Clemson lost another close game, this time to Syracuse on a buzzer beater three-pointer. This is the second time the Tigers have lost a game 82-81 at home this year, adding another loss by five or less points to their resume, which now is at four.

The Tigers (13-10, 3-8 ACC) had 12 and eight point leads at different points in the game, but finishing is still a problem that has plagued them all year.

Speaking of finishing, what happened on the last play of the game?

After Clemson took the lead 81-79 on a Donte Grantham turnaround jumper, Syracuse came out of a timeout, drove toward the basket and dumped the ball out to a wide open Tyus Battle, who drained the game-winning three-pointer as time expired.

Clemson head coach Brad Brownell put the loss on his shoulders, saying there was a mistake on the final play.

“There was a mix up on the last play,” he said. “I don’t if it was the scorers table or my staff made a mistake. Obviously, it’s my responsibility.”

Brownell said he only had Sidy Djitte in the game to guard a player that was not actually on the court for the final play. When Djitte saw Syracuse center Tyler Lydon go towards the basket for what looked like a game-tying shot, he dropped off of Battle, something a perimeter player would not have done, and left the shooter wide open for the winning shot.

“I thought (Tyler) Roberson was still in the game for them, and he’s their best offensive rebounder so we had Sidy in their to make sure he didn’t tip it in,” said Browned. “Then you look out and he’s not in the game. We’re in trouble because he’s not used to guarding perimeter players and he leaves the shooter and you lose on a last-second shot.”

After so many close loses this year, Brownell says he feels awful for his players.

Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said his team just executed a great play in crunch time.

“The last play we were going to spread it out,” he said. “The center was playing Tyus so we wanted to try and go to the basket, the center is gonna come back in.”

Boeheim said that although Battle had a bad game, he still trusted him with the last shot.

“It’s a tough shot but he’s been shooting well,” the coach said. “He didn’t have a great night tonight but he caught it and I thought he was gonna make it. It was a great shot and a big-time play from a freshman.”

With this loss, Clemson drops to 3-8 in ACC play, good for 12th in the league. Even with the poor conference record, Boeheim still thinks Clemson is a tournament bid deserving team.

“Clemson’s an NCAA team in my mind, no doubt about it,” he said.

Tuesday night was a must-win for the Tigers, and if they want to prove Boeheim right, the road to the tournament starts at Duke’s famous Cameron Indoor on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Above photo: Clemson Tigers head coach Brad Brownell reacts during the first half against the Syracuse Orange as Littlejohn Coliseum. (Photo by Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports)