-5). Fouled Out_None. Rebounds: Wichita St. 35 (Dennis 11), Clemson 29 (Thomas 8). Assists: Wichita St. 11 (Torres, Haynes-Jones, Burton 3), Clemson 6 (Reed, Trapp, Newman, Simms, Thomas, Skara 1). Total Fouls: Wichita St. 23, Clemson 14. Technicals: Clemson coach Brad Brownell, Thomas. Attendance: 3,266 (10,000).

This story was originally published March 24, 2019 at 4:13 PM.