John Newman III scored 16 points and Clemson buried Presbyterian with some effective long-range shooting en route to a 79-45 victory at Clemson's Littlejohn Coliseum Thursday night.
Clemson made 14-of-35 shots from three-point range -- twice as many as the Tigers made in a 67-60 loss against Virginia Tech in the team's season and Atlantic Coast Conference season opener on Tuesday.
Clemson (1-1) took control from the outset and built a 13-point lead, 18-5, midway through the first half. Presbyterian cut the Tigers' lead to single digits, 23-14, with 6:28 left in the first half, but Clemson responded with a 20-7 run to build a comfortable 43-21 halftime advantage.
Clemson then made three 3-pointers in the first six minutes of the second half, pushing its lead to 34 points at 59-25, and would lead by as many as 39 points.
Forward Tevin Mack scored 14 points for Clemson. Freshman guard Chase Hunter and graduate transfer Curran Scott each scored 13.
Clemson's 14 3-pointers were just one shy of the program's best in 10 seasons under coach Brad Brownell. The Tigers shot 41.2 percent from beyond the arc and 46.3 percent from the floor while Presbyterian shot 35.3 percent from the floor.
Clemson, which already is playing without starting point guard Clyde Trapp, lost freshman guard Alex Hemenway to injury with 10:07 left in the game. He had to be helped off the court and his status for Sunday's game against Colgate was not immediately known.
Presbyterian (0-1), an in-state rival and member of the Big South Conference, was playing its first game under new coach Quinton Ferrell, a Presbyterian alumnus who spent the previous five seasons as an assistant coach at the College of Charleston.
The Blue Hose, who committed 21 turnovers, were led by Chris Martin's 11 points while Ben Drake and J.C. Younger added eight apiece.
--Field Level Media
Presbyterian | Clemson | |
Chris Martin 11 | Scoring | John Newman III 16 |
Chris Martin 4 | Assists | Chase Hunter 4 |
Ben Drake 7 | Rebounds | Aamir Simms 8 |
Chris Martin 3 | Free Throws Made | Curran Scott 2 |
Chris Martin 3 | Steals | Al-Amir Dawes 2 |
Cory Hightower 1 | Blocks | Khavon Moore 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Presbyterian | 45 | 35.3 | 5-18 | 4-9 | 10 | 31 | 2 | 8 | 21 |
Clemson | 79 | 46.3 | 14-34 | 3-4 | 14 | 38 | 2 | 6 | 12 |