Photos by Carly Gough, Clemson Athletic Communications
Box Score
LOUISVILLE — Down by seven points with 17 seconds left in the game, Clemson University men’s basketball got consecutive threes from Marcquise Reed to cut the deficit to just one. Reed stole the subsequent inbounds pass but had the game-winning shot attempt blocked and Clemson fell to No. 16/20 Louisville by one, 56-55.
The Tigers (15-10, 5-7 ACC) held a four-point advantage heading into halftime with a 23-19 lead over the Cardinals (18-8, 9-4 ACC) after the opening stanza. It marked the fourth time in the last 10 halves that the Tigers have held its opponent to less than 20 points in a half.
Clemson took a game-high seven-point lead toward the beginning of the second half following a David Skara bucket in the paint.
With a 39-37 lead, Louisville went on an 8-0 run to push out in front. The Tigers cut it to just one at 48-47, but weren’t able to completely get over the hump and in the end, despite the ferocious comeback bid, fell by one to the Cardinals.
The Tigers will return to the court on Tuesday, Feb. 19 when it hosts Florida State for a 9 p.m. tip time from Littlejohn Coliseum.
Notes: Marcquise Reed finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds … it marked Reed’s fifth career double-double … Reed’s 13 points give him 1,291 for his Clemson career – 17 shy of tying Sharone Wright (1991-94) for 21st on the all-time scoring list … it marked Reed’s 62nd double-digit scoring game at Clemson – leaving him eight shy of tying Butch Zatezalo (1967-70) and Larry Nance (1977-81) for 16th all-time in program history … Reed tallied two steals and now has 148 in his Clemson career – three shy of tying Andre Bovain (1990-94) for 12th on the all-time list … Reed tied his career-high with three offensive rebounds … it’s the fourth time in his career that he has grabbed double-digit rebounds and the second-highest total of his career (13) … Elijah Thomas now has 160 blocks in his Clemson career – 17 shy of tying Sharrod Ford (2001-05) for ninth on the all-time list … Thomas grabbed seven more rebounds and now has 579 for his Clemson career – just 25 shy of tying Horace Wyatt (1978-82) for 25th all-time … Clyde Trapp has made his last seven shots (4-for-4 against Miami; 3-for-3 against Louisville) and that marks the most consecutive made field goals for a Tiger this season … Clemson has now held an opponent to less than 20 points in a half four times in the last 10 halves … Clemson held Louisville to its lowest field goal percentage of the season (.352) … Trey Jemison played a career-high 12 minutes (doubling his previous high of six minutes) … Jemison picked up his fourth block of the season.
