Clemson’s men’s basketball dropped its fourth straight game, as the Tigers were unable to overcome another strong effort from a conference foe.

While it was able to chip away at times, Clemson (12-13, 4-9 ACC) was never fully able to mount a comeback against Notre Dame, as the Tigers finished off their three-game homestand 0-3 after a 76-61 loss at the Littlejohn Coliseum Saturday.

The Tigers looked exactly like a team that was without two of its starters — Hunter Tyson (broken clavicle) and David Collins (suspension). Clemson also looked like a team that was playing its fourth game in seven days.

Clemson, who has now dropped eight of its last 10 games, got 19 points from PJ Hall and 12 points from Nick Honor, but the Tigers shot just 43.3% from the floor. With Tyson and Collins out of the lineup, that opened the door for Ian Schiefflein to make his second-career start, while Nick Honor was reinserted into Clemson’s starting five.

Honor and Schiefflein combined for 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting. On the other hand, Al-Amir Dawes and Chase Hunter combined for six points on 2-of-13 shooting, while Naz Bohannon added 10 points of his own.

“We got punched in the mouth and right away we were down double figures,” Clemson head coach Brad Brownell said postgame.

As for Notre Dame, it didn’t have much trouble shooting-wise, as the Fighting Irish shot nearly 53% from the field and 54.2% from deep. And even though they were outscored by Clemson 36-28 in the paint, it didn’t end up mattering.

Freshman guard Blake Wesley paced Notre Dame with 21 points, 18 of which came in the first half. He started off the game a perfect 6-of-6 from the field and 4-of-4 from beyond the arc.

Notre Dame senior guard Dane Goodwin (8-of-13 shooting) added 20 points.

Behind Wesley’s 18 first-half points, Notre Dame held a 38-28 advantage at the break. The Fighting Irish led by as many as 19 in the opening frame. Clemson was able to go on a 17-10 run of its own to finish ou the half, cutting the deficit to just 10-points

“I just thought we had a hard time when they got going early,” Brownell said.

The Tigers got the game within striking distance at 41-34 with 18 minutes and 20 seconds remaining in the second half and 55-47 with 10:18 remaining. However, Notre Dame never took its foot off the gas and blitzed Clemson with an additional 38 points in the final 20 minutes of play.

Clemson will look to bounce back on the road against Florida State on Tuesday. Though, the Seminoles have lost six straight and are coming off a 94-74 loss Saturday at North Carolina.

“It’ll be another battle,” Alex Hemenway said postgame. “We both lost today, so both teams will be hungry for a W.”

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