PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Chase Hunter and Ian Schieffelin picked the worst time to have the worst game of their careers.

The two Clemson stars combined to score just three points and commit six turnovers in the first 32 minutes of Thursday’s 69-67 loss to No. 12 seed McNeese State in the first round of the Midwest Regional.

“We picked a tough day to not play our best,” Clemson head coach Brad Brownell said. “Certainly, they had a lot to do with that. I didn’t do a very good job with my guys and we weren’t really prepared for the zone to man. Haven’t seen a lot of that this year, maybe a little bit with Stanford and it bothered us.”

Hunter finished with 21 points, all in the second half, and turned the ball over four times, while Schieffelin finished his last game at Clemson with one point and two turnovers.

All of Hunter’s points came in the final 10:02 of the game.

“They were playing a good defense, but I think we missed a lot of open shots,” Hunter said. “We had a lot of open looks that we usually make. A few of those go in, it’s a whole different ball game. So, at the end of the day, I think we got a lot of open looks that we just missed and that’s the game of basketball.”

Clemson, the No. 5 seed, trailed by as many 24 points (40-16) in the second half before making another furious rally, similar to the one against Louisville in last week’s ACC Tournament. However, despite runs of 9-0 and 7-0 down the stretch, the Tigers could not overcome the deficit.

The Tigers were 8 of 15 from 3-point range in the second half, but their 1-for-15 start in the first half did them in.

“They disrupted our flow a little bit and we got a little too antsy a little bit,” Schieffelin said. “We got some open shots that didn’t fall and we kind of didn’t have that flow that we usually have.”

The Tigers shot just 37 percent from the field, including 9 of 30 from three-point range.

McNeese (28-6) was led by Brandon Murray’s 21 points. Clemson guard Jaeden Zackery led all scorers with 24 points, as he connected on 9 of 19 shots and was 4-for-8 from behind the arch.

It was over when

McNeese State used a 19-2 run in the first half from the 14:35 mark to 6:57 to take control of a game it never relinquished. The run gave the Cowboys a 23-8 lead at the time.

Worst start in 25 years for NCAA Tournament team

Clemson (27-7) is the second team seeded 5th or better to score 13 points or fewer in a first half of an NCAA Tournament game in the shot clock era (1986). Fifth seeded Wisconsin had 12 points vs. Missouri State in a 1999 first round game.

The Tigers shot just 20.8 percent (5-24) from the field overall and 6.7 percent from 3-point range (1-15) in the opening half.

Worst start by Clemson team in NCAA Tournament

Clemson’s 13 first half points marked the fewest by a Clemson team in a first half in its 29-game history. The Tigers fewest prior to Thursday came in the 1990 Tournament against BYU, 28 points.

Second Worst Start under Brownell

Clemson trailed the Cowboys 31-13 at the break. It was the fewest points the team had produced in a half this year and the second fewest under Brad Brownell. The worst was in 2013 at Virginia when that team scored 10 points in the first 20 minutes.

The fewest points in a half this year for the Tigers before Thursday was 24 vs. San Francisco on Nov. 25.

Halftime deficit

Clemson’s 18-point deficit at the break was its largest this season in a first half. The Tigers had 16 vs. Boise State on Nov. 17, which was the largest deficit of the year, but that came in the second half.

The Tigers were down eight points at South Carolina, which was the largest in the first half.

Missing Dillon Hunter

Clemson missed guard Dillon Hunter, who was out with a broken hand. The three guys tasked to help lift the team in Hunter’s absence–Chauncy Wiggins, Jake Heidbreder and Del Jones–were a combined 4-for-18 from the field and scored 15 points. Wiggins did score 10 points in the loss, though.

photo by Eric Canha / Imagn Image