Clemson battled against multiple runs on Saturday, but fell short late in FedexForum against Memphis 79-77, the Tigers’ first loss of the 2023-’24 season.
True road games hadn’t phased No. 13 Clemson this year, but the turnovers were too costly in this one. The 15 giveaways led to 11 fastbreak points for Memphis and it ended the undefeated run to the start of the season.
David Jones led the way for four double-digit Memphis scorers with 22 points while Jahvon Quinerly commanded the offense with a 17-point, six-assist outing.
PJ Hall totaled 21 points and three blocks for Clemson, while Ian Schieffelin’s rebounding excellence continued, adding a 11-point, 10-rebound double-double. He also had six assists.
Forward Chauncey Wiggins added a career-high 19 points, while Chase Hunter added 13 in the loss. Wiggins was 3-for-6 from behind the arc and 8 of 12 overall from the field.
Clemson jumped out to a 11-2 lead before Memphis responded with an 11-2 run of its own. The rise of Wiggins continued, as he led the Tigers with 13 first-half points, including three makes from behind the arc.
The two teams traded leads before Clemson (9-1) entered the break with strong 39-32 lead.
The second half was a struggle early, and Clemson took 4:51 to make their first field goal. Memphis jumped out to a three-point lead at the under-16 timeout.
When it looked bleak, Hall led the way. He slammed home dunks on back-to-back possessions, including an-and-one.
Both teams continued the boxing match, as the game went up through nine lead changes. Clemson’s Chase Hunter has struggled offensively as of late, but he responded in a big moment with a three-pointer to knot the game at 66 with 6:15 to play.
Still, multiple careless, cross-court passes in the waning moments derailed hopes of a comeback victory, though Clemson got it down to a one-point game in the last 20 seconds.
Memphis (8-2) missed a multitude of late free throws, opening a door for Clemson to steal the game, but the Tigers could not get it done.
Clemson has a four-day break before returning to Littlejohn Coliseum for a matchup with Queens next Friday, tipoff is at 6 p.m.
–photo by Chris Day/The Commercial Appeal / USA TODAY NETWORK