UM men lose sixth game in a row, 65-55 to Clemson in ACC opener, as Pack held scoreless
For the second game in a row, the Miami Hurricanes took a formidable opponent down to the final minutes and fell short, this time 66-55 to Clemson in their ACC home opener at the Watsco Center.
UM trailed by three with just over two minutes to go, but the Tigers finished on a 9-2 run.
It was Miami’s sixth loss in a row and 11th consecutive loss to an ACC opponent counting the 10-game losing skid that ended last season. Next up: The Hurricanes (3-6) play No. 3 Tennessee at Madison Square Garden in New York City at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday in the Jimmy V Classic (ESPN). The Vols (8-0) could be ranked No. 1 by then.
“Again, close, but close doesn’t count,” UM coach Jim Larranaga said of the loss to Clemson.
The Hurricanes outrebounded the Tigers and had a better overall shooting percentage, but went 4-of-25 from three-point range, and got an 0-for-7 scoreless game from scoring leader Nijel Pack, who scored 22 against Arkansas on Tuesday.
“We tried to get him going, but it was just one of those nights,” Larranaga said of Pack. “I can’t explain it. I’d say you have to give credit to [Clemson guard] Jaeden Zackery. He’s a little taller than Nijel, but he must weigh 30 or 40 pounds more and he’s very, very physical. He used his physicality to guard Nijel and made it very tough.”
Clemson coach Brad Brownell agreed that Zackery’s coverage of Pack was critical.
“I think he’s an All-ACC defender,” he said. “He’s done that to a couple of guards this year. He made it has hard as he could because [Pack] is a terrific player. He shoots with great range, confidence, herky jerky. He knows how to get his shot off. He had a tough day, but some of that’s because Jaeden did such a good job on him.”
Clemson (9-1) was coming off an upset of No. 4 Kentucky in the SEC/ACC Challenge on Tuesday and Brownell conceded that the Tigers had trouble getting going.
“This was a hard game for us, coming off the emotional game against Kentucky, 9,000 people, crazy atmosphere, to come here and it’s not like that, and it’s noon on Saturday, you’ve got to fight the biggest opponent that is human nature,” Brownell said.
Both team started off cold.
Miami shot 10 percent (2-of-15) for the first 10 minutes, and Clemson opened a 16-6 lead. Looking for a spark, Larranaga took out Pack and Lynn Kidd and replaced them with Paul Djobet and Divine Ugochukwu.
Both known for their energy, they made an immediate impact. The Hurricanes went on a 12-2 run to even the score at 18-18. Miami headed into halftime trailing 25-24.
The Hurricanes bench outscored the starters 17-7 in the first half with Matt Cleveland contributing nine of those points off the bench. The UM bench outscored Clemson’s 31-7 on the night.
Freshman Jalil Bethea scored 12 points off the bench in the second half and got Miami within three at 54-51 with a three-pointer with just over two minutes to go. He had appeared to make another big three as the shot clock expired on UM’s previous possession, but it was nullified after officials reviewed the play and called shot clock violation.
“I thought Jalil struggled a little bit in the first half, so I took him out, but in the second half he was a different player,” Larranaga said. “He’s getting better defensively and made a couple of key shots for us.”
Lynn Kidd added 10 points and eight rebounds. A.J. Staton-McCray had nine points and seven rebounds. Cleveland played just five minutes in the second half and finished with nine points. Larranaga said he gave Staton-McCray more second-half minutes than Cleveland because he was guarding Chase Hunter well.
Hunter led Clemson with 18 points. Ian Schiefflin had 15 points and 12 rebounds, and 6-foot-11 Viktor Lakhin scored 12-second half points for the Tigers
Asked about Miami’s long ACC losing spell, Brownell shrugged it off to the Hurricanes adapting to an overhauled roster.
“Last year’s last year; this year’s this year,” he said. “They’ve got a lot of new guys they’re adjusting to. If you look at their last two games, Arkansas and Clemson, two pretty good teams and those games went to the last minute. So, they’re figuring themselves out…They competed at a very high level and were a very tough out for our team.”
McCray said the Canes are seeing improvements and look forward to the Tennessee game.. “Quick turnaround, no time to sulk,” he said.
This story was originally published December 7, 2024 at 3:55 PM.