Graduate guard Marcquise Reed scored 21 points, helping Clemson hold off St. Peter's 65-60 Tuesday night in a nonconference game at Clemson, S.C.
Elijah Thomas put up 14 of his 17 points in the second half for the Tigers (6-2), who snapped a two-game losing streak.
Senior guard Davauhnte Turner scored a team-high 16 points for St. Peter's (2-6).
The Peacocks of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference never lost contact with Clemson, which two weeks ago had risen to No. 16 in the AP rankings before taking back-to-back close losses to Creighton and Nebraska.
The Tuesday game was tied 28-28 at the half and St. Peter's led 39-36 with 13 1/2 minutes left. Clemson, sparked by Thomas, went on an 8-0 run to pull ahead 44-39 before consecutive 3-pointers from Dallas Watson and Turner put the Peacocks back in front 45-44.
St. Peter's held its final lead, 50-49, after a three-point play by freshman forward KC Ndefo with 5:11 remaining, but Thomas scored five consecutive points to give the Tigers the lead for good.
Thomas scored nine of Clemson's final 16 points to help seal the victory.
A senior forward, Thomas made 5 of 8 shots from the floor and 7 of 9 from the free-throw line. He also grabbed 12 rebounds to record his third double-double of the season.
Reed, the team's leading scorer at 19.1 points per game, was the Tigers' catalyst early, scoring the team's first six points and 12 in the first half. He finished with his fifth 20-plus-point game this season to go along with three assists and three steals.
Backcourt mate Shelton Mitchell, a graduate guard, added 15 points.
St. Peter's kept the game close throughout by shooting well from beyond the arc. The Peacocks were 10 of 21 (47.6 percent) from 3-point range while Clemson made only 2 of 14 (14.3 percent) from long range.
The Peacocks, who snapped a five-game losing streak with an overtime victory against Maine on Saturday, also got 13 points apiece from junior guard Cameron Jones and Watson, a freshman guard. Turner, Jones and Watson shot a combined 9 of 15 from 3-point range.
--Field Level Media
St. Peter's | Clemson | |
Davauhnte Turner 18 | Scoring | Marcquise Reed 21 |
KC Ndefo 3 | Assists | Marcquise Reed 3 |
Quinn Taylor 10 | Rebounds | Elijah Thomas 12 |
KC Ndefo 2 | Free Throws Made | Marcquise Reed 9 |
KC Ndefo 2 | Steals | Marcquise Reed 3 |
Majur Majak 4 | Blocks | Aamir Simms 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
St. Peter's | 60 | 41.1 | 10-21 | 4-6 | 8 | 26 | 6 | 5 | 11 |
Clemson | 65 | 41.7 | 2-14 | 23-30 | 6 | 34 | 4 | 6 | 9 |