PJ Hall scored a game-high 27 points, 20 of which came in the first half, to lead No. 18 Clemson to a 109-79 victory over visiting Queens on Friday.
RJ Godfrey added 19 points on 8-for-9 shooting from the field as Clemson (10-1) breezed past the Royals thanks to 69 first-half points -- its third most points in a half in school history, and the most since 1993. Joseph Girard III also tallied 19 points for the Tigers, whose 109 points were their most since scoring 118 points in a February 2002 win over Wake Forest. Chauncey Wiggins scored 13 points and added six rebounds for the Tigers.
BJ McLaurin and AJ McKee scored 18 points apiece for Queens (6-8), which never led in its third straight loss. Chris Ashby totaled 14 points and Deyton Albury had 10.
The Tigers raced out to a 40-27 lead at the 6:35 mark of the first half, thanks to back-to-back buckets from Godfrey.
Clemson's scoring didn't slow down, as it poured in 29 points over the final six minutes of the first half, including a Chase Hunter triple at the buzzer to give the Tigers a 69-36 lead.
Clemson made 27 of its 38 shots (71.1 percent) in the first half, as opposed to 13-for-37 (35.1 percent) for the Royals.
Queens kept pace with Clemson's scoring in the second half, outscoring the Tigers 43-40.
A Dillon Hunter layup pushed the Tigers' lead to 107-70, their biggest advantage of the game. Littlejohn Coliseum erupted as walk-on Andrew Latiff scored a bucket with four seconds left for the first points of his college career.
Clemson finished the game 43-for-68 (63.2 percent) from the field, while Queen shot 28-for-74 (37.8 percent).
For the Royals, who are in their second season as a Division I member, Friday marked their first game against a ranked opponent.
Queens will face another Top-25 challenge on Dec. 30 when it travels to No. 21 Duke in Durham, N.C. Clemson hosts Radford on Dec. 29 before Atlantic Coast Conference play begins in January.
--Field Level Media
Queens University of Charlotte | Clemson | |
AJ McKee 18 | Scoring | PJ Hall 27 |
BJ McLaurin 4 | Assists | Joseph Girard III 6 |
Deyton Albury 5 | Rebounds | Ian Schieffelin 6 |
AJ McKee 3 | Free Throws Made | Joseph Girard III 3 |
Bryce Cash 2 | Steals | Chase Hunter 2 |
Jaxon Pollard 1 | Blocks | PJ Hall 4 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Queens University of Charlotte | 79 | 37.8 | 14-42 | 9-13 | 12 | 27 | 2 | 6 | 10 |
Clemson | 109 | 63.2 | 10-19 | 13-17 | 24 | 35 | 6 | 6 | 7 |