David Collins – Page 2 – Syndication Server

Brownell explains defensive decision at end of Clemson’s latest loss

Clemson’s leading scorer came through with the tying bucket in the final 30 seconds against North Carolina on Tuesday night. Averaging more than a block per game, PJ Hall is also the Tigers’ best rim protector. But Clemson’s sophomore big wasn’t on …

But Clemson’s sophomore big wasn’t on the floor for the Tar Heels’ final possession, which ended with UNC handing the Tigers their latest gut punch.

Hall finished with 24 points on 9 of 18 shooting, including a basket that tied the game at 77 with 21.3 seconds left. But when UNC coach Hubert Davis took a timeout to draw up a play for the Tar Heels’ final possession, Clemson coach Brad Brownell made a couple of substitutions, including Naz Bohannon for Hall, who also had four blocks up to that point but also four fouls.

Brownell said he figured UNC would try to set a ball screen for point guard Caleb Love against Clemson’s man defense, which hadn’t gone so well for Hall when the Tar Heels ran the same action earlier in the game.

“We felt like they were going to go up and ball screen with PJ’s man, then just attack him, take it to him and get to the rim,” Brownell said. “It happened a little bit early on a play or two when he kind of got beat off the dribble and they take it right into him for a foul. We were going to switch anything and keep guys in the front.”

Sure enough, UNC brought up its big, Brady Manek, to act like he was going to set a screen, but Manek popped out at the last second. That left guard Chase Hunter on Love, who got past Hunter and took off down the lane toward the basket.

As Clemson’s defense collapsed on him, Love dished to the cutting Manek, whom Hall likely would’ve been guarding, for the go-ahead layup with just 3.1 seconds left. David Collins’ 3-point shot at the buzzer came up short.

Brownell didn’t second-guess his strategy afterward, but he ultimately took responsibility for the easy look UNC got at the basket that sent Clemson to its sixth loss in eight games. Four of those losses have come by a combined 11 points.

“I think we were fine if one of our guys just plugged the hole and stayed (in the paint) instead of kind of worrying about his man too much. That was the mistake,” Brownell said. “I told the guys, ‘Hey, no layups. If they make a jump shot to beat us, they beat us with a jump shot.’ We didn’t get that done. So that’s on me.”

Things don’t get any easier for Clemson on Thursday when No. 7 Duke visits Littlejohn Coliseum for a rematch of the Blue Devils’ 71-69 win at Cameron Indoor Stadium two weeks ago.

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‘Everything is up for discussion’ as Clemson tries to snap out of sudden funk

After another setback that has his team riding its longest losing streak of the season, Clemson men’s basketball coach Brad Brownell isn’t ruling anything out that might help keep the reeling to a minimum. “Everything is up for discussion right …

“Everything is up for discussion right now,” Brownell said. “We’re not playing well enough.”

Clemson (10-8, 2-5 ACC) lost for the fourth time in five games late Tuesday night when Syracuse dealt the Tigers a 91-78 blow inside the Carrier Dome. It was Clemson’s third straight loss, a funk that escalated quickly.

This time a week ago, the Tigers were coming off their fifth win in six games after knocking off North Carolina State on the road. Since then, Clemson has been beaten by nearly 11 points on average, including that loss to Boston College over the weekend that the Tigers led by 23 at one point.

Syracuse handed Clemson its second-largest margin of defeat this season despite the Tigers getting a 19-point, 11-rebound double-double from PJ Hall, 18 points from David Collins and 11 points off the bench from Chase Hunter. The primary issue for Clemson during its skid has been getting stops.

Clemson has allowed at least 70 points in every game of its losing streak while Notre Dame, Boston College and Syracuse each shot better than 45% from the field. The Orange made those numbers look pedestrian. Syracuse, which got 48 combined points from guards Buddy Boeheim and Joe Girard III, sank 53.4% of its shots en route to its highest point total against an ACC foe this season.

Brownell said the primary issue is a lack of size and physicality from his team on the defensive end of the floor, allowing opposing players to frequently get their shots off from wherever they’re trying to get on the floor. It’s a deficiency that Brownell said may have to be addressed, at least in part, off the court.

“We’re physically a little weak,” Brownell said. “We’re physically smaller and weaker, and some of that is a product of recruiting. We’ve got to think about that. Now obviously what you get on the other hand is you get some skill. You get guys that can shoot. You get guys that can pass. And that’s why offensively we’ve got a bunch of guys that shoot a high percentage from 3.

“We scored 78 (Tuesday), but we miss Aamir Simms’ defense drastically. Just his physicality, smarts, toughness. And some other guys, too. We just had bigger, stronger dudes in some spots. And then we’re not going getting some other guys that played well last year, we’re not playing as well defensively right now. I’ve got to coach that better.”

Brownell has recently made a change with the personnel on this year’s team. Nick Honor and Al-Amir Dawes started together for the first half of the season in Clemson’s backcourt, but junior guard Alex Hemenway, at 6-foot-4 and 195 pounds, replaced the 5-10 Honor in the starting lineup two games ago in an effort to get more size on the perimeter.

“Guys shoot over top of us some,” Brownell said. “That’s not lack of effort. That’s just a lack of some strength and size.”

But Hemenway hasn’t done much in that starting role, combining for just six points on 2 of 9 shooting in the last two games. Foul trouble limited him to just 13 minutes against Syracuse while Honor had eight points, five assists and just one turnover in 26 minutes off the bench.

Brownell didn’t rule out the possibility of more personnel changes when Clemson hosts Pittsburgh on Saturday.

“(Hemenway) is trying hard, but the results aren’t there,” Brownell said. “Whether we stick with it or not, I don’t know. We could move Chase into the starting lineup. Chase has played better, but sometimes it’s nice to have Chase off the bench because he could play the 2 (shooting guard) or play the 3 (wing).”

Brownell said he’s not worried about losing his team during this rough patch, adding the Tigers had “two really good practices” in preparation for Tuesday’s game. But Clemson could use the pick-me-up of that translating over to the game.

And soon.

“Our team is wounded. We’re disappointed,” Brownell said. “Obviously the Boston College loss hurt. We wanted to play well (Tuesday) and get a win, and we didn’t get a win. It’s hard.”

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Brownell: ‘It’s on me’

After the gamut of emotions ran from euphoria to shock for Clemson’s men’s basketball team Saturday night inside Littlejohn Coliseum, Clemson coach Brad Brownell vented his frustration in different directions in the aftermath of one of the worst …

Ultimately, though, Brownell pointed the finger back at himself, something he said he made clear as part of his message to his team afterward.

“I explained what I thought happened in terms of how the competitive spirit of the game is such going up and down, and it was hard for us to get that back,” Brownell said. “And then I took responsibly for not helping them enough in the second half. I didn’t do a good enough job coaching them.

“I’m always honest with my team. When I don’t think I do my job well, it’s on me and my staff that we’re not prepared. I make sure to tell my team that.”

Clemson watched a 23-point lead late in the first half turn into a 70-68 loss to Boston College, the Tigers’ third loss in their last four games. This one was easily the most agonizing gut punch of them all.

By the time Boston College clawed all the way back to tie the game at 66 with 1:48 left, Clemson had officially matched the largest lead it has ever coughed up. The Tigers also blew a 23-point lead to Illinois in December 2009 in what also turned into a two-point loss in that game.

Making this one worse was the fact that nobody’s going to confuse Boston College for an ACC juggernaut.

The Eagles limped into Saturday’s meeting with a losing record in Earl Grant’s first season as the helm after losing five straight games. They were ranked 198th in the NET rankings, making for a dreaded Quadrant 4 blemish on Clemson’s postseason resume.

“Certainly not a great evening for us,” Brownell said.

