Clemson Falls for the First Time in 2018-19
GEORGE TOWN, Grand Cayman — Marcquise Reed posted his fourth 20-point game of the season with a season-high 27 points en route to eclipsing 1,000 career points in a Clemson University men’s basketball uniform on Wednesday night. Clemson fell to Creighton 87-82.
The Tigers (5-1) were led by Reed’s 27 points. He finished with a career-best 11 made field goals on the night. Reed scored 11-straight points during the final three minutes of regulation, including 13-of-the-final-15 points for the Tigers.
Clemson posted three more double-digit scorers with Shelton Mitchell (13), Elijah Thomas (11) and Aamir Simms (10). David Skara nearly finished with his first career double-double, tallying eight points and a career-high 11 rebounds. It marked Skara’s first-ever double-digit rebounding game.
In the opening stanza, the Tigers cut an eight-point lead by the Bluejays (5-1) down to just two in a matter of minutes with a 6-0 run. Creighton promptly pushed its lead back up to eight and took a 10-point lead into halftime.
Clemson whittled the lead down to just four at 55-51 with 11:56 left to play in regulation, which is the closest the Tigers would be able to come until they came to within just three points at 83-80 with 22 seconds left.
Creighton was powered by the offensive effort of Ty-Shon Alexander who finished with 36 points on the night.
For their play during the tournament, both Reed and Mitchell earned All-Cayman Islands Classic Tournament honors.
Clemson will return to the court on Monday, Nov. 26 when it hosts Nebraska in the 20th annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. from Littlejohn Coliseum and can be seen on ESPN2.
Notes: Marcquise Reed scored a team-high 27 points – his 28th career 20-point outing and fourth of the 2018-19 season … Reed made a career-best 11 field goals … David Skara finished with a career-high 11 rebounds.