Clemson Comes Up Short Against St. Bonaventure, Falling 68-65

The competition was a little stiffer for Brad Brownell and Clemson in the second round of the Shriners Children's Classic as the Tigers faced off with No. 22 St. Bonaventure in a matchup of unbeaten teams.

After a slow start, the Bonnies would take control in the second half, pulling out a hard-fought 68-65 win over Clemson. St Bonaventure will now move on to play in the championship game on Sunday.

With time running out, the Tigers had a chance to tie, but Nick Honor was forced into taking a desperation three that never hit the rim, sealing the Tigers' fate. 

Clemson raced out to an 11-2 lead to start the game, led by as many as 16 on multiple occasions in the first half and was up 36-26 at halftime. However, the Bonnie's would storm back in the second half, going on a 21-2 run at one point and taking a 55-53 lead on a 3-pointer by Kyle Lofton with just over seven minutes remaining.

It was the perimeter shooting that allowed St. Bonaventure back into the game. After hitting on just 4-12 from beyond the arc in the first half, the Bonnies were 10-12 in the second, led by Lofton, who finished the game with 16 points.

PJ Hall led the Tigers with 22 points, grabbing 8 rebounds and blocking 3 shots. David Collins added 14 points, while Nick Honor finished with 12.

Clemson drops to 4-1 on the season after shooting 45 percent from the field and 39 percent from three. However, the Tigers were just 5-14 from beyond the arc in the second half.

Player of the Game: Hall did a little bit of everything for the Tigers in the loss. He was 8-15 from the floor, 3-5 from beyond the arc, and 3 of his rebounds came on the offensive end. 

Newcomer Impact: Collins was 6-9 from the floor, pulled down 5 rebounds and had 2 steals.

Veteran Impact: While Honor wasn't able to get off the shot he wanted at the end of the game, the junior guard was 5-8 shooting, had 3 assists, 2 steals and just one turnover. 

Stat of the Game: The Bonnies shot 58 percent from beyond the arc. After playing solid defense on the perimeter to start the season, the Tigers just had no answer for Lofton, particularly in the second half when he hit 4 of his 5 attempts from three.

Up Next: The Tigers are set to face the loser of the Marquette-West Virginia game on Sunday at 5 pm.

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