Clemson led 34-11 with 7:11 left to go in the first half before things fell apart. The Tigers’ offense cooled off some, though that was to be expected to some extent with Clemson shooting 44% from the floor and nearly 40% from 3-point range in the first half. Clemson also shot just 57% from the free-throw line (8 of 14), which included a couple of key misses by David Collins with 2 seconds left.

But the biggest issue was getting consistent stops, something that’s ailed the Tigers in consecutive games. After Notre Dame shot 45.5% in handing Clemson its most lopsided loss of the season Wednesday, Boston College sank more than 49% of its shots.

At one point, from the 6:52 mark of the first half until 15:02 left in the second, the Eagles connected on 13 of 19 shots, including eight baskets in an 11-possession span to end the opening 20 minutes and get back within single digits at the break.

“They go into halftime with real belief that they’re going to do this,” Brownell said. “We try to get regrouped and just didn’t do good enough. Didn’t do a good enough job, and that’s on me.”

Boston College guard Brevin Galloway was a particularly sharp thorn in the Tigers’ side as the South Carolina native almost single-handedly kept the Eagles around with his 3-point shooting. Galloway finished 5 of 10 from beyond the arc as part of his 18-point night, including his final 3 with 26 seconds left that put Boston College ahead for good.

The Tigers were also outscored 34-30 in the paint.

“Our physical deficiencies at times show up in games,” Brownell said. “We’re not as big. We’re not as strong. Our bodies aren’t as big. We get knocked around a little bit and pushed around a little bit, and it shows up a lot of times defensively. And I thought that was a factor in today’s game.”

Brownell again focused the blame inward as Clemson tries to shift its focus to a road tilt against Syracuse on Tuesday.

“Just like I’m going to hold them accountable when I don’t think they perform and do the things we practice, I’ve got to be the same way,” Brownell said. “We just got to get back at it, hang in there and keep battling.”

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Clemson coughs up sizable lead in loss to Boston College

Clemson’s men’s basketball team was coming off its largest margin of defeat following its midweek loss at Notre Dame. But given the caliber of opponent the Tigers faced Saturday, they’re now fresh off their worst loss of the season. Clemson watched …

Clemson watched most of its sizable early lead evaporate before coughing up all of it in a 70-68 loss to the Eagles at Littlejohn Coliseum. Al-Amir Dawes led the Tigers (10-7, 2-4 ACC) with 17 points while David Collins and PJ Hall chipped in 15 and 12 points, respectively, for Clemson, which looked like it might cruise with a 23-point lead toward the latter stages of the first half against a Boston College team that came in having lost five straight games.

Ultimately, though, it wasn’t enough to keep the Tigers away from their first Quadrant 4 loss of the season.

The Eagles, who shot better than 48% from the field, outscored Clemson 37-15 from the 7:10 mark of the first until the early part of the second to get within a possession. Boston College (7-8, 2-3) eventually caught up on T.J. Bickerstaff’s layup to tie it at 66 with 1 minutes, 8 seconds left.

Clemson forced one of the Eagles’ 11 turnovers on their ensuing possession and regained the lead on Collins’ ensuing jumper from the top of key, but Brevin Galloway answered with a 3-pointer to give Boston College its first lead at 69-68 with 26 ticks left.

Collins missed a runner on Clemson’s next possession, forcing the Tigers to foul. After Makai Ashton-Lanford split a pair of free throws, Collins was fouled with just 2 ticks left trying to put back Alex Hemenway’s missed 3-pointer.

But Collins missed the first free throw and clanked the second one on purpose to try to get an offensive rebound for Clemson, but the Tigers were called for a lane violation. That gave possession back to the Eagles in a two-point game and ultimately sealed Clemson’s fate.

Ashton-Langford led all scorers with 19 points while Galloway, who went 5 of 10 from 3-point range, added 18 for Boston College, which began the day at 198th in the NET rankings.

This story will be updated.

‘Starting to figure our team out’ has Clemson streaking back into ACC play

Clemson’s up-and-down season to this point may be starting to level out. There have been blowout wins and victories over fellow high-major programs. Clemson has also lost out on opportunities for others with repetitive double-digit leads that have …

Clemson’s up-and-down season to this point may be starting to level out.

