Clemson basketball, Chase Hunter react to late-game officiating vs Louisville in ACC tournament
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Did officiating doom Clemson basketball on Friday against Louisville on Friday in the ACC tournament semifinals?
The three-seeded Tigers fell to No. 2 Louisville, losing 76-73 in the ACC tournament semifinals at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. Clemson (27-6) battled back from 11 points behind with 1:53 left in the game to cut its deficit to two. Tigers guard Chase Hunter had two chances to tie the score late but missed both as Louisville players made contact with him.
With 22 seconds left, Hunter drove to the paint and attempted a tying layup against Louisville forwards Aboubacar Traore and James Scott. Scott pressed against Hunter's left shoulder on the attempt, while Traore made contact with Hunter while he blocked the shot. Still, the officiating crew of Ted Valentine, Tony Henderson and Tommy Morrissey did not call a shooting foul, and Hunter was credited with a turnover.
"That's not up to me," Hunter said. "I tried to make a play, and it didn't go my way."
If a foul had been called, Hunter would have attempted two free throws that could have tied the score. Hunter was 4-for-4 from the free-throw line on Friday and entered the game as the ACC's fourth-best free-throw maker, shooting 86.3%.
Clemson coach Brad Brownell thought there was contact on the shot attempt, too.
"Proud of my guys for making a tough play, taking it in there against their defense to try to score and get fouled," Brownell said. "There's certainly contact. It's a hard play to referee."
Clemson had another chance to tie the score after Louisville's Chucky Hepburn made 1-of-2 free throws to push Louisville's lead to three points. With six seconds left, Hunter rushed down the court and attempted a deep 3-point heave. Louisville's Terrence Edwards Jr. made contact with him before the attempt, but no foul was called.
"Obviously, a very difficult ending for us," Brownell said. "Really proud of my players for just continuing to compete and believe and just keep fighting. We had a chance to win the game there at the end, had a couple things maybe not go our way."
With the narrow victory, Louisville (27-6) will face No. 1 Duke in the ACC championship on Saturday (8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN2). Clemson will await its seeding in the NCAA tournament on Selection Sunday (March 16).
Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at dcarter@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson basketball reacts to late-game officiating in Louisville game
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