Shooting struggles cost Clemson in 57-49 loss to No. 17 Gonzaga

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Clemson coach Brad Brownell saw some positives in the Tigers' loss to No. 17 Gonzaga.

Unfortunately, shooting was not one of them.

Elias Harris and Kelly Olynyk each scored 13 points to help Gonzaga beat Clemson 57-49 in a first round game Thursday night at the Old Spice Classic.

Clemson made just 18 of 58 shots (31 percent).

"That's basketball," Brownell said. "Against a lot of teams tonight, we would have won. But against a team as good as Gonzaga, you're just not going to beat them playing as poorly as we did in terms of making shots. Our inability to score was a big factor."

Clemson got 10 points from Adonis Filer. Milton Jennings had six points and eight rebounds.

"A disappointing loss because of how hard we played," Brownell said. "The guys did a really good job of getting the tempo we wanted. Gonzaga is a great team. Very talented, and they're very smart. They can play a lot of different ways."

Sam Dower had 11 points for Gonzaga (4-0), which will go against Oklahoma in Friday's semifinals. Clemson (2-1) will face Texas-El Paso in the loser's bracket.

"They're just hard to score on," Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. "Got us kind of standing around a little bit on offense."

Olynyk was in the starting lineup after missing the previous three games due to a violation of the student code of conduct. The junior forward, who had his first two shots blocked, also had three rebounds.

David Stockton had an end-to-end layup, while Kevin Pangos and Harris added in-close baskets as Gonzaga went ahead 47-39 with 6 1-2 minutes to play.

Harris' 3-point play two minutes later made it 50-41.

Olynyk scored four points during a 6-0 run that saw Gonzaga go up 31-30 early in the second half. Olynyk had another basket and Guy Landry Edi added a dunk as the Zags grabbed a 37-33 lead with 12 minutes remaining.

Clemson took a 24-23 advantage at the half, which had eight lead changes and three ties.

Gonzaga had the final five points in the first half, including a buzz-beating tip-in by Olynyk.

Damarcus Harrison's 3-pointer gave Clemson a 24-18 lead two minutes before the break. The Tigers scored the first four points of the game and went up 8-5 on a Rod Hall basket.

Pangos' layup put Gonzaga ahead 11-10 with nine minutes left in the first half. The Zags missed 9 of their first 10 shots, and went 9 for 27 (33 percent) during the opening half.

Clemson was 10 of 29 (34.5 percent) from the floor over the first 20 minutes.