There have been blowout wins and victories over fellow high-major programs. Clemson has also lost out on opportunities for others with repetitive double-digit leads that have slipped away. Lately, though, the Tigers have experienced more of the former.

With its rout of South Carolina over the weekend, Clemson (8-4, 0-1 ACC) kept its momentum going into the second and most important half of its season. The Tigers’ three-game winning streak heading into tonight’s game at Virginia (7-4, 1-0) is their second-longest of the season, trailing only their 5-0 start to the season.

“I think it’s good for us,” forward Hunter Tyson said. “I think the guys are playing with a lot of confidence right now, and I think we’ve just got to keep doing that.”

Clemson’s current win streak includes its best two of the season – Drake and Carolina, who rank 103rd and 111th in the latest NET rankings, respectively – after the Tigers, coughing up sizable second-half leads in each, missed out on wins over St. Bonaventure, Miami and West Virginia, which sits at No. 42 in the NET. The games against St. Bonaventure and West Virginia were played before Thanksgiving while the five-point loss at Miami was three weeks ago.

One of the biggest differences between then and now, players say, is more cohesion among a group that wasn’t all that familiar with one another at the start of the season.

“It takes time,” Tyson said.

Clemson lost two starters off last season’s NCAA Tournament team, including all-ACC forward Aamir Simms. But that was just the beginning of the attrition.

With six lettermen no longer around, the Tigers turned over half of their roster. Clemson replaced them with seven newcomers, including a pair of transfers in guard David Collins and forward Naz Bohannon. Collins, who spent the previous four seasons at South Florida, was immediately inserted into the starting lineup and has been there ever since.

And with Simms gone, sophomore PJ Hall, a former top-75 national recruit out of nearby Spartanburg, stepped in as a first-time starter in the frontcourt after averaging just 9.9 minutes per game a season ago.

“It’s not easy to just come straight in with multiple guys who are coming in where they are the best player on their team coming into another program,” Hall said. “Everyone has to buy into their own role. So it’s not you just go onto the court and gel. It takes a little time, but we’re getting there for sure.”

After scoring just 10 points apiece in losses to West Virginia and Rutgers, Hall has averaged 17.2 points over the last four games and leads five Tigers averaging double figures on the season. Clemson also ranks fifth out of 350 Division I teams in 3-point field-goal percentage (41.4), sixth in the ACC in scoring (75.9 points per game) and, after pulling down a season-high 51 boards the last time out against Carolina, in the top half of the ACC in rebounding (37 per game).

The Tigers aren’t perfect. Long scoring droughts are still an issue at times. Clemson had to go to overtime to finish off the win against Drake after going the final 6 minutes, 34 seconds of regulation without a bucket. And Carolina nearly cut a 25-point deficit in the second half to single digits, getting within 11 points late before Clemson extended its lead again.

The Tigers, who began the week ranked 67th in the NET, will have to start maximizing their in-conference opportunities if they plan on building a legitimate postseason resume. Wednesday’s game, which has been moved up to a 7 p.m. start, starts a string of 19 straight ACC games to end the regular season, and Virginia is one of eight top-100 NET teams in the conference. Duke (twice), North Carolina, Wake Forest and Virginia Tech are also still on the schedule, which are shaping up to be chances at Quad-1 wins.

But Clemson likes where it is a lot more now than where it used to be.

“Just little things that we’re kind of getting used to,” Clemson coach Brad Brownell said. “We’ve been pressed a lot of times now. We’ve had to do a lot of things. You kind of just get used to your team as you get into 10 or 12 games. I think we’re starting to figure our team out pretty well.”

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Another quality opportunity awaits Clemson hoops in ACC opener

Give Brad Brownell this much. At least he was honest. “No, not really,” Brownell said when asked if he likes where Clemson’s men’s basketball team is heading into ACC play. The Tigers’ 12th-year coach then explained why following his team’s latest …

Give Brad Brownell this much. At least he was honest.

