CHARLOTTE — Clemson’s run in the ACC Tournament came to an abrupt halt on Friday night as top-seeded Duke made easy work of the fifth-seeded Tigers 73-61 in the semifinals of the event in the Spectrum Center in Charlotte.

Clemson (24-10) looked like a team that had played three consecutive late-night games, as the shots were routinely short, hitting off the front of the rim. On the defensive end, the Tigers had no answer for Cameron Boozer, who posted a double-double with 24 points and 14 rebounds.

RJ Godfrey led Clemson with 18 points, while also pulling down six boards. He finished 6-for-10 from the floor. Jestin Porter finished with 12 points, while Ace Buckner added 11. Buckner struggled with his shot, hitting on just 2-of-10 and 1-of-4 from deep. He was 6-of-6 from the charity stripe.

It was a low-scoring affair throughout much of the first half. The Tigers struggled to shoot the ball over the first 20 minutes of play, hitting on just 35% from the field. The perimeter shooting was even worse, as Clemson was just 2-of-13 beyond the arc before finishing 7-of-23 for the game.

With about seven minutes to go in the first half, the Blue Devils started to pull away. The Tigers went almost the final eight minutes of the half without a field goal, while Duke went on a 22-3 run to take a 41-22 lead into the break.

A dunk by Godfrey about five minutes into the second half pulled the Tigers to within 14, but Duke quickly pushed the lead back out to 20 at 52-32.

Another dunk by Godfrey and a three-pointer from Porter helped pull Clemson to within 52-39 with just under 11 minutes to go. The Tigers would then pull to within a dozen points multiple times, but could never get any closer until there were 38.7 seconds left when a Porter bucket made it 71-61.

Not Nearly Enough

After an amazing night against North Carolina, Nick Davidson just could not replicate that success against the Blue Devils. He finished the night with just three points and did not hit his first field goal until well into the second half. With Carter Welling out, the Tigers needed more from Davidson to have a shot. Much more. Instead, Duke suffocated the big man all night, leaving him very little room to work.

Jake Wahlin, who was inserted into the starting lineup after Welling’s injury, did not register a point, going 0-for-3 from the floor. All three shots were from three-point range.

Up Next

Clemson will wait to hear their NCAA Tournament seeding during the selection show on Sunday. The Tigers are a lock to make the Big Dance for the third straight year, it is just a matter of where the team is seeded and where they will play in the first round.

Photo courtesy of the ACC