Clemson Basketball Dominates Loyola-Maryland

The Tigers entered the game with a 3-1 record. All three wins came against mid-major opponents with a significant talent deficit and all resulted in 10 or 11 point wins — solid but not dominant. On Tuesday night, the Tigers were utterly dominant. An Ian Shieffelin 3-pointer with 10 minutes left in the first half pushed the lead to 25-8 and they never looked back from there.

Playing with a big lead partway through the second half, Coach Brownell was able to give many of the freshman extended playing time. Chauncey Wiggins and RJ Godfrey performed well. Wiggins had a block, a steal, scored 7 points, and pulled in 2 rebounds. He made plays in the post and made a 3-pointer. RJ Godfrey also had 7 points and showed comfort working around the rim. He was 3-4 from 2-point territory, 0-1 from 3, and 1-2 from the charity stripe. Sophomore Ben Middlebrooks once again got the start and took the opening tip, but then saw limited minutes before garbage time. He finished the game with no points, but 1 block and 2 steals.

The young guards, Josh Beadle (redshirt freshman) and Dillon Hunter (true freshman), played for 21 and 20 minutes, respectively. Neither struggled, but they did not shine either as both posted some of the lowest offensive efficiency ratings on the team. Beadle made several nice passes that resulted in 3 assists. With the duo as the only true guards off the bench, the Tigers are thin at the position and may consider playing with some big lineups as ACC quickly approaches.

Hunter Tyson scored 14 points and hauled in 9 rebounds in just 19 minutes of play. Alex Hemenway had a perfect night going 5-5 with 3 3-pointers and no turnovers for 13 points.

After leading 43-14 at halftime, the Tigers youngsters played the Greyhounds more evenly in the second half to get to a 72-41 final score. It was a good win for the Tigers and the best they’ve played all season. They’re underdogs on Friday when they face Iowa in Niceville, FL for the Emerald Coast Classic. An upset victory there will negate their bad loss to the woeful Gamecocks and put this team right back on track for a stellar season.