Clemson Drops Friday Night Contest to No. 9 Maryland

Daytona Beach, Fla. – No. 9/10 Maryland jumped out to an early lead and downed Clemson 63-44 on Friday evening inside the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Fla. The win moves the Terrapins to 6-1 on the year, while the loss drops the Tigers to 2-5.

Amari Robinson led Clemson with 14 points and eight rebounds, while Kendall Spray added 11 and six rebounds. The Tigers shot .727 (16-22) from the FT line on the day and pulled down 16 offensive rebounds. 

Defensively, Clemson held the Terrapins below .500 from the floor at 21-62 (.339) and .280 from three (7-25). The Tigers out-rebounded Maryland, 43-36 and held the Terrapins 26 points below their season average.

Clemson’s offense got a spark from Robinson late in the first half, as the freshman scored seven of the Tigers’ nine points during a 9-2 run to close out the half. Clemson opened the third with five-straight points, highlighted by a three from Spray. Clemson then closed out the quarter on a 10-3 run to cut the lead to 11 heading into the fourth quarter.

The Tigers cut the lead to nine on a layup by Shania Meertens to open the quarter, but Maryland put together a 16-0 run to thwart the Tiger comeback.

Clemson is back in action on Saturday night, taking on Alcorn State in an 8:00 p.m. matchup in Daytona Beach.