TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Clemson University men’s basketball scored 54 second-half points and held an 83-81 lead over No. 12 Alabama with 2:41 left in regulation after trailing by a game-high 19 points in the first half but couldn’t hold on for the victory. Alabama finished the game on a 9-1 run for the win.
The Tigers (7-2) lost its first game in the history of the ACC/SEC Challenge (2-1 overall) to the Crimson Tide on Wednesday night. RJ Godfrey (Suwanee, Ga./North Gwinnett/Georgia) led the Tigers with a season-high 19 points to help lead the comeback effort.
After zero points in just 2:28 played in the first half, Nick Davidson (Mission Viejo, Calif./Mater Dei/Nevada) finished the second half 4-for-5 from the field and 11 points. Dillon Hunter (Atlanta, Ga./Westlake) finished with 13 points, five rebounds, four assists and zero turnovers.
Zac Foster (Atlanta, Ga./Woodward Academy) posted 12 points off the bench while Jake Wahlin (Provo, Utah/Timpview/Utah) rounded out the double-figure scorers with 11.
Alabama made its first five threes from beyond the arc in the first 10 minutes of game action. The Crimson Tide finished the game 7-for-29 from three.
Aided by the 3-pointers, Alabama built its largest lead of the game at 31-12 with 9:48 left in the opening stanza. Clemson cut the deficit to 15 at the break.
The Tigers used a 10-0 run keyed by Wahlin layup and finished with Hunter layup to pull to within just three points at 51-48. The scoring run in total for Clemson was 24-9 out of halftime to knot the score at 54-54 with 12:05 remaining.
The Tigers took its first lead in the game since 2-0 at 66-64 with 8:54 left.
Alabama went on a run of its own and built up a six-point advantage, but the Tigers responded with an 8-0 run to lead 83-81 with 2:41 left. The Crimson Tide finished the game on a 9-1 run to seal the victory.
The Tigers finished with 50 points in the paint and 35 off the bench. Clemson outrebounded Alabama 43-39 and finished with 18 offensive rebounds.
Labaron Philon led the game with 29 points, while Aiden Sherrell added a career-high eight blocked shots – the second-most in a game against Clemson since Sam Harris of Old Dominion had seven on Nov. 18, 2007. The record for a single game against the Tigers is 10 by Cherokee Parks of Duke on March 11, 1994.
Clemson returns to the court on Tuesday, Dec. 9 when it travels to New York City to face BYU at Madison Square Garden in the Jimmy V Classic. The game is set for 6:30 p.m. on ESPN.
Notes: Clemson fell to 7-2 overall this season and 8-6 all-time against Alabama … the Tigers moved to 1-1 this season against the SEC … Clemson’s 54 points in the second half was the most in any single half this season … Clemson was held to a season-low 21.1 percent from three (4-19) … RJ Godfrey finished with a season-high 19 points … Clemson’s 18 offensive rebounds were the third most its totaled this season … Clemson finished 22-28 at the free throw line – its fourth time totaling 20 or more free throws this season and the third game in a row … Godfrey made a career-high seven free throws … with Godfrey’s 19 points he now has 52 points in his career against Alabama in four career games – the most of any opponent in his career … Nick Davidson finished with 11 points, his fourth double-digit scoring game of the season and his first since Nov. 15 (13 at Georgetown) … Jake Wahlin totaled 10 points – his first double-digit scoring game since Nov. 11 against Morehead State.
