CHARLOTTE – Clemson University men’s basketball fell to No. 1 Duke 73 -61 in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament on Friday night in Spectrum Center.
The Tigers (24-10) were led by RJ Godfrey’s (Suwanee, Ga./North Gwinnett/Georgia) 18 points and six rebounds. He added a block, a steal and an assist.
Jestin Porter (Houston, Texas/Cypress Ridge/Middle Tennessee State) scored 12 points off the bench and finished 4-for-7 from the floor, including three threes. Ace Buckner (Dallas, Texas/La Lumiere School (Ind.) was the Tigers’ third double-figure scorer, finishing with 11 points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Clemson got off to a good start against Duke and led 16-15 nearly midway through the opening stanza. From there, however, the Blue Devils would go on an ensuing 25-7 run to end the first half and lead the Tigers by 19 at the break.
The Tigers were limited to its lowest first half total of the season (22) and its lowest field goal percentage in the opening period (22.2 percent). The Tigers’ outscored the Blue Devils in the second half, but the run in the first was too much to overcome.
Clemson would come back to within 12 with 8:21 remaining, but the Tigers just couldn’t get the deficit below 10 to build momentum.
The Tigers now await their seed on Selection Sunday for the NCAA Tournament.
