Hadley's Career Night Puts Down the Tigers.

J'Vonne Hadley had a career night with 32 points, as Clemson fell 74-64, on the road at Louisville. (Photo Credit: Louisville Athletics)

Clemson returned to road basketball for the first time in three weeks at the Louisville Cardinals KFC Yum Center. The Tigers have gone 1-2 in road contests so far this season, and they were looking to change that narrative during this midweek affair. However, Clemson was unable to change that narrative tonight, falling 74-64 on the road. This result handed Coach Brownell his second Quad 1 loss of the year. Clemson currently sits at 12-4 (4-1) after receiving their first ACC loss of the season. The Tigers and the Cardinals started out strong to start this contest defensively as both squads struggled to get open shots early. Clemson put together a great defensive possession right after the tip; however, a lucky last-second baseline shot by the Cardinals provided momentum for Louisville to stay ahead four minutes into the game as the Tigers experienced an offensive drought. Clemson experienced 3 early turnovers that set back their scoring, and the Cardinals pushed their lead to 9-4. The Tigers proceeded to go on a 7-3 run after some substitutions, and a big-time Chauncey Wiggins and-1 closed that run putting Clemson back within reach. Louisville’s Chucky Hepburn finally introduced himself to his home crowd hitting a big three whilst being guarded by Jaeden Zackery, but Chase Hunter responded right back keeping the Tigers within one point eight minutes into the game. Wiggins continued making his presence known inside the Louisville arena hitting a huge logo three putting Clemson up six. However, an allowed offensive rebound led to a Cardinal three continued by some Louisville stops put the Cardinals back on top 24-23 at the eight-minute mark. The Tigers were able to cut down on the turnovers down the stretch, and Zackery’s big-time plays launched Clemson into the lead during this back-and-forth half with less than four minutes to go. Despite the Clemson lead, Louisville’s J’Vonne Hadley kept the Cards within striking distance as he put up 18 points in the first half, already achieving his season-high. Hadley’s striking slowly put Louisville ahead, and the Tigers started to collapse on both ends of the court to close the half. Clemson ended the half scoring just 1 point in the last 3 minutes while turning the ball over three times resulting in a 14-1 run to end the half in favor of the Cardinals. Going into the locker room, the Tigers found themselves down 42-35 with a lot of work to do. Chauncey Wiggins led Clemson with 8 points while Chase Hunter, Jaeden Zackery, and Viktor Lakhin were right behind with 7 each.

During the last 20 minutes, Clemson needed to find their three-point shot while protecting the ball to ensure their comeback. The Tigers turned it over 8 times while shooting just 25% from deep during the first half of basketball. Starting the second half, Clemson needed a lot to go their way, but two early threes from the Cardinals combined with a turnover and missed layup still kept the Tigers down. Louisville continued making more plays than Clemson with their home crowd roaring, and our Tigers trailed by 9 points with sixteen minutes left after a Chase Hunter deep ball. Jake Heidbreder and Zackery followed Hunter hitting a big-time three each, and the Tigers put themselves back within striking distance with under 12 minutes to play. So far, Clemson had effectively outrebounded the Cards; however, an inability to capitalize on those extra opportunities continued to keep them down on the road. A 9-0 run by Clemson provided a quick spark putting them within two, but a miracle three from Louisville’s big man got the home crowd going as they quickly went back up by 9 once again. J’Vonne Hadley did not slow down any in the second half achieving his career high in points finishing the night with 32 points on 83% from the field with a double-double. Hadley continued showing his effort on the offensive glass getting two offensive rebounds that shut down a very important Clemson defensive possession. Louisville used his effort to go up 68-58 as the Tiger offense looked stagnant since their 9-0 run. Clemson came out of the four-minute timeout with a lot of ground to gain, but a Hadley bucket followed by a fast-break dunk seemingly ended Clemson’s chances.

Coach Brownell stated that the Tigers lost their spirit on getting rebounds within the final ten minutes that led to the Cardinals’ domination late in tonight’s game. Leading the Tigers in scoring tonight was Chase Hunter who finished with 15 followed by Jaeden Zackery with 12. At the end of the night, Clemson was unable to get to the free throw line, had costly turnovers, and did not take advantage of second-chance opportunities like the Cardinals. The Tigers return to action at home on Saturday, January 11th against Florida State. This contest currently sits as a Quad 2 opportunity for Clemson, but can change before game time.