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The Clemson Tigers streaking offense came crashing back to earth Tuesday night in a 68-59 road loss to the Georgie Tech Yellow Jackets. The Tigers shot 41.4 percent from the field, a far cry from their 68.9 percent on Saturday night, and made just two 3-pointers on 20 attempts. This loss ends the Tigers’ three-game win streak.
Early in the game, Clemson was able to keep pace with Georgia Tech early in the game, scoring the first bucket and holding a slight edge for most of the first half. Then, a three-shot foul by Alex Hemenway sent Tech’s Bubba Parham to the line in a one-point ballgame as the first half drew towards its close. All three shots fell and GT took a 28-27 lead it would never relinquish. By halftime, the Tigers trailed 34-29.
In the second half, Clemson managed to cut the lead to one possession on multiple occasions, including a Simms jump hook to cut the Yellow Jacket’s lead to 41-38. It would be his final score of the ballgame and the already cold Tigers cratered down the stretch. Clemson shot just 35 percent from the field in the second half.
Despite the Tigers having the game’s leading scorer, Aamir Simms at 23 points, the offense struggled to get consistent buckets as the game went along. Simms was one of just two Clemson players to shoot above 50 percent from the field in the game, the other one being Hunter Tyson (10p, 3-5). Without taking Simms 10-16 performance into account, the team shot just 33 percent from the field in the game.
Georgia Tech managed 47 percent shooting from the field and 44 percent from beyond the arc, led by 19 and 14-point performances from Jose Alvarado and Michael Devoe, respectively. Tech also out-rebounded Clemson and registered more assists.
With Florida State on the horizon this loss really hurts because Clemson needed every win possible to try and break into the bubble. They’ve knocked off talented teams before but FSU’s length and athleticism make them an especially tough matchup. Let’s see if they can keep the hope alive on Saturday.