Following last week’s loss to NC State in the ACC Basketball Tournament, Clemson head coach Brad Brownell said he was “really disappointed with the way the game ended.”

During Monday’s press conference to talk about the Tigers’ invitation to the National Invitational Tournament, Brownell was asked if he could explain what he meant by his comments in Charlotte.

“I thought there were a lot of things that were difficult for our team throughout the game in an extremely important and emotional game,” he said. “I am not going to delve into all of that because it would not be good for me. I was hurting for my players. Those are hard locker rooms. You don’t have the right things to say to them.”

Clemson lost 59-58 in a game many thought the Tigers (19-13) would have gotten into the NCAA field had they beat the Wolfpack. But Clyde Trapp was called for a controversial foul on NC State guard Markell Johnson with 2.6 seconds to play.

Down one point at the time, Johnson calmly stepped down the line and sank the game-tying and game-winning free throws to be beat Clemson.

However, Brownell indicated there were things his team could have done a better job of in the second half as well that could have prevented them from the losing game. Incidentally making more than six field goals on 31 attempts and missing 14 straight shots during a 10-minute stretch which caused a 16-point halftime lead to disappear.

“There are things we should have done to finish the game. We did not make shots in the second half,” the Clemson coach said. “Guys did not drive the ball as much as we wanted to in certain situations, but there were also some things that caused the game to be a little bit more difficult in situations in how the game was played and how it affected the game being played. You just want consistency in everything, and it was a little bit of a tough situation that way.

“Again, we were in position to do our job and we did not do our job, either.”

Brownell says he has had conversations with the ACC about the way last Wednesday’s game ended.

“They know how I feel,” he said.

He said it is now out of his hands. He has not received a response from the ACC just yet, but he is sure when things die down, they will have better conversations at a better time.

Those conversations will likely occur at the ACC Spring Meetings in Amalia Island, Fla., later this spring.

Clemson will play Wright State in the first round of the NIT Tuesday night at 7 p.m.