South Carolina falls to Clemson for first loss of the new season

South Carolina came into Wednesday wanting its respect. It knew it needed to win this one to get to where it wanted to go.

But it just wasn’t meant to be.

Despite playing well most of the night, the Gamecocks came up short in a 72-67 loss to No. 24 Clemson. It was their first loss of this season after getting off to a 7-0 start.

“Game ended up like I thought it would. Not in terms of who won and lost but that one team was going to lose. And it was going to be a tough loss no matter who lost this game. You had two good teams in here playing,” head coach Lamont Paris said.

How it happened

Heading into this game, Paris knew his team would face some sort of adversity. And with a loud and hostile crowd on hand, the Gamecocks got out to a 10-2 lead and looked just fine.

But Clemson responded with a 7-0 run to energize the crowd and cut the lead. However, the Tigers could never truly command a lead of their own. They only led for 24 seconds in the first half.

One problem South Carolina faced early was slowing down Clemson’s big men, PJ Hall and Ian Schieffelin. They were able to rule the paint in the early going and score without much trouble.

Schieffelin presented the most difficulty, finishing with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Tasked with guarding him for most of the night would be BJ Mack.

“It was a great matchup between me and Ian,” Mack said. “We knew coming in he was one of their energy guys, glue guys. It was going to be very physical. So it was a good matchup for me.”

[GamecockCentral for $1: In-depth coverage and a great community]

Eventually, the Gamecocks found a way to hold them for a moment and retake a lead. Meechie Johnson was rolling from the start, hitting his first four shots to get up to 11 points. But just like earlier, the Tigers responded with another 7-0 run to tie the game at 23.

Over the final eight minutes, Clemson failed to find much consistency on the floor. The Tigers failed to hit a shot over the last 7:40 heading into halftime. It wasn’t much prettier for South Carolina, who also had struggles of its own. At one point, it only made one of its last eight shots.

However, with how poorly the Tigers were shooting, the Gamecocks soon capitalized and finished the first half on a 7-0 run to grab a 30-23 lead.

“We were communicating a lot, we were together,” Johnson said. “But we can’t also allow our offense to dictate our defense. And we’ve honestly been doing a pretty good job this year doing that.”

After not scoring for more than eight minutes, Clemson finally hit a three-pointer to end its long drought. It ended what was a long 9-0 run for the Gamecocks, which dipped into the second half.

Even with the Tigers ending their scoring drought, South Carolina responded by taking an 11-point lead. Things just weren’t going well for Clemson.

But the Tigers broke through and went on a 11-0 run midway through the second half to tie the game at 44. Just when the Gamecocks couldn’t find a bucket, they got one when it mattered most, a high-arching three-pointer from Ta’lon Cooper to reclaim the lead.

Things would become nip and tuck the rest of the way as both sides went at it. South Carolina led by three at one point, but Clemson responded quickly with a pair of threes made by Chauncey Wiggins.

The Gamecocks didn’t take long to provide an answer as Johnson sank a three on his second look to tie it right back up at 54.

With just under two minutes to go and Clemson leading by three, Hall missed his second free throw and the Tigers were able to grab the rebound. On that possession, Chase Hunter hit a three from the top of the key to make it a six-point game. It would be enough for Clemson to hold on and win.

“I thought we got stagnant, we settled for some stuff. And then the other thing, we gave up 16 second-chance points. You’re not going to beat a good team when you do that,” Paris said.

Related: South Carolina-Clemson box score

Two observations

Stephen Clark proving he belongs—Clark had been the only starter on this team to not truly earn a consistent role yet. His minutes had been very limited. But he stepped up big when South Carolina needed him to and did his job in the paint. He finished with 10 points on 3-of-5 shooting and had five rebounds in 16 minutes.

Just not enough—Despite how well the Gamecocks played at times, Clemson proved why it’s ranked 24th in the country. The Tigers did just a little more in the final minutes to pull away. South Carolina battled hard, but it still has some work to do to get to that point of high-level play.

[The perfect Christmas gift: A gift subscription to GamecockCentral]

Key stat

49 to 37—Clemson just played much better in the second half. After being held scoreless in the final seven minutes of the first half, the Tigers dropped 49 points after the break to pull away to a big win.

Turning point

Late in the game, Hall missed his second free throw. But Clemson grabbed the rebound and managed to create another shot opportunity, which it took advantage of. Chase Hunter knocked down a three-pointer from the top of the key to make it a six-point game.

[On3 App: Get South Carolina push notifications from GamecockCentral]

Up next

South Carolina (7-1) will be back in action Saturday afternoon in Greenville, NC, where it will take on East Carolina. Tip-off is at noon on ESPNU.

Discuss South Carolina basketball on The Insiders Forum!