Tigers Fall to Blue Devils
DURHAM, N.C. — Clemson fell to Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday. The Blue Devils never trailed on the afternoon, as they defeated the Tigers 79-53.
The Tigers (10-5, 4-5) shot 35.1 percent from the floor, and Duke (7-5, 5-3) recorded a field goal percentage of 45.9. Clemson made five 3-pointers and corralled 34 rebounds, while Duke netted 10 treys and pulled down 40 boards. Both teams scored 30 points in the paint. Aamir Simms led all scorers with 19 points to go along with his six rebounds. He made 7-of-13 shots from the field and 4-of-5 free throws. Olivier-Maxence Prosper tallied six points and nine boards off the bench, and Chase Hunter chipped in nine points on 4-of-8 shooting. Matthew Hurt served as Duke’s leading scorer with 13 points.
Simms scored Clemson’s opening basket via a layup. The second basket of the day for the Tigers came on an Al-Amir Dawes 3-pointer made possible by an assist from PJ Hall. Later in the first half, Simms drove the lane and hammered home a dunk after receiving a bounce pass from Clyde Trapp. Jonathan Baehre emphatically blocked a Duke jumper late in the half, but the Blue Devils took a 41-22 lead into the break. Duke remained in control throughout the second half and came away with a 79-53 win.
The Tigers will return home to Clemson, S.C., for their next matchup on Tuesday, Feb. 2. Clemson is set to host the North Carolina Tar Heels (11-5, 6-3) at Littlejohn Coliseum. The game will tip off at 7 p.m. and air on ACC Network.
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Head Coach Brad Brownell’s Postgame Quotes
Opening statement:
“Our offense these last two weeks has struggled, and it’s sinking into our defense. Our players have lost their spirit on defense because they’ve lost confidence offensively. We turned the ball over again today. We needed to keep Duke out of transition, and we couldn’t do it. Duke had 25 points off turnover, and that’s when they’re at their best. Somehow, we’ve got to find a way to be better on offense.”
On Chase Hunter and Olivier-Maxence Prosper:
“I thought that ‘O-Max’ played with great energy. Chase had some good juice today and made some shots, so that was good to see. O-Max’s physicality was good. He did a good defensive job on Jalen Johnson.”
