Clemson basketball coach Brad Brownell says Duke game was ‘taken from us’

Clemson basketball was seven seconds away from its first win against Duke in Cameron Indoor Stadium in nearly 30 years Saturday afternoon.

But a last-second foul call sent Blue Devils point guard Tyrese Proctor to the line with one second remaining for two free throws, which he sank to secure a 72-71 win.

That foul call, as well as perception of calls in Duke’s direction throughout the game, set Clemson fans ablaze on social media following the loss. One of the team’s radio analysts, Tim Bourret, said it was one of the worst officiated basketball games he’d seen in 46 years.

Brownell said postgame he felt like the game was “taken from us.”

“It’s hard to win here,” Brownell said. “I’m really disappointed with how it ended.”

While giving credit to Duke and conceding Clemson could have played better, Brownell said there was a lot of “emotion” on the Tigers’ bench follwing the final call. Brownell was seen on the ESPN broadcast postgame holding back point guard Joe Girard III from confronting an official after the final buzzer.

Brownell also told the Clemson radio broadcast postgame that a first half technical call called on forward Jack Clark for shoving the ball into the chest of a Duke player after a made basketball was “ridiculous.”

“That’s the emotion affecting the officials and creating stuff that wasn’t even there,” he said, adding that he felt like there were a few of those calls in the game.

Clemson fell to 13-6 and 3-5 in the ACC with the loss. The Tigers also lost a 21st consecutive game against Duke in Durham; their last win in Cameron Indoor came on Jan. 4, 1995.