TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama’s Labaron Philon scored a game-high 29 points, while Amari Allen added 20, as the 12th-ranked Crimson Tide held off fierce second-half rally from Clemson to beat the Tigers 90-84 at Coleman Coliseum.

The Crimson Tide used a late 8-0 run to take down the Tigers in the ACC-SEC Challenge. The Tigers missed three out of four fouls shots down the stretch, as well as several shots at the basket, as Bama pulled away late.

Clemson missed its last seven shots to end the game and was just 1 for its last 9. It went the last 2:41 without a field goal.

“This was our first really tough environment, and we just did handle it right,” Clemson head coach Brad Brownell said. “We were on our heels and, obviously, when they make their first six threes or whatever it was, that is not normal.

“That is one of the things we talked about in huddles. They are going to miss some here, but we have to settle down and play better. I feel like we were on our back foot most of the game and I basically put everybody in the game in the first half to try and just find five guys that could fight.”

The Tigers were led by R.J. Godfrey’s 19 points, four rebounds and three assists. Dillon Hunter added 13 points, five rebounds and four assists in a losing effort. Jake Wahlin tallied 13 points, while Zac Foster had 12 points.

Clemson (7-2) trailed 81-78 with under four minutes to play when Wahlin’s drive to the basket bounced off the back of the rim and went off one of his Clemson teammates with 3:30 to play.

Wahlin made up for it on Bama’s next possession though, as he grabbed a long rebound and drove to the basket and drew the foul. He made both free throws to pull the Tigers within one.

Clemson took the lead, 83-81, a few moments later when Godfrey got a Naismith three with 2:41 to play.

After Philon made one himself to but Bama back in front, Godfrey had an opportunity to put the Tigers back on top. But he missed both free throws with 2:19 to go and the Tide capitalized on the other end with a turnaround jumper from Philon with 2:07 to go.

Clemson outscored the Tide 54-45 in the second half.

The Tigers shot 41 percent from the field (29-71), while Bama was 28 of 60 from the field. The Crimson Tide connected on 12 of 34 threes. Clemson was just 4 of 19 from three.

Alabama opened the game making six of its first seven shots from behind the arc.

“I thought our guys were a little bit on their heels. I don’t really know why,” Brownell said. “I don’t know if we were nervous or anxious. We knew this would be a hard game in a tough environment.”

SECOND HALF COMEBACK

After trailing by as many 19 points in the first half, on a couple of occasions, the Tigers finally got things going in the second half.

Clemson went on a 12-1 run to cut the Tide’s lead to two points, 50-48, with 13:53 to play. The Tigers were 4-for-4 from the field during the three minute stretch, while Bama, who could not miss early on, missed five straight shots.

The Tigers ultimately took the lead, 62-61, with 9:53 to go on a Dillon Hunter layup. They also led 66-64 on a Wahlin dunk with 8:54 remaining.

“We made a couple of small adjustments in the second half that helped and, obviously, we came back,” Brownell said. “We showed a lot of toughness and grit and I am proud of my group for that, but the game was winnable. We had a chance to retake the lead with under a minute to go and we just did not finish.”

UNLUCKY SEVEN

When Efrem Johnson made a 3-pointer with 7:53 to play in the first half, it marked Clemson’s first three of the game. Unfortunately for the Tigers, Alabama already had seven 3-pointers.

The Crimson Tide (6-2) made eight first-half 3-pointers on 8 of 18 shooting. Clemson was just 2 of 14 from long range in the opening half.

Alabama led 45-30 at the break.

NO SECOND CHANCE

Clemson grabbed 11 offensive rebounds in the opening half. However, the Tigers had just two second-chance points. Alabama, on the other hand, recorded nine first half rebounds and tallied nine second chance points.

UP NEXT

Clemson will head to New York next Tuesday and play No. 9 BYU in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden.