In a game that saw 22 lead changes, it was a big second half from Florida State's Robert McGray that extended Clemson basketball's run of misery Saturday at Littlejohn Coliseum.
McCray scored 24 of his 29 points in the second half to lead FSU to a 70-65 victory over Clemson and send the Tigers to their fourth straight loss with only three games remaining on their ACC regular season schedule.
It's the first time Clemson (20-8 overall, 10-5 ACC) has lost four straight since February 2022, when the Tigers dropped six in a row.
Florida State (14-13, 7-7) used an 11-2 run to take the biggest lead of the game by either team at 52-44 with just over 11 minutes left in regulation. Clemson responded with back-to-back 3-pointers by Butta Johnson for a quick 6-0 spurt.
Dillon Hunter tied things up with a reverse layup, and one of two free throws from RJ Godfrey put Clemson ahead 56-55 with 8:05 to play. It was part of a 9-0 Tigers run over 2:12 of game time.
McCray broke the tie with a layup, and former Tigers starter Chauncey Wiggins drilled a 3-pointer from the top of the arc to put Florida State back in front.
Johnson barely beat the shot clock to make his third 3-pointer of the half to pull Clemson to within one at 61-60. Hunter drove to the paint for a 62-61 Tigers lead to give him 10 points for the game.
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Clemson and Florida State exchanged blows with back-and-forth 3-pointers from Hunter and McCray, who made a layup on his next trip down the floor with 1:37 to play for a 68-65 Seminoles lead.
Florida State never trailed again.
Two big misses on the same end of the court by Johnson from behind the arc and then Godfrey on the rebound handed the ball back to FSU with a minute to play.
Clemson stole an inbound when Hunter caught a bad pass from McCray, but Jake Wahlin missed a 3-pointer that would have tied the game. Godfrey corralled the offensive rebound, but Hunter missed from downtown to send Florida State to the free throw line with 30.7 left.
FSU missed the front end of a one-and-one to give Clemson yet another shot at a tie. The Tigers missed their fourth straight from beyond the arc to give Florida State the ball back with 11.6 remaining. McGray sank two foul shots to cap the scoring.
The Seminoles ended the game on a 7-0 run as Clemson didn't score in the final 2:30 of regulation. The Tigers missed their last six shots from the field.
Florida State made 50 percent of its shots from the field, connecting on 23 of 46. Clemson made only 38 percent (21-of-56). The Seminoles, who won their third straight game and sixth of their last seven, also led in points in the point, 26-22. Lajae Jones had 13 points to finish as FSU's second leading scorer.
Clemson had 10 offensive rebounds but no points off them.
Buckner led Clemson with in scoring with 15 points on five-of-11 from the field. Hunter finished with 13 points and Godfrey added 12 to give the Tigers three players in double figures.
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Clemson returns to the court next Saturday when they host the 21st-ranked Louisville Cardinals at Littlejohn Coliseum. Tipoff for Clemson-Louisville was announced as a 2 p.m. ET start Saturday. The game will be televised on ESPN2.
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This article originally appeared on Clemson Wire: Clemson basketball has no answer for FSU guard Robert McGray in loss