Clemson men’s basketball’s historic NCAA Tournament run came to an end on Saturday night, as the No. 6 Tigers fell to the No. 4 Alabama Crimson Tide 89-82 in the Elite Eight inside the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
Clemson was led offensively by Joseph Girard III (Glens Falls, N.Y./Glens Falls), who finished the game with 19 points, including 17 in the second half, highlighted by five second-half threes. Ian Schieffelin (Loganville, Ga./Grayson) finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds, good for his 11th double-double of the season. PJ Hall (Spartanburg, S.C./Dorman) tallied 14 points before fouling out, while Chase Hunter (Atlanta, Ga./Westlake) added 12 and a team-high five assists. RJ Godfrey (Suwanee, Ga./North Gwinnett) also finished with 12 points.
The Tigers led by as many as 13 in the first half, as a jumper by Jack Clark (Cheltenham, Pa./Cheltenham) put the Tigers ahead 26-13 with 7:54 remaining. The Crimson Tide closed the half on a 22-6 run, however, to take a 35-32 lead into the half.
Clemson hung around for the majority of the second half, not allowing Alabama to lead by more than six until back-to-back threes put the Crimson Tide up nine with 6:22 to go. A three-point-play from Schieffelin followed by a three from Girard cut the lead to three with just over 2:00 to go, but Alabama responded to take a seven-point advantage with 1:15 remaining. The teams traded baskets and free throws the remainder of game time, with Alabama taking the 89-82 win.
The Tigers finish the season with a 24-12 record, the best since 2017-18 (25-10), also a Sweet Sixteen team
