Jason Priester All Clemson
Clemson Once Again Falters Down Stretch as West Virginia Knocks Off Tigers 66-59
For the second consecutive game, Clemson went cold in the second half.
After squandering a 16 point first-half lead on Friday in a three-point loss to St Bonaventure, the Tigers lost a seven-point lead to West Virginia on Sunday, falling to the Mountaineers 66-59 in the consolation round of the Shriners Children's Classic in Charleston.
Clemson went almost six minutes without a field goal to close the game, while West Virginia went on a 15-2 run to seal the win. The turnover bug also struck again. The Tigers turned it over 20 times on Sunday, which the Mountaineers turned into 16 points.
Al-Amir Dawes paced Clemson with a team-high 18 points but scored just three in the second half of play. He also had six of the team's turnovers. Nick Honor and PJ Hall each finished the night with 10 points, while Hunter Tyson had 9.
The loss drops the Tigers to 4-2 and gives Brad Brownell's team their first losing streak of the season, while West Virginia improves to 5-1.
Player of the Game: Dawes came out of the gate on fire, going 5-5 from the field and 2-2 from beyond the arc in the first half, but was just 1-4 from long range in the final 20 minutes of play. Dawes also added 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.
Newcomer Impact: Naz Bohannon finished with 7 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists in 25 minutes. The graduate transfer is a guy that should become even more productive as he grows more comfortable in Brownell's system.
Stat of the Game: The Tigers once again struggled from the free-throw line, hitting just 10-18 from the charity stripe. This is an area the team must improve in before getting into ACC play.
Up Next: Clemson will return home as the Tigers are set to host Charleston Southern on Friday afternoon. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 pm from Littlejohn Coliseum.
Want to join in on the discussion? 100% FREE! Interact with fellow Tiger fans and hear directly from publisher Zach Lentz, deputy editor Brad Senkiw and recruiting analyst Jason Priester on any subject. Click here to become a member of the ALL CLEMSON message board community today!
