19-point comeback falls just short, Clemson drops one to Alabama

Traveling to Alabama as a part of the ACC/SEC challenge, the Clemson Tigers were going to have their hands full against the Crimson Tide on Wednesday night.

The 12th-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide (6-2) pulled out a win against Clemson (7-2) on Wednesday, but Alabama was almost stunned at home. Around midway through the first half, Alabama led Clemson by 19 (31-12), and with around 12 minutes left in the game, the score was tied at 54-54. Erasing once a 19-point lead, Clemson ran out of gas down the stretch, and Alabama secured the win on Wednesday night by a final score of 90-84.

A poor shooting night crippled Clemson in the late stages of the game. Shooting an overall 41% from the floor (29-for-71 from the floor) and 21% from behind the arc (4-for-19 from three), it is hard to win with those types of shooting performances. One area that certainly kept the Tigers in the game was their ability to score around the rim. Outscoring Alabama 50-32 in the paint, Godfrey and company took advantage of the interior Alabama defense. Clemson also won the rebounding battle, out-rebounding Alabama 43-39 on the glass.

Godfrey’s 19 points in 32 minutes of action led the way for Clemson scorers. The former Georgia player shot 6-for-10 from the field and 7-for-9 from the free throw line. Godfrey also added four rebounds, three assists, one steal, and one block to his stat sheet. Point guard Dillon Hunter (13 points), freshman guard Zac Foster (12 points), forward Jake Wahlin (11 points), who also led the team in rebounds with six, and big man Nick Davidson (11 points) all finished with double-digit points.

Alabama finished with two players scoring at least 20 points. Forward Amari Allen and guard Labaron Phillips Jr. finished with 20 and 29 points, respectively. Three other Alabama scorers also finished with double-digit points (Taylor Bol Bowen, Houston Mallette, and London Jemison).

Clemson gets a little break before going up against another test. The Tigers will travel to Provo, Utah, to take on the ninth-ranked BYU Cougars on Tuesday. Head coach Brad Brownell will certainly have adjustments that he would like to make before taking on the Cougars on the road.