Clemson basketball coach Brad Brownell says Duke game was ‘taken from us’
Clemson basketball was seven seconds away from its first win against Duke in Cameron Indoor Stadium in nearly 30 years Saturday afternoon.
But a last-second foul call sent Blue Devils point guard Tyrese Proctor to the line with one second remaining for two free throws, which he sank to secure a 72-71 win.
That foul call, as well as the perception of calls in No. 12 Duke’s direction throughout the game, set Clemson fans ablaze on social media after the loss. One of the team’s radio analysts, Tim Bourret, said it was one of the worst-officiated basketball games he’d seen in 46 years. The other, Don Munson, described the officiating as “pitiful.” Clemson head coach Brad Brownell, who has never won against Duke in Durham, said postgame that he felt like the game was “taken from us.”
Brownell ripped off his suit jacket in frustration after the final call leading to Proctor’s free throws.
“We lost by two the last time I was here,” Brownell said. “We had the lead with two minutes to go. I’ve been here in this same situation about four times, within a possession, and I haven’t won one yet. Tonight was just the closest we got. We got to one second and got it taken from us. Thank you. Bye.”
Clemson trailed by as many as 12 points in the game but roared back in the second half and went up 71-70 after All-ACC center PJ Hall was fouled and made two free throws with 7.6 seconds remaining.
After a Duke timeout, Proctor took the ball coast to coast and missed a layup near the buzzer, but officials called Clemson guard Josh Beadle for a shooting foul. Proctor made both shots, and Clemson couldn’t get a game-winning attempt off with one second remaining (Hall collided with a Duke player near Clemson’s free-throw line on that play, another moment that caused frustration among fans on social media).
“It’s hard to win here,” Brownell said. “I’m really disappointed with how it ended.”
While giving credit to Duke and conceding that Clemson could have played better, Brownell said there was a lot of “emotion” on the Tigers’ bench after the final call. Brownell was seen on the ESPN broadcast holding back point guard Joe Girard III from confronting an official after the final buzzer.
Brownell also told the Clemson radio broadcast postgame that a first-half technical call on forward Jack Clark for, according to the explanation he got from officials, shoving the ball into the chest of a Duke player after a made basket was “ridiculous.” The made Duke free throw after that technical foul was the difference in a one-point game.
“That’s the emotion affecting the officials and creating stuff that wasn’t even there,” he said, adding that he felt like there were a few of those calls in the game.
Clemson fell to 13-6 and 3-5 in the ACC and is currently 10th out of 15 teams in the standings. The Tigers also lost a 21st consecutive game against Duke in Durham; their last win in Cameron Indoor came on Jan. 4, 1995.
This story was originally published January 27, 2024 at 7:00 PM.
