Clemson Falls To Duke

Clemson University’s basketball team shut down Duke’s starting guards on Sunday night, but reserve Andre Dawkins torched the Tigers for 24 points – giving the sixth-ranked Blue Devils a 73-66 win at Clemson.

Seeking a signature victory against a Top Ten opponent to get its season moving in the right direction, Clemson certainly accomplished one of the prerequisites to pulling off such an upset – containing Duke’s starting guards Austin Rivers and Seth Curry.

Rivers and Curry combined to score just 13 points – well below their combined season average of 28 points per game.

Unfortunately for Tiger fans, Dawkins more than picked up the slack – hitting seven of twelve field goals (including five of nine three pointers) to help deliver a big road win for Duke (15-2, 3-0 ACC).

The Blue Devils got off to an atrocious start – falling behind Clemson 13-4 early in the first half. A big run propelled them to a 20-20 tie, though, and after that Mike Krzyzewski’s team never trailed again. The Tigers managed to keep it interesting in the second half – pulling to within four points with less than two minutes to play, but Dawkins’ clutch free throw shooting preserved the victory for Duke.

Unlike the empty Colonial Life Center – where the University of South Carolina men’s basketball team plays its home games – Clemson drew a capacity crowd of 10,000 to Littlejohn Coliseum.

The loss dropped the Tigers to 9-8 on the season, and 1-2 in ACC play under second-year head coach Brad Brownell. Last season Clemson won 22 games and reached the second round of the NCAA tournament – falling to West Virginia.

Pic: Travis Bell, Sideline Carolina