By Ron Pitts for Urban Media Today Sports
Clemson, SC–Coach Brad Brownell is getting his Tigers ready to tip off his 17th season as the head basketball coach at Clemson. The Tigers face Presbyterian College Blue Hose led by Head Coach Quinton Ferrell in his 8th season. Wednesday was the second exhibition game of the season for the Tigers. The Tigers had defeated Georgia 82-80 in their first exhibition game.
Clemson got off to a 15-5 start with 15:35 left in the first half with #15 Dylan Faulkner getting the party started with 7 of the 15 points. The Blue Hose climbed back into the game 7:47 left in the first half trailing 28-25 led by #42 Jayle Peterson with 8 points and two big 3 pointers from #11 Erik Taylor
The Clemson Tigers pulled away going into halftime with a 44-30 lead once they cranked up the defense forcing 8 turnovers and 10 points off of turnovers. At the half, The Tigers had 11 2nd chance points. They dominated the paint with 18 points. They were led in the first half by Falkner with 13 points and #45 Liu Lelevicius with 11 points.
Coming out in the 2nd half, the Tigers took a 52-36 lead over the Blue Hose. #8 David Fuchs started off with 4 points in the half along with 2 rebounds with 15:25 remaining in the game. Coach Brownell and his team maintained the lead through the 2nd half with a steady balanced team offensive effort. The Tigers closed out the game with an 84-70 win over Presbyterian College led by #21 Ace Buckner’s 21 points and #15 Dylan Faulkner’s 20 points. The Clemson Tigers had 38 rebounds and led the way on the boards with 9 total and (7 def) for David Fuchs. Notre Dame transfer Cole Certa struggled shooting but was able to run and control the offense with 7 assists.
Coach Brownell noted that he was not worried about Certa’s shooting after going 0-5 from the field, but he was pleased with how well he ran the offense tonight. He said that his team hasn’t played a complete game yet and that everyone is still adjusting and learning. Brownell went on to say he thought the first half was pretty good, but the second half was average.
When asked what he has learned about this team since the start of camp to the last exhibition game, Coach Brownell shared that he’s learning about his staff and his team’s capacity. He went on to note that they are a group who wants to do well, share the ball well, and shoot well.
The Tigers have closed out the preseason, and now officially kick off the start of their regular season Monday night (November 2) when the Stetson Hatters visit Littlejohn Coliseum.