Clemson Cagers Defeat North Florida, 76-36 |
Clemson, freshly minted as the No. 1 team in the college basketball RPI rankings, defeated North Florida, the last place team in the RPI, 76-36, Tuesday night at Littlejohn Coliseum.
The game was never in doubt for the undefeated Tigers (11-0) against winless North Florida (0-8), but it was an impressive showing for Clemson on defense. North Florida’s point total was the lowest point total by an opponent against Clemson in 13 years. Clemson had 11 blocked shots and 16 steals in Oliver Purnell’s 105th win at Clemson.
“We were looking for energy and motion tonight,” said Purnell. “We were going to use ten guys and try to wear them down.”
Only in the first two minutes did the Tigers trail North Florida, but the game quickly turned in Clemson’s favor. The Tigers led 37-22 at the half and then turned on the offense in the second half, scoring numerous times on fastbreaks. That included a couple of dunks by Demontez Stitt, which didn’t necessarily make Purnell smile.
“He certainly went strong to the basket,” said Purnell. “But you’ve got to be careful. They were looking to take us out a couple of times. We’ve been fortunate with our health. I get real excited or apprehensive with a Demontez go to the rim.”
Trevor Booker led the Tigers with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Terrence Oglesby and Raymond Sykes added 10 points each. David Potter, Tanner Smith and Demontez Stitt each added 7. Clemson finished 29-64 from the field, the first time in five games the Tigers shot less than 50 percent from the field.
Clemson held North Florida to 14-54 from the field, the second best fieldgoal percentage by Clemson in a game under Purnell.
“We played the last place team in the RPI,” said Purnell. “All you can do is take care of your own business. If you do that it puts you in great shape going into Christmas.”
The Tigers visit Miami to open the Atlantic Coast Conference season on Sunday.
“We had a heck of a ballgame down there last year,” said Purnell. “The game came down to the wire. We were down 6 with three to play. We’ve got to get some rest tomorrow and then we’ve got three days to prepare to play one of the best teams in the country.
“We’ve had some meaningful games in some tough circumstances. Those prepare you for the one we’re going to face Sunday. Miami will be intense and will have a sellout crowd or close to it. National television on the road. This is what you sign up for.”
VISITORS: North Florida 0-8
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
44 Groothuis, Kyle..... f 4-8 0-0 1-2 7 0 7 2 9 0 1 1 1 23
15 Riley, Cortez....... g 2-11 0-0 0-2 0 2 2 1 4 2 4 0 0 21
25 Sparkes, Germaine... g 1-5 0-0 0-2 2 1 3 2 2 1 4 0 1 27
32 Januska, Stan....... g 0-4 0-1 0-0 1 3 4 3 0 2 1 0 0 19
34 Jones, Ashton....... g 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 1 7
13 Fair, Jordan........ 1-3 1-3 0-0 0 2 2 1 3 0 3 0 1 12
22 Sauey, Matt......... 1-3 0-0 0-0 2 5 7 2 2 0 3 0 0 15
23 Cuka, Eni........... 1-4 1-4 3-5 0 2 2 5 6 1 4 0 0 26
24 Lovelace, Cameron... 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 2 0 1 1 0 0 14
30 Riggins, Zack....... 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 14
31 Jones, DeVon........ 2-7 0-0 2-4 1 2 3 0 6 0 0 0 3 17
35 Auerbacher, Tyler... 1-4 0-2 0-0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 5
TEAM................ 3 1 4
Totals.............. 14-54 2-11 6-15 16 21 37 18 36 8 22 1 7 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 10-29 34.5% 2nd Half: 4-25 16.0% Game: 25.9% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 0-1 0.0% 2nd Half: 2-10 20.0% Game: 18.2% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 2-6 33.3% 2nd Half: 4-9 44.4% Game: 40.0% 3
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HOME TEAM: Clemson 11-0
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
01 Rivers, K.C......... f 2-8 0-2 2-2 6 4 10 2 6 1 3 1 3 21
35 Booker, Trevor...... f 6-9 1-1 3-3 3 7 10 0 16 1 1 5 1 26
12 Sykes, Raymond...... c 5-10 0-0 0-0 2 2 4 1 10 0 2 2 1 21
02 Stitt, Demontez..... g 1-8 0-4 3-6 2 0 2 0 5 4 1 1 3 24
22 Oglesby, Terrence... g 3-8 1-6 3-4 0 1 1 1 10 3 1 0 1 23
03 Anderson, Zavier.... 0-0 0-0 0-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 2
04 Baize, Jonah........ 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
05 Smith, Tanner....... 3-4 1-1 0-0 0 1 1 0 7 0 0 0 1 16
10 Baciu, Catalin...... 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 4 4 1 2 2 0 0 0 7
11 Young, Andre........ 2-5 2-3 1-2 0 2 2 1 7 0 0 1 2 15
15 Potter, David....... 3-7 1-4 0-0 1 3 4 3 7 4 0 0 3 24
21 Narcisse, Bryan..... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 3
44 Yanutola, Jesse..... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
45 Grant, Jerai........ 2-2 0-0 0-0 2 2 4 1 4 0 1 1 0 12
55 Petrukonis, Karolis. 1-2 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 0 2 1 0 0 0 2
TEAM................
Totals.............. 29-64 6-21 12-19 16 29 45 12 76 16 11 11 16 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 13-33 39.4% 2nd Half: 16-31 51.6% Game: 45.3% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 3-12 25.0% 2nd Half: 3-9 33.3% Game: 28.6% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 8-9 88.9% 2nd Half: 4-10 40.0% Game: 63.2% 5,1
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Officials: Karl Hess, Mike Eades, Brian Dorsey
Technical fouls: North Florida-None. Clemson-None.
Attendance: 5892
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
North Florida................. 22 14 - 36
Clemson....................... 37 39 - 76
Points in the paint-UNF 22,CU 36. Points off turnovers-UNF 10,CU 22.
2nd chance points-UNF 10,CU 14. Fast break points-UNF 2,CU 10.
Bench points-UNF 19,CU 29. Score tied-4 times. Lead changed-6 times.
Last FG-UNF 2nd-00:38, CU 2nd-00:09.
Largest lead-UNF by 2 1st-18:28, CU by 40 2nd-01:07.
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