Porter’s 16 second-half points lead Clemson to an 80-76 victory over No. 24 Louisville

By Canadian Press on February 28, 2026.

CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — Jestin Porter scored all 16 of his points in the second half as Clemson snapped a four-game losing streak with an 80-76 victory over No. 24 Louisville on Saturday.

The Tigers, once comfortably in the NCAA Tournament field with 10 wins in their first 11 Atlantic Coast Conference games, had raised questions the past two weeks with their late-season slide. But Clemson (21-8, 11-5 ACC) held off the Cardinals (20-9, 9-7) with defense and Porter’s timely baskets.

Up 55-49, Porter drove through the right side of Louisville’s defense for a basket off the glass. Moments later, Nick Davidson stole the ball from Adrian Wooley, fed a perfect pass to a wide-open Porter who hit a 3-pointer for a double-digit lead.

The Tigers led by 15 with 1:08 to play when Louisville used a 17-6 run for the final score.

Porter, a senior transfer from Middle Tennessee State, had not scored in double figures in 10 games and, with zero points and two fouls in the first 20 minutes on Saturday, did not appear on pace to break that streak. But Porter made two early shots in the second half before his critical stretch put away the Cardinals.

Clemson’s defense locked down on Louisville leading scorer Mikel Brown Jr., who finished with five points on 2-of-10 shooting. Wooley had 17 points to lead the Cardinals, who have lost three of their past four.

Louisville broke out early for an 11-7 lead on 3-pointers by Ryan Conwell and J’Vonne Hadley and a three-point play by Brown. But the Tigers followed with a 12-4 surge to take the lead and went to the half up 38-35.

Up next

Louisville: host Syracuse on Tuesday.

Clemson: at North Carolina on Tuesday.

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Pete Iacobelli, The Associated Press