It was a valiant effort, but No. 6 seed Clemson fell to No. 4 Alabama, 89-82, in the West Regional Final of the NCAA Tournament, falling a game short of the program’s first Final Four appearance.

The Tigers (24-12) jumped out to a 26-13 lead in the first 13 minutes of the game, but gave up a 22-6 run that setup for a second half full of scoring. Here’s the 411 on the Clemson’s run coming to an end against the Crimson Tide at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

–Clemson came into this game No. 10 in the country in free throw percentage. It became the demise of this NCAA Tournament run. The Tigers shot just 8 of 16 from the charity stripe, five key misses in the last five minutes erased what could’ve been.

–Going inside was clearly the focus for Clemson head coach Brad Brownell heading into the game. That forced Alabama’s Grant Nelson into foul trouble with two in the first four minutes. Ian Schieffelin and RJ Godfrey led the push. Schieffelin had an impressive day, finishing with 18 points and 11 rebounds. That was his 11th double-double of the year.

–Clemson guard Chase Hunter made this team go in the first three games of the NCAA Tournament, but he didn’t have the same efficiency in this one. Hunter finished with 12 points, six assists and five rebounds but it wasn’t the same excellence from games past. Though he was 5-for-11 overall from the field, he was just 1-for-6 from behind the arc. He did had two blocks and two steals to his stat sheet.

–There was a clear size advantage for Clemson but you wouldn’t know it looking at the rebounding numbers. The Tigers gave up an uncharacteristic 13 offensive rebounds in the first half, eliminating any struggles the Crimson Tide had on that end. Bama finished with 16 offensive boards.

–The Crimson Tide (25-11) started 1-13 from behind the arc then made 5 of 8 to end the first half. That was a heavy hand in a 22-6 run, taking a 35-32 lead into the break. Clemson allowed too many open looks and its 13-point lead disappeared quickly. The Tide was 10-for-15 from long range in the second half and made 15 of their last 23 attempts.

–Jarin Stevenson was the engine, hitting five threes and keeping Alabama in the game. He was left open in the corner and punished the Clemson defense accordingly. That bought leading scorer Mark Sears enough time to catch fire, making six threes in the second half and finishing with 23 points.

–Joseph Girard III never found his footing in this tournament and couldn’t help the Tigers overcome its first true piece of adversity in this run. He caught fire late, hitting back-to-back threes but Alabama responded with its own on both. That became the trend late as Clemson went 7 of 8 from the floor near the end of the game, but it didn’t matter. Girard finished with a team-high 19 points, 17 coming after the break.

–PJ Hall fouled out with 3:25 left in the game. It was a contested call as the Crimson Tide were reviewed for a hook-and-hold, but the call remained a common foul that ended the first-team All-ACC player’s season and Clemson career. Hall finished the night with 14 points.

Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

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