“No, not really,” Brownell said when asked if he likes where Clemson’s men’s basketball team is heading into ACC play.

The Tigers’ 12th-year coach then explained why following his team’s latest loss.

“I thought we were going to play well,” he said. “I thought the signs were there.

“I just thought we were on our heels most of the night, and I didn’t see that coming. I thought we practiced really well and played well in our last game.”

That didn’t translate over for Clemson (5-3), which lost for the third time in four games Tuesday against Rutgers as part of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. It was the latest struggle against a comparable level of competition for the Tigers, who’ve lost all three games they’ve played against top-100 KenPom teams heading into Saturday’s noon game at Miami.

The most recent one didn’t have the same feel to it.

A 32-point rout of two-win Charleston Southern the day after Thanksgiving is the only win the Tigers have in the last two weeks. Before that, Clemson started the Charleston Classic with a convincing victory over Temple. But the Tigers finished the tournament 1-2 after coughing up double-digit leads against then-No. 16 St. Bonaventure (which went on to win the tournament) and Bob Huggins’ West Virginia squad.

Rutgers gave Clemson another chance to notch a quality non-conference win away from home, but the Tigers were the ones having to play catch-up for most of the time Tuesday. Clemson’s last lead came with 4 minutes, 39 seconds left in the first half, and Rutgers extended its advantage to as many as 11 points in the second before notching a 10-point win.

Clemson, with the help of David Collins’ 18 points and 10 rebounds, got within one with a little more than 12 minutes left, but the Tigers, one of the top 3-point shooting teams in the country coming in, went just 4 of 18 from deep and didn’t have the services of sophomore big PJ Hall down the stretch. Clemson’s leading scorer played just 19 minutes because of foul trouble and went out permanently with 4:07 left, finishing with 10 points — matching his second-lowest point total of the season — and four boards.

“He’s played really well most of the year for us. Just wasn’t his night,” Brownell said. “Obviously we’re a different team when he’s not out there. He could be our best player, and he’s probably our most valuable player. He’s a guy that we need out there because of his size and what he brings to the table offensively scoring around the basket.”

Miami (5-3) presents Clemson with yet another opportunity to grab a resume-building win, though the early going has been just as mixed of a bag for the Hurricanes. Miami, ranked 99th in KenPom for the time being, has already lost to Central Florida at home and was blown out by Dayton and Alabama. The Hurricanes, led by senior guard Kameron McGusty (16.8 points per game), redeemed themselves with a road win at Penn State their last time out Wednesday.

After Saturday’s game, Clemson will play its last three non-conference games before resuming league play at Virginia on Dec. 22. Brownell knows his team has to start taking advantage of its quality opportunities.

“The ones we’ve lost are already gone,” Brownell said. “We need to learn from it.”

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Clemson unable to overcome slow start in road loss at Rutgers

In a rematch of the opening round of last season’s NCAA Tournament, Clemson was unable to exact revenge. The Tigers fell 74-64 to Rutgers in the ACC/BIG Ten Challenge at Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway, N.J. Despite David Collins turning in his …

In a rematch of the opening round of last season’s NCAA Tournament, Clemson was unable to exact revenge.

The Tigers fell 74-64 to Rutgers in the ACC/BIG Ten Challenge at Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway, N.J.

Despite David Collins turning in his most impressive performance in a Clemson uniform — he recorded a double-double with 18 points and 10 boards — the Tigers were unable to overcome an ice-cold first half, while also losing their best player to foul trouble.

While Clemson played exceptional defense throughout the course of the first half, the Tigers experienced similar struggles that have plagued them through the season’s first seven games.

Clemson went on a five-minute scoring drought in which it missed 10 consecutive shots. The Tigers finished the first frame shooting 9-of-27 from the field and 1-of-9 from beyond the arc.

What the Tigers struggled with the most was finding a way to attack Rutgers’ zone defense. While they had plenty of good looks, they just couldn’t find a way to finish.

