David Jones scored 16 of his 22 points after halftime as host Memphis knocked No. 13 Clemson from the ranks of the unbeaten by holding on for a 79-77 victory Saturday afternoon.
Jahvon Quinerly scored 17 points as Memphis (8-2) erased a seven-point halftime deficit and overcame missing 22 of 26 3-point tries. Nick Jourdain added 11 and Jaykwon Walton chipped in 10 as Memphis shot 43.3 percent from the floor.
PJ Hall scored 21 for Clemson (9-1) but missed a potential tying 3 in the final seconds. Chauncey Wiggins added a career-high 19 as Clemson was denied its first 10-0 start since winning the first 16 games in 2008-09.
Chase Hunter contributed 13 and Ian Schieffelin finished with 11 and 11 boards as Clemson shot 49.2 percent.
Clemson made its first four shots to get an early 11-2 lead and Memphis answered right back, countering with a 17-5 run for a 19-16 lead on a jumper by Walton with 12:19 left. After Memphis took a 23-20 lead, Clemson ripped off a 15-2 run for a 35-25 lead on Wiggins’ triple before taking a 39-32 lead at halftime.
Memphis regained the lead by scoring the first eight points of the second half and took a 40-39 edge on two free throws by Mills with 16:53 left. Consecutive hoops by Jourdain gave Memphis a 45-40 lead.
Clemson rallied back for a 59-52 lead, but Memphis took a 62-61 lead on a basket by Young.
Memphis held a 72-68 lead on a dunk by Malcolm Dandridge with 3:31 left. Clemson was within 73-72 after Hall blocked Jones’ dunk attempt and Dillon Hunter hit a layup with 92 seconds left.
Quinerly’s basket and two free throws by Jones made it 77-72 but Memphis struggled in the final 39 seconds. After Jones missed two free throws with 28 seconds left, Chase Hunter sank two free throws to make it a one-point game.
Two free throws by Walton made it 79-76 with 13 seconds left and Hall saw his 3-point try go off the top of the backboard and out of bounds with six seconds left. The game ended after Hunter split a pair at the line with one second left.
–Field Level Media