When Clemson took a 21-point lead over No. 10 BYU into halftime on Tuesday night in the Jimmy V Classic in Madison Square Garden, most everyone expected the Cougars to make a run. They’re just too good to hold down for 40 minutes.

However, there probably weren’t many expecting the Tigers to experience a total collapse over the final 20 minutes of action. 12 minutes into the second half, and Clemson had scored just four points, allowing BYU to almost completely wipe out the double-digit deficit.

With just over three minutes remaining in the game, the collapse was complete, with the Cougars taking their first lead since early in the contest. BYU would extend the lead to six points with just over a minute to go.

“Obviously, a tale of two halves,” head coach Brad Brownell said after the loss. “I thought we played outstanding the first 20 minutes, had them frustrated. The second half, they flipped the script.”

“Which we knew they were really good players and would start making some plays. We didn’t do a good enough job as a coaching staff helping our players on the offensive end in the second half. Thought we got a little stagnant. Their little zone-press was bothersome, and it should not have been.”

However, to Clemson’s credit, the Tigers did not fold. Brownell’s team battled back, getting five points from Dillon Hunter over the final 17 seconds to tie the game at 64-64 with 5.5 seconds to go.

“My guys fought like crazy,” Brownell said. “I thought the first 20 minutes we might have played our best basketball of the season. Some guys made some plays down the stretch to give us a chance to go to overtime, but to their credit, they made a pretty tough shot to beat us.”

After a BYU timeout, the Cougars inbounded the ball with 1.4 seconds left, and Robert White III drilled a three-pointer as time expired to break Clemson’s heart once again.

The Tigers came in fresh off another gut-wrenching defeat at the hands of Alabama. After getting down big early, Clemson came back and took a late lead over the Crimson Tide, only to see it disappear, and Alabama eventually win it by six.

While Brownell is certainly satisfied with the effort he’s seen from his team in both losses, at the same time, he also knows his team has to learn how to finish. At least against the better teams on the schedule.

“My guys keep playing, but we have to play better basketball against elite teams,” Brownell said. “That is what we have played this week. We have played Alabama and BYU, two Top 15 teams in the country. We just haven’t quite played well enough for 40 minutes to beat them. We just have to get back to the drawing board and improve on a couple of things. As far as competitive fire and spirit, really proud of my team.”

Photo courtesy of Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images