They finally got those shots to start falling, as Clemson had a much better shooting performance in the second frame, finishing the game 23-of-59 from the field and 4-of-17 from deep.

And with just over 12 minutes remaining, they even got the lead down to just 1. Instead of letting Clemson take advantage of the momentum created, Rutgers didn’t flinch. The Scarlet Knights changed their fortunes and were able to take control of the game from there.

Nick Honor scored Clemson’s first points of the game, making a 3-point shot with 16 minutes and 50 seconds remaining in the first half. The Tigers then missed 10 straight shots from deep before Collins hit a crucial shot from the top of the key.

Al-Amir Dawes, who was held scoreless well into the second half, hit 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions, capping off a 13-4 run.

While Clemson made its run, it’s only fair to assume that Rutgers would do the same.

In the first half, Clemson turned over the ball six times and saw three of its starters — Collins, P.J. Hall, and Hunter Tyson — all pick up two fouls in the game’s first 20 minutes.

At the beginning of the second half, Hall instantly picked up his third foul. However, Brownell left him in the game, hoping that his best player could get Clemson back into the game, and then he picked up his fourth foul shortly thereafter.

With 18:26 remaining in the game, Hall went to the bench. He didn’t re-enter the game for another 10 minutes.

After starting 2-of-9 from the field, Hall bounced back to finish with 10 points on 5-of-13 shooting. He fouled out with 4:07 remaining in the game on a foul call that was questionable, to say the least.

His absence down the stretch proved to be crucial against a physical Scarlet Knights team that has a lot of size and length.

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Turnovers, scoring droughts doom Clemson in tough loss vs. West Virginia

It happened again. After taking a commanding lead, Clemson (4-2) fell a part down the stretch with a chance to earn a resume-building win agaisnt West Virginia Behind scoring droughts and turnovers, the Tigers couldn’t get out their way, allowing …

It happened again.

After taking a commanding lead, Clemson (4-2) fell a part down the stretch with a chance to earn a resume-building win agaisnt West Virginia

Behind scoring droughts and turnovers, the Tigers couldn’t get out their way, allowing West Virgina room to rally back for an 66-59 victory in the third round of the Charleston Classic.

The Tigers led St. Bonaventure by 16 points on Friday. They also led West Virgina by 10 points on Sunday night with 14 miuntes left. They wound up losing both games.

Clemson was able to dominate Sunday’s game offensively for the first 10 minutes, but between a seven-minute scoring drought and costly mental errors — 10 turnovers — that allowed West Virginia to take a 1-point lead heading into the break.

After shooting just 2-of-11 from the field in Clemson’s 68-65 loss to No. 22 St. Bonaventure on Friday, Al-Amir Dawes bounced back.

In his postgame press conference Friday, Clemson coach Brad Brownell indicated that he gives Dawes some leniency when it comes to shot taking. While he’d obviously like the decision-making to be better at times, Clemson firmly believes that the good from Dawes outweighs the bad.

Sunday was proof of that, at least for 25 minutes of the game, as he went completely cold in the second half. Dawes scored 18 points, but he also turned over the ball six times.

His lack of offensive presnce conrtibuted to Clemson falling a part in the game’s final eight minutes.

Right out of the gate in the second half, Clemson came out firing on all cylinders. After coming out flat in for the final 20 minutes against the Bonnies on Friday, Clemson wanted to avoid a repeat of letting another winnable game slip away.

The Tigers jumped out to a 15-6 run to start off the game’s second frame. And while they were able to jump out to a 10-point lead, the Tigers had way too many empty possessions plagued by turnovers, allowing for the Mountaineers to eventually make their run.

At one point, the Tigers turned it over on five straight possessions.

Down the stretch of Sunday’s contest, P.J. Hall, Clemson’s leading scorer, and rebounder had to pull himself out of the game. Hall was clearly fatigued playing in his third game in four days. After taking a breather, he checked himself back into the game as a once-commanding 10-point lead dwindled down to just a possession.

