CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) Aamir Simms had 16 points, Al-Amir Dawes added 15 and Clemson turned up the defense to beat No. 25 Louisville 54-50 and break a three-game losing streak Wednesday night.

It was a much needed lift for the Tigers (10-4, 4-4 Atlantic Coast Conference), who were ranked as high as No. 12 this season until dropping their past three by an average of 24 points

The prospects of ending it against the Cardinals (10-4, 5-3) and their dynamic scorer Carlik Jones seemed slim, too, with Louisville averaging better than 70 points.

However, Clemson clamped down throughout the contest and held Jones, an 18-point a game scorer, to just 11 points on 4-of-14 shooting. He missed five of his six attempts from behind the arc.

Hunter Tyson's jumper with 7:34 left put the Tigers up for good while Louisville couldn't buy a bucket as it missed six of its next seven shots.

When Dawes connected for his fourth 3-pointer of the game with 2:51 left, Clemson had its biggest lead of the game at 49-41.

Louisville closed to 49-45, but Simms converted a three-point play to build back the lead.

The Cardinals, who shot 32%, had their fewest points in a game this season.

Louisville came in hoping to stay in that next tier behind Virginia, perfect so far in the league at 7-0. The Cardinals bounced back from two straight defeats with a win over Duke this past Saturday and hoped to carry that momentum into Clemson.

But the Tigers have won the past two meetings here including a 77-62 drubbing over then-No. 5 Louisville a season ago.

UP NEXT

Louisville: Hosts Georgia Tech on Monday.

Clemson: At Duke on Saturday.