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Clemson Basketball

Clemson Basketball off to best start since 2008-09 with 81-59 win over Samford

December 9, 2017
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Clemson basketball used a 46-point second half to defeat the Samford Bulldogs 81-59 in Littlejohn Saturday afternoon.

All five of Clemson’s starters scored in double-figures, led by Dante Grantham and Shelton Mitchell with 20 points each tying for a game-high.

With the win, the Tigers are now 8-1 and are having the best start to a season since 2008-09.

“It was hard-fought today,” head coach Brad Brownell said. “We had to keep grinding and play.”

Brownell said Thursday that Samford head coach Scoot Padgett likes to throw a lot of different defensive schemes at an opponent. The Bulldogs gave the Tigers a lot of different looks all afternoon.

Regardless, Clemson kept getting open looks, especially from three but was hardly able to make any of them.

Seven of Clemson’s first eight shots were threes against Samford's packed 2-3 zone. Gabe DeVoe knocked down the first, but Clemson went cold from there missing their next seven heading into the first media timeout.

The Tigers shot 4-of-20 from three-point range and 11-of-30 from the field overall as they took a 35-30 lead into halftime.

Mitchell said that the team was down on themselves for missing so many open jump shots: “That negative energy kind of messed up our team defensively.”

“We just missed a million shots,” Brownell said. “That’s not easy to coach or fix. Trying harder to make shots is like trying harder on a four-foot putt. It’s not easy.”

Samford came out of halftime with a 12-3 run to give the Bulldogs a 42-38 lead, its largest of the afternoon. The Tigers were looking uninspired on both ends of the floor.

A timeout was called with just under 15 minutes to play, and it was time for Brownell to rally his troops.

“Coach talked to us in the huddle and gave us a pretty motivational speech,” Elijah Thomas said after his 11-point, 11-rebound double-double.

Thomas gave credit to his coach for getting Clemson out the funk it was in.

“I really got after them,” Brownell said. “It was the first time in a while I really had to get after them a little bit. I made them stop and take a look down at the other bench, ‘those guys are feeling pretty good about themselves right now… you better snap out of it and get after them right away.’ Thankfully we did.”

Clemson came out of the timeout and responded with a quick 6-0 run to retake the lead. The Bulldogs hung around and made Clemson work for it and led 48-47 with 13:19 remaining in the game.

That was Samford’s last lead of the game as the Tigers closed the game on a 34-11 run. A 19-2 run that lasted 4:51, highlighted by a Grantham alley-oop gave Clemson a 74-55 lead with 3:20 left, and Clemson coasted from there.

With its offensive struggles, Clemson had to rely on its defense to get its confidence back down the stretch.

“Stops (gave us confidence),” Thomas said. “That’s the identity of the team we want to have. We are really good in transition, but in order to get in transition we got to get stops.”

The Tigers forced 22 turnovers and were able to get 22 points off of those turnovers, which ultimately was the difference in the 22-point victory.

Grantham had his third 20-point performance of the season. 16 of those points came in the second half.

“He’s in more positions now,” Brownell said. “There are more opportunities for him to get to the basket.”

Brownell was pleased with the way his team has been playing so far this season. The last time the Tigers had a start like this to their season, they made the NCAA Tournament.

“I’m pleased with how the guys are handling their business,” Brownell added. “We’ve done what we are supposed to do. Excited to see where we go.”

Clemson takes on No. 5 Florida on Saturday, December 16th in the Orange Bowl Basketball Classic in Sunrise, Florida.

 
 
 
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