The Miami Hurricanes’ men’s basketball team (15-3, 4-1 ACC) saw its 10-game winning streak come to an end on Saturday afternoon, falling 69-59 to the No. 22 Clemson Tigers (16-3, 6-0) at Littlejohn Coliseum.
Saturday marks Miami’s first loss since Thanksgiving and drops them to 15-3 overall and 4-1 in the ACC rankings.
Clemson seized control early in the contest, opening the game on an 8-0 run before Miami had a chance to respond. However, the Canes were able to settle in and trim the deficit to 15-12 with around 12 minutes left in the first half. The Tigers fired back with a 9-2 run of their own to restore a double-digit cushion and led 35-26 going into the halftime break.
Midway through the second half was when the Hurricanes faced their toughest challenge. The Tigers led by as many as 17 during this period, before the Canes’ pushed back with a 9-0 run over the next two minutes to trim it back down in their favor. The run was ignited by a pair of two Tre Donaldson layups and a three-pointer by Noam Dovrat.
The points shaved the lead a bit, but Clemson was able to regain control and build a 14-point lead entering the final minutes.
Freshman Shelton Henderson led the Canes’ in scoring with 22 points, and that marks the third straight game where he’s scored at least 17 points. Malik Reneau added 11 points, and Dante Allen contributed 10 in the loss. Ernest Udeh Jr. anchored the interior, being dominant on the glass with 17 rebounds, finishing just one board short of his career high.
Miami returns home Tuesday to host Florida State at 7 p.m., and the game will air on ESPNU and locally on 560 AM WQAM. Tuesday’s contest at the Watsco Center will have a ceremony honoring legendary Miami coach Jim Larrañaga.
