Miami dropped its first ACC game under Jai Lucas and had a 10-game winning streak snapped in a 69-59 loss at Clemson on Saturday. The Hurricanes are now 15-3 overall and 4-1 in the ACC. Clemson scored the first eight points of the game and never trailed.
Miami cut the deficit to three a few times in the first half, but trailed 35-26 at halftime. Clemson led by as many as 15 points in the second half and maintained a double-digit lead for most of the final 20 minutes. The Tigers scored the first five points of the second half.
Miami shot 38.9 percent from the field and made six of its 24 three-point attempts. True freshman Shelton Henderson led Miami with 22 points. Malik Reneau scored 11 and Dante Allen 10 as the only other Hurricanes in double figures.
Carter Welling led Clemson with 18 points and nine rebounds. Jestin Porter had 11 and R.J. Godfrey 10 for Clemson. Clemson held Miami to a season low point total. Tre Donaldson scored five points for Miami. That is the only time Donaldson has failed to scored in double figures this season.
Clemson was on fire
Clemson shot 52.9 percent from the field and made eight of its 17 three-point attempts. The Tigers were particularly hot in the second half, making 13 out of 20 from the field. Miami made only 10 out of 24 from the field in the second half. Miami couldn't get its offense going or make stops in the second half.
Despite out rebounding Clemson 34-28, Miami was outscored by the same margin in the paint. Clemson led for 38:43 and the game was tied for 1:14. Miami returns home on Tuesday to host Florida State. The Hurricanes will honor former head coach Jim Larranaga on Tuesday night in the game against Florida State.