While Hall found his way back onto the court, West Virginia took a 13-2 run to take a eventual 4-point lead at 60-56. Clemson went five miuntes without a basket.

It proved to be foretelling.

Clemson shoots past Bryant in rout

Clemson’s men’s basketball team didn’t have much trouble staying perfect Monday. The Tigers carved up Bryant’s zone defense and eventually tightened things up on the defensive end to beat the Bulldogs, 93-70, at Littlejohn Coliseum. Hunter Tyson led …

Clemson’s men’s basketball team didn’t have much trouble staying perfect Monday.

The Tigers carved up Bryant’s zone defense and eventually tightened things up on the defensive end to beat the Bulldogs, 93-70, at Littlejohn Coliseum. Hunter Tyson led five double-figure scorers for Clemson (3-0) with 20 points while Nick Honor added 16 points and seven assists for the Tigers, who, for the first time this season, didn’t have to overcome a second-half deficit.

PJ Hall added 14 points in 24 minutes while added Al-Amir Dawes and David Collins chipped in 11 and 10, respectively, for Clemson, which added to a 12-point halftime lead by shooting a season-high 56% from the field. The Tigers went inside and out against the Bulldogs’ 2-3 zone, scoring 40 points in the paint and knocking down a season-high 10 3-pointers. Hall, fresh off a 21-point outing against Wofford on Friday, finished 7 of 13 from the field while Tyson, Honor and Dawes had the hot hands from distance, combining to shoot 8 of 13 from beyond the arc.

Peter Kiss led Bryant (1-2) with 24 points while Chris Childs chipped in 15, but Clemson led by as many as 26 thanks to its defense eventually catching up to the offense. The Tigers held Bryant to just two 3-pointers in the final 20 minutes, a stark contrast to a first half that saw the Bulldogs make more than 53% of their shots.

Clemson finished with 20 assists on 35 made baskets. Collins also had nine rebounds for the Tigers, who finished plus-12 (39-27) on the boards.

Clemson came out humming against Bryant’s defense, getting almost any look it wanted with crisp ball movement. The Tigers made a point to work it inside to Hall, who had 10 points on 5 of 7 shooting to go along with five rebounds in the first 20 minutes.

Tyson complemented that with 11 points as the Tigers shot better than 63% from the floor in the first half. But Bryant got hot from deep to stay close early.

The Bulldogs, behind Kiss’ 17 first-half points, made seven of eight shots at one point with four of those baskets coming from 3-point range. Bryant sank seven 3s in the opening 20 minutes and ripped off a quick 16-7 run to take a 30-28 lead on Kiss’ layup with 6 minutes, 53 seconds left in the half.

But Tyson answered with a corner 3 on Clemson’s next possession, which ignited another surge for the Tigers. Clemson sank a trio of 3s in the final 2:29, including Dawes’ buzzer-beater, and ended the half on a 24-10 run for a 52-40 advantage at the break.

The Tigers held Bryant to one bucket over the first 6 minutes and change coming out of the locker room, and back-to-back 3s from Honor capped a 17-8 spurt that gave Clemson a 21-point lead with 13:15 left. The Tigers cruised from there.

Clemson will now take its show on the road for the first time this season. The Tigers will face Temple on Thursday in the first round of the Charleston Classic.

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Clemson sidesteps unforced errors to rally past Wofford

Picking up where it left off, Clemson staved off Wofford for a 76-68 win Friday night at the Littlejohn Coliseum. Clemson fought its way back into a game it so needed to have, avoiding a potential letdown in the process, to win its second straight …

Picking up where it left off, Clemson staved off Wofford for a 76-68 win Friday night at the Littlejohn Coliseum.

Clemson fought its way back into a game it so needed to have, avoiding a potential letdown in the process, to win its second straight game of the season.

Al-Amir Dawes put the game on ice with a clutch corner 3-pointer to give Clemson a 6-point cushion.

