CLEMSON – Ace Buckner scored 15 points and Clemson made ten three-pointers against Florida State at Littlejohn Coliseum Saturday, but it was not enough to claw out of a four-game losing skid, as the Tigers fell 70-65 for the second consecutive home loss.
After two tough losses on the road at the hands of No. 3 Duke and Wake Forest, Clemson had an opportunity to right the ship in front of a forgiving home crowd, but the Seminoles ensured there would be no bounce-back day in the Upstate.
The defeat marks the first time the Tigers have lost four games in a row since the 2021-22 season, and the first time since January of 2022 that Clemson has lost two home games in a row.
After a two-minute opening span that included six combined missed shots, R.J. Godfrey got the Tigers’ offense rolling with a layup, and Clemson (20-8, 10-5) took its first lead of the afternoon with a three-pointer from guard Jestin Porter with 14:32 to play in the first half.
Florida State (14-13, 7-7 ACC) knocked down three free throws and a three-pointer to take a 10-5 lead, and despite four early points from guard Ace Buckner, the Seminoles got ahead 17-11 with 8:36 to play.
The Noles knocked down two early triples and benefitted from big-man Nick Davidson getting in early foul trouble.
With just over eight minutes to play, the Tigers stood at a crossroads. They could allow FSU to build a large first-half lead, like Wake Forest found in last week’s game, and try to fight out of it in the second half. Or, they could go on a 10-0 run.
Brad Brownell’s squad chose the latter.
Jake Wahlin answered with his first triple of the night to cut Florida State’s lead to three. Godfrey threw down a slam, and freshman Dallas Thomas made his ninth three-pointer of the year to take a 19-17 lead, the first Tigers’ lead in over 10 minutes.
Thomas knocked down two free throws, and then turned it over to Buckner, a fellow redshirt freshman, to pilot a halftime lead. Buckner knocked down three triples on three consecutive possessions to put the Tigers up 32-28 with 2:07 to play in the first half.
As Luke Loucks, the Seminoles’ coach, called a timeout, Buckner paraded around the court after making a career-high number of shots from beyond-the-arc and 13 first-half points.
The Seminoles did not make it easy, however. This season, Florida State has averaged over 80 points per game and attempted the second-most three-pointers in the ACC. As advertised, the Noles knocked down six from long range on 40 percent shooting in the first half.
LaJae Jones added 11 first half points for the Seminoles on 3-of-5 long range shooting, while Robert McCray V added seven points of his own.
Still, after guard Dillon Hunter knocked down a fadeaway buzzer-beater, the Tigers entered the locker room with a 36-33 lead.
After the break, Clemson emerged with even worse offensive success than it started the game with, shooting just 22 percent from the field in the first five minutes of half two. The Tigers, after Buckner’s offensive explosion in the first, started 0-for-5 in the second half from long range.
In the meantime, Florida State made six of its first nine field goals and made two free throws to take a six-point lead with 13:11 to play, outscoring Clemson 15-6.
McCray V drilled his second triple of the afternoon and the Seminoles knocked in four free throws to extend its lead 50-44. Davidson and Godfrey answered with baskets in the paint, but the only points from a Clemson guard in the first 10 minutes of the second half came from an Ace Buckner fast break dunk.
When FSU clinched its largest lead of the game, guard Butta Johnson made two consecutive triples in his first start since December to cut the lead to two. Hunter added a layup, Godfrey knocked down a free throw to take a one-point lead.
After falling four points behind again with 4:14 to play, Butta Johnson hit his third from beyond-the-arc to cut the lead to one. Hunter added a triple to take a two-point lead, but Florida State answered with a 5-0 run to secure the final score.
Clemson narrowly defeated the Seminoles on the boards by a margin of 29 to 28, and 10 to 5 in offensive rebounds, but still scored 0 second chance points to FSU’s 11.
The Tigers forced nine FSU turnovers, but only scored nine points off of the miscues. FSU on the other hand forced eight Clemson turnovers, but converted them into 14 points. The Noles scored 26 points in the paint to Clemson’s 22.
Hunter finished with 13 points, three off of his season high of 16. Last season, he scored a career-high 17 against the Seminoles. Godfrey added 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field and 4-of-5 shooting from the free throw line. Buckner finished as the Tigers’ leader with 15 points on 50 percent shooting.
McCray V finished with 27 points, two shy of his season-high 29.
Wiggins Returns
Clemson welcomed back forward Chauncey Wiggins, a former Tiger that transferred to FSU at the conclusion of last season. Clemson’s student section booed in the first half each time he caught the ball, but it wore off as the game went on. Wiggins was a big part of the Tigers’ Elite Eight run in 2024 and averaged 8.3 points last season. He finished with seven points on 3-of-6 shooting in his return to the Upstate.
Free Throws
After struggling at the charity stripe for the majority of the season, Clemson knocked down 13 free throws on 15 attempts. Florida State made 14 of 16.
New Lineup
Butta Johnson cracked the starting lineup Saturday for the first time since Clemson’s win over Mercer on Dec. 13. He had seven points in the Tigers’ loss to Wake. This marks the first change to a starting lineup since Brownell moved Davidson to the bench against Cincinnati back in early December
Up Next
The Tigers have a week off before returning to action in Littlejohn next Saturday against the Louisville Cardinals (19-7, 8-5 ACC). The matchup will mark the Tigers’ second-to-last game at Littlejohn this season.