Tigers open year two of Brownell era with win

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Brad Brownell postgame audio

CLEMSON –The true freshmen looked good in spots, but it was the old guys who found a way to win.

Clemson got 19 points from senior Andre YoungAndre Young
Sr. Guard
#11 5-9, 175
Albany, GA
View Full Profile and 14 rebounds and eight assists from senior Tanner SmithTanner Smith
Sr. Guard
#5 6-5, 210
Alpharetta, GA
View Full Profile as the Tigers opened year two of the Brad BrownellBrad Brownell
Head Coach
View Full Profile era by outscoring Gardner-Webb 36-15 in the second half, earning a 65-44 win over the Bulldogs in the season opener at Littlejohn Coliseum Friday night.

The Tigers outscored Gardner-Webb 36-15 in the second half – the teams were tied 29-29 at halftime – and it was Young who got the fireworks started in the second half with five quick points that gave the Tigers the boost they needed in pulling away from the pesky Bulldogs.

“It was a good opening night for our guys,” Brownell said. “I thought Gardner-Webb played very well and didn’t back down at all physically. We let our guard down there and they got some confidence. We made a couple of bad turnovers that gave them some confidence heading into halftime that gave them all the momentum.

“We needed to face a little adversity and we got some. I thought our older players really responded. Defensively, we were obviously tremendous in the second half. Our guys really bore down and held them to 15 points in the second half. I thought we did some better things, and we played our older guys a lot of minutes.”

Young’s back-to-back baskets were part of a 23-6 Clemson run that saw them force six Bulldog turnovers in the first four minutes of the second half.

“Coach [Brownell] challenged us at halftime to come out and be more aggressive on the defensive end,” Young said. “We gave them momentum at the end of the half, and they were getting too many easy looks. The baskets were huge, but it all started on the defensive end.”

The Tigers jumped out to a 17-9 lead at the midway point of the first when Young nailed a 3-pointer from the corner that bookended a trey by Sapp.

The Tigers continued that hot shooting to extend the lead even further when Young nailed another 3-pointer to put the Tigers up 26-13 with 6:34 left in the first half.

The Bulldogs went on a 16-3 run to end the half, however, as Clemson committed a rash of turnovers [they had nine in the half] and the teams were tied at 29 at intermission.

The Tigers began the second half with Young’s buckets, and a Devin BookerDevin Booker
Jr. Forward
#31 6-8, 245
Whitmire, SC
View Full Profile dunk off of a Tanner Smith feed that made it a 7-0 run to start the half.

Clemson led 47-35 with just over ten minutes remaining when freshman T.J. SappT.J. Sapp
Fr. Guard
#1 6-3, 190
Fort Lauderdale, FL
View Full Profile – who finished with 11 points – drilled a 3-pointer that started a 16-5 run over the next seven minutes that put the game out of reach for the Bulldogs, who fell to 0-4 all-time against Clemson.

Smith’s 14 boards were a career-high – his previous high was 10 – and he said he told the freshmen in the tunnel before the game to use each minute wisely.

As it turned out, he took his own advice.

“I told them before we came out on the court that they need to use every minute they are out there to make something happen,” Smith said. “You never know when that one little thing can spark you. Tonight, my teammates were helping me by boxing out and I was able to come in and get some key rebounds.”

Smith said that he and Young take the mantle of role model and team leader seriously.

“It is something we have been preparing for,” he said. “We enjoy helping out these younger guys. They are going to be good, but they need to be pushed in the right direction. Andre and I are excited about helping them out and helping them become good players.”

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VISITORS: Gardner-Webb 0-1


                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS


## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN


05 Johnson, Stefon..... f  2-7    0-0    0-0    2  0  2   3   4  0  0  0  2  27


54 Byron, Mike......... c  0-1    0-0    4-4    0  1  1   0   4  0  1  0  0  15


10 Landis, Max......... g  2-8    2-4    0-0    0  3  3   2   6  1  4  0  2  26


11 Dawson, Jason....... g  3-8    1-4    0-0    0  2  2   1   7  0  4  0  1  30


15 Buggs, Laron........ g  3-8    1-2    7-8    1  6  7   3  14  1  2  0  1  32


00 Harper, Donta.......    1-3    0-0    0-0    1  0  1   0   2  0  3  0  0  12


04 Strange, Tyler......    1-3    1-3    0-0    0  3  3   2   3  2  0  0  2  20


24 Hartley, Kevin......    1-5    0-3    0-0    0  1  1   3   2  3  3  0  1  21


31 Butler, Santoine....    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  1  0  0   6


33 Hensley, Corey......    1-2    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   1   2  1  0  0  0  11


   TEAM................                         2  1  3


   Totals..............   14-45   5-16  11-12   6 17 23  15  44  8 18  0  9 200


TOTAL FG% 1st Half:  9-24 37.5%   2nd Half:  5-21 23.8%   Game: 31.1%  DEADB


3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  4-9  44.4%   2nd Half:  1-7  14.3%   Game: 31.3%   REBS


F Throw % 1st Half:  7-8  87.5%   2nd Half:  4-4  100 %   Game: 91.7%    0





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HOME TEAM: Clemson 1-0


                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS


## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN


24 Jennings, Milton.... f  4-9    1-1    1-3    1  3  4   2  10  2  5  2  1  25


31 Booker, Devin....... f  2-6    0-1    4-4    1  2  3   3   8  2  3  0  1  31


01 Sapp, T.J........... g  4-6    3-5    0-0    0  2  2   1  11  0  1  0  1  30


05 Smith, Tanner....... g  3-4    0-1    0-0    1 13 14   1   6  8  5  2  5  33


11 Young, Andre........ g  7-9    3-4    2-2    0  3  3   0  19  2  1  0  1  36


04 Hall, Rod...........    1-1    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   1   2  1  1  0  0  16


10 Baciu, Catalin......    0-2    0-0    0-1    0  0  0   1   0  0  1  1  0   3


15 Coleman, Devin......    0-1    0-1    0-0    0  0  0   1   0  0  0  0  0   1


21 Narcisse, Bryan.....    3-5    0-2    1-2    1  1  2   3   7  2  0  1  0  14


22 Sullivan, Bernard...    1-2    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   2  0  0  1  0   6


32 McDaniels, K.J......    0-1    0-0    0-0    1  0  1   1   0  0  0  0  0   5


   TEAM................                         1  1  2             1


   Totals..............   25-46   7-15   8-12   6 26 32  14  65 17 18  7  9 200


TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-21 52.4%   2nd Half: 14-25 56.0%   Game: 54.3%  DEADB


3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  4-7  57.1%   2nd Half:  3-8  37.5%   Game: 46.7%   REBS


F Throw % 1st Half:  3-5  60.0%   2nd Half:  5-7  71.4%   Game: 66.7%    2





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Officials: Bryan Kersey, Tim Nestor, William Humes


Technical fouls: Gardner-Webb-None. Clemson-None.


Attendance: 6000


Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total


Gardner-Webb..................   29   15  -   44


Clemson.......................   29   36  -   65


Points in the paint-GW 12,CU 20. Points off turnovers-GW 14,CU 17.


2nd chance points-GW 7,CU 6. Fast break points-GW 0,CU 2.


Bench points-GW 9,CU 11. Score tied-1 time. Lead changed-0 times.


Last FG-GW 2nd-02:12, CU 2nd-02:32.


Largest lead-GW None, CU by 25 2nd-02:32.

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