Clemson went into South Bend without starting forward Jack Clark, and fell late to Notre Dame 69-62, missing an opportunity for sole control of No. 4 in the ACC standings.

The Irish came in winning four of its last five games, including a victory over Wake Forest that was massive for the Tigers standings. That same team went to battle with Clemson in a game that featured 11 lead changes.

With Clark out, Chauncey Wiggins made the start, something he’d done 17 times this season before the lineup change. He jumped out with four points early and stepped up with a key veteran out, but it wasn’t enough.

PJ Hall and Ian Schieffelin carried the load on the road and then some. Hall led all scorers with 21 while Schieffelin had his ninth double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds.

Markus Burton led Notre Dame with 17 points in the first half. He was a one-man army as Clemson still went to the break up 34-31. Burton went quiet in the second half, but Tae Davis took over the duties with 18 second-half points. The Tigers starting backcourt was 0-7 from the floor in the first half, but the pair found its rhythm after halftime.

After the break, Girard scored 11 points but finished 3-12 from the floor. This was a contest with nearly even stats in every category. The one slight difference was the Irish were more effective outside compared to Clemson’s inside game.

It came down to who would close the game, and the Irish made three straight buckets to go up 56-50 with less than seven minutes to play. Burton woke back up to end the affair, drilling a dagger three to make it 59-51 which was too much to overcome.

Following the loss, the Tigers come to Littlejohn Coliseum for Senior Night Tuesday. Clemson takes on Syracuse at 7 p.m., televised on ESPN2.