Clemson Downs Francis Marion, 99-51 |
Clemson, SC—Freshman Noel Johnson scored 19 points in just 21 minutes off the bench and starting guard Tanner Smith added 16 in just 18 minutes to lead Clemson to a 99-51 exhibition basketball victory over Francis Marion Friday night at Littlejohn Coliseum.
It was the only public exhibition game for the Tigers, who open the regular season next Friday evening, November 13 against Presbyterian in a game that will tip off at 8:00 PM. “I thought we accomplished what we needed to accomplish. We had a commitment to defense and were able to establish good habits for next week," said Clemson head coach Oliver Purnell. "We moved forward from our closed scrimmage and played better defense. We got lots of people in and should have lots of good film to watch. The first half was better; at halftime I talked to the guys about the challenge of fighting ourselves and the natural tendency to let up when you’re up big.” David Potter was the only other double figure scorer for the Tigers with 10 points, but Trevor Booker, Andre Young and Milton Jennings all added nine points and Donte Hill scored eight. The Tigers swarming full court defense forced Francis Marion in 34 turnovers. The Tigers had 22 steals on defense, led by sophomore guard Andre Young, who had five. Young also led all Tigers in assists with six. The big story of the night for Clemson might have been three-point shooting. The Tigers lost two of the top six three-point shooters in school history from last year, as K.C. Rivers, first in school history with 281, graduated, and Terrence Oglesby, sixth with 177, turned professional. But four different Clemson players made three three-point goals and the Tigers connected on 14-27 overall. Had it been a regular game, the 14 threes would have tied for seventh best in Clemson history for a single game. Johnson (3-6), Smith (3-5), Potter (3-6), and Young (3-5), combined for 12 of the 14 three-point shots. Milton Jennings and Andre Hill also scored from long range for the Tigers who made nine three-point goals in the first half. Clemson won the rebounding by a 39-36 margin. The Tigers defense had 11 block, led by four from Jerai Grant, and 22 steals, and held Francis Marion to 34.5 percent shooting and a 10/34 assist/turnover ratio. Booker, a preseason ACC Player of the Year candidate, had nine points, six rebounds, two blocks and two steals in his 22 minutes of work. Clemson’s four freshmen (Johnson, Jennings, Hill and Devin Booker) combined for 38 points on 14-22 shooting. “They have done really well coming in and working hard and fitting in," said Purnell. "Like freshman, they’re seen a lot and heard little. They’re good kids and very talented. They played better today than three weeks ago.” Clemson jumped out to a 57-26 lead at intermission and never looked back. Head Coach Oliver Purnell played 13 players and 11 of them scored. No Tiger played more than 22 minutes in the game that was played before a crowd of 5,000. Kaylan Anderson led Francis Marion with 20 points on 6-7 shooting from the field. He was the only player in double figures.
VISITORS: Francis Marion 0-0
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