The game got chippy at times, but Clemson somehow managed to keep its composure. Clemson led by as many as 14 during the game’s opening frame, but the Tigers allowed Wofford to hang around in a game they had mostly dominated in every facet

In fact, Wofford took control of the game with just under 12 minutes to play. Keaton Turner executed a 3-point play to give the Terriers a 52-49 lead. Clemson didn’t panic, though. Coach Brad Brownell called a timeout and Nick Honor immediately answered with a clutch shot from beyond the arc. He celebrated empathetically and then, Clemson’s fortunes began to change.

With Hall absent, unforced turnovers and untimely scoring droughts gave way to Wofford making its run.

Hall’s effort in the first half was undeniable. Heading into the break, he had 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the floor and 3-of-4 from beyond the arc, he also had five defensive rebounds.

It’s why his absence was so pivotal to Clemson losing control of Friday night’s game. The offense looked stagnant without him in there, even if he scored just five second-half points. His presence alone is pivotal for a Clemson team that struggled to find answers from its second unit.

His getting into foul trouble certainly underscored what Clemson was able to accomplish on both ends of the court. The junior forward picked up his fourth foul with just 5 minutes and 42 seconds remaining in the game.

While he spent much of the game’s final minutes on the bench, he checked back in during crunch time to help seal the win for Clemson.

He finished the game with 22 points and eight boards.

While the Tigers looked a bit sloppy and missed some open shots to start off the opening frame of play, Clemson was still able to jump out to a fast start, aided by a strong first-half defensive performance and the team’s offense running through the likes of Hall and David Collins.

That, of course, persisted in the second half, but Wofford was finally able to get shots to start falling. Clemson headed into the break with a 39-31 lead after dominating the first half. Though, it wouldn’t last long.

Clemson’s defensive effort in the first and down the stretch of Friday’s game can’t be overstated. It’s what allowed the Tigers to command a lead for much of the night, even with multiple scoring droughts throughout the course of the contest. Of course, Wofford was able to claw back and make Friday’s game interesting, especially for the majority of the second half, but that had more to do with Clemson’s self-inflicted wounds.

The Tigers were plagued with some untimely fouls — they had 8 first-half team fouls — and nine turnovers. Wofford was able to score 11 points off those turnovers, which allowed the Terriers to hang around, for the most part.

Clemson turned the ball over 10 more times in the second half, for a total of 19 on the night.

Clemson crashed the boards with relative ease in the game’s first 20 minutes. The Tigers outrebounded Wofford 18-10 in the first half and finished the night with a 36-31 margin.

Speaking of defense, Clemson got a big boost from the defensive paralysis of junior guard Nick Honor. He had five steals on the night. Honor does a great job of getting his hands in passing lanes. He’s a tenacious defender, who can defend the length of the floor.

As for Collins, he looked exactly like the player Clemson thought it was getting, at least in the first half. The USF grad transfer not only showed off how physical he can be in the paint on both ends of the court but also just how good of a facilitator he can be.

Collins’ physicality and court vision will be crucial to Clemson’s success throughout the season. It certainly proved to be pivotal as that aspect of Clemson’s game on both ends of the floor disappeared in the second half.

Even with Collins and Hall not adding much offensively in the game’s second frame, the Tigers relied on Dawes, Hunter Tyson and Nick Honor to carry them home to a victory on Friday.

The trio combined for 36 of Clemson’s 76 points.

Brownell yanked Dawes from the court just less than two minutes into Friday night’s contest. While he was the hero for the Tigers in Game 1, it didn’t take long for Clemson’s coach to pull the team’s starting guard.

Dawes sat for a bit, while he watched senior guard Chase Hunter run with the 1s. After checking back in, Dawes immediately drilled a step-back 3-pointer from beyond the arc to give Clemson a 14-6 lead.

While he wasn’t as effective offensively as he was in Clemson’s season-opening victory, Dawes drilled an important 3-pointer to give Clemson a 4-point lead and some breathing room with just over 5 minutes to play.

It was almost poetic. It was a minor rundown of how the game went. Clemson fought through unforced errors and adversity to come out on top, much like Dawes.

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