Clemson uses late surge to down Sam Houston State, 74-59
CLEMSON, S.C. — Clemson University men’s basketball used a 12-0 run that spanned 2:46 during the middle of the second half to pull away from Sam Houston State and polish off a 15-point victory on Wednesday night.
The Tigers (3-0) won their third-straight game to open the season – the fifth time under Brad Brownell in his tenure at Clemson. With the victory, Brownell has 152 at Clemson and is just five shy of passing Bill Foster for second all-time in program history.
Marcquise Reed led the Tigers and finished with a game-high 26 points – just two shy of tying his career high of 28 which he set last season at Virginia Tech (Feb. 21). It marked the fourth time in his career that he notched at least 25 points. He hit a team-best three 3-pointers and finished a perfect 5-for-5 at the charity stripe.
Two other Tigers finished in double-figure scoring with Shelton Mitchell collecting 13 points, while Aamir Simms scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half.
Simms finished 3-for-4 from the field, including a perfect 2-for-2 from behind the arc. He has now hit his first 3-point attempt in each game this season. Simms also led the team with eight rebounds, including three on the offensive glass.
As a team, Clemson posted five blocks, which marks the second time this season it has blocked at least five shots in a game. The Tigers accomplished that feat in 16-of-35 contests a year ago.
Clemson will return to action on Monday, Nov. 19 when it plays Akron in the Cayman Islands Classic. The Tigers will play three games in three days over the course of the tournament – spanning Monday through Wednesday.
Notes:
Clemson starts 3-0 for the fifth time under Brad Brownell in his tenure … Clemson moves to 1-0 all-time against Sam Houston State … Brad Brownell wins his 152nd game at Clemson – leaving him five shy of passing Bill Foster for second all-time in program history … Marcquise Reed scored a game-high 26 points – his fourth-ever game in his career scoring at least 25 points … he posted a double-figure scoring total for the 74th time in his career (out of 106 career games) … Aamir Simms has now notched double-figures in each game this season … Simms grabbed a season-high eight rebounds … Simms’ three offensive rebounds tied a career-high … Simms tied his career high with three assists … with two blocks on the night, Elijah Thomas is 15 shy of cracking the Clemson all-time top 10 list.