Clemson’s Frantic Comeback Falls Short in loss to Cardinals
By: will-vandervort March 15, 2025

CHARLOTTE — Tenth-ranked Clemson rallied from 15 points down in the final three-and-half minutes of the ACC Tournament Semifinals, but fell short in the end, as No. 13 Louisville held on for a 76-73 victory at the Spectrum Center.

The Tigers trailed by 15 points, 69-54, with 3:28 to play in the game when they frantically found their way back into the ballgame and with a chance to tie or take the lead with 25 seconds to play.

Guard Chase Hunter drove the lane to try and tie the game, and though it appeared he was fouled on the play, no whistle was blown. Hunter stood up in disbelief with six seconds left to play.

 

“Obviously, a very difficult ending for us. Really proud of my players for just continuing to compete and believe and just keep fighting,” Clemson head coach Brad Brownell said. “We had a chance to win the game there at the end, had a couple things maybe not go our way, but man, we just — these guys just kept fighting.”

It was crazy the game came down to Hunter’s game-trying tie in the first place. Clemson seemed done when Louisville’s Chucky Hepburn made two free throws with 3:28 to go.

However, on Clemson’s next possession, Chauncey Wiggins hit a jumper from the right corner that got the Tigers going and then Hunter took over to get his team back in the game.

Clemson (27-6) turned the Cardinals over six times in the last 3:28, using a full-court press to gain extra possessions. Trailing 75-66, the Tigers used a couple of those turnovers to go on 7-0 run, as Hunter’s driving layup with 54 seconds to play pulled the Tigers within two points.

“Yeah, we just fought. We knew the game wasn’t over. There was a lot of time left on the clock,” Hunter said. “We’re a very gritty team, and we wanted to fight until the end.”

The Tigers, the No. 3 seed, then forced a shot clock violation on that Cardinals’ next possession that gave them an opportunity to win or tie the game.

“Just shows what kind of team we are, how connected we are,” forward Ian Schieffelin said. “We wanted to win. It didn’t go our way today most of the game, but at the end of the day, you’ve got to keep fighting, and that’s what we did.”

Clemson was led by Hunter’s game-high 23 points. Center Viktor Lakhin scored 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds before fouling out, while Schieffelin posted his 12th double-double of the season with 14 points and 12 rebounds.

Jaeden Zackery added 11 points and three assists for the Tigers as well.

Terrence Edwards led the Cardinals (27-6) with 21 points, while J’Vonne Handley added 20 points. Hepburn tallied 12 points, while Noah Waterman added 10 points for Louisville.

Clemson led 17-10 early on, but could not extend the lead. Louisville then went an 8-0 run to take its first lead of the night, and then took control of the game just before halftime.

Louisville, the No. 2 seed, will take on No. 1 Duke Saturday in the ACC Championship Game.

ACC Tournament Woes

The loss drops Clemson to 2-13 all-time in the ACC Semifinals. The Tigers have not won back-to-back games in the ACC Tournament since 2008 when they advanced to the ACC Championship Game.

Clemson is 0-8 in the ACC Tournament after a win under Brownell. The Tigers fell to 24-71 all-time in the ACC Tournament and 6-14 when tournament games are played in Charlotte.

The Tigers are still the only charter member of the ACC not to win an ACC Tournament Championship in men’s basketball.

Another slow start

Clemson again got off to slow start from 3-point range. The Tigers were 1-for-6 from behind the arc in the first 20 minutes of the game.

They were not much better up close either. Clemson missed five layups in the first 20 minutes.

The Tigers connected on just 13 of 32 first half attempts (41 percent).

Locked out

Clemson trailed the Cardinals 33-28 at the break, and if that was not enough, the Tigers were locked out of their locker room. Brownell had to deliver his half-time speech in the hallway outside the locker room.

Clemson finally got into its locker room after a four-minute wait.

 

Injuries

Clemson was without starting guard Dillon Hunter. He was ruled out for the season after tests revealed he broke his left hand in Thursday’s quarterfinal win over SMU.

Up next

Clemson returns home and waits to find out where and who it will play in next week’s NCAA Tournament. The NCAA Tournament Selection Show is Sunday night.

–Jim Dedmon / Imagn Images