Tigers Breeze Past Eagles, 71-51

CLEMSON, S.C. — Clemson University men’s basketball made its first eight shots of the game and set the tone for the remainder of the contest, breezing past NC Central to move to 2-0 on the year with a 71-51 victory on Friday night.

The Tigers (2-0) allowed just 20 points in the opening half, the second-fewest allowed by a Clemson team in its last 61 games. The lowest was 19 points allowed to Auburn in the second round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament.

David Skara paced the Tigers with a game-high 16 points on 5-for-7 shooting, including 3-for-4 from outside. Aamir Simms finished right behind with 14 points on 5-for-8 shooting and hit 3-of-4 from long range as well. The three 3-pointers from Simms was a career-high for a single game.

Clemson started 8-for-8 from the field and opened a 20-9 lead nearly seven minutes into the contest. The Tigers pushed its lead to 20 right before the half on a Marcquise Reed 3-pointer.

The Tiger defense remained stout for a full 40 minutes, limiting the Eagles (0-1) to just 32.7 percent shooting from the field, including a dismal 22.2 percent from long range (4-for-18). The Eagles also turned the ball over 20 times in the contest, leading to 25 Clemson points.