Clemson drops Long Beach St. in Anaheim |
ANAHEIM – The Clemson basketball team led by just one point, at 61-60 with 8:54 remaining, when senior big man Trevor Booker was whistled for his fourth foul, and it looked like the Tigers might be on their way to a second loss in as many days at the 76 Classic in Anaheim.
Instead, the Tigers went on a 6-0 run and actually scored 10 of the next 16 points as the 19th-ranked Tigers held off pesky Long Beach State 87-79 at the Anaheim Convention Center, setting Clemson up to play on Sunday the winner of tonight’s Butler-UCLA contest. Tanner Smith scored 17 points and Demontez Stitt had 16 points and five assists for the Tigers, while Andre Young added 13 points and Trevor Booker had 12 points and seven rebounds. Stitt the Tiger’s success at spreading the floor against the 49ers was key to their offensive output, even when Booker was sidelined. "If we spread the floor, play as one and move the ball from side to side, teams can't focus on one player," said Stitt, one of six Tigers who scored in double figures. T.J. Robinson scored a career-high 25 points and tied a career high with 15 rebounds for the 49ers (3-3), who have lost three of four. The Tigers led 30-29 when David Potter scored on three consecutive possessions in a 53 second span to put the Tigers ahead 36-29 with 1:49 left in the first half. Clemson then began the second half with a 7-0 spurt in the first 41 seconds to build a 45-34 lead. "The defense got us the lead with our pressure," Clemson head coach Oliver Purnell said. "Offensively, we got a bunch of shots going to the basket, and we took our jump shots off of that. We really attacked in the lane." Long Beach head coach Larry Monson said Clemson just had too many athletes for his team to contend with. "They came in waves," Monson said. "We got to 61-60 and it seemed like we got fatigued. Our bench isn't deep enough and experienced enough." Clemson Team Notes • The Tigers moved to 5-1 on the season with today’s victory over Long Beach State. It was the first-ever meeting with the 49ers. Clemson moves on to place the winner of the Butler/UCLA game on Sunday, Nov. 29 at 7:30 PM (EST). The game will be televised by ESPNU. • For the second time in the last week, Clemson produced six scorers in double figures. The Tigers also had six reach double figures in the scoring column on Monday against Winthrop. Devin Booker was just two points shy of double figures, which would have been the first time since 1991 the Clemson program produced seven in a single game. • Following a season-low 60 points in the opening round against Texas A&M, the Tigers scored 87 points and had a season-best 57.6 percent field goal accuracy. • Clemson had a season-low four steals in today’s contest with Long Beach State, yet the Tigers still managed to force 15 turnovers for the sixth consecutive game. Clemson Individual Notes • Tanner Smith recorded a career-high in today’s game with 17 points against the 49ers. He hit 7-11 shots and 2-2 free throws, while also tying a career-high with six rebounds as well. • Demontez Stitt rebounded from a tough outing with a season-high 16 points in the game. The junior point guard hit 7-14 shots, including 2-3 from three-point distance. Stitt added five assists versus only one turnover in 34 minutes of action. • Andre Young matched his career high, posting 13 points for the third time in his career. He shot 5-10 from the field and 2-2 from the foul line. Young also had a 5-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. • For the second straight game, Bryan Narcisse provided a huge spark for the Tigers. The sophomore from North Augusta, SC hit 5-5 field goals and finished with 10 points. That also matched a career-high. He previously posted 10 in the season opener against Presbyterian. Narcisse started his first career game Friday in place of Jerai Grant, who was sidelined due to illness. • David Potter reached double figures in scoring for the fourth straight game, a first in his career.. The Severn, MD product has played in 108 consecutive games for Clemson. • Trevor Booker, who played just 23 minutes due to foul trouble, posted 12 points in the game and passed Jim Brennan and Devin Gray for 16th in the Tiger record books in career scoring. Booker now has 1,324 points in his career and has started 108 straight games for the program. • Devin Booker came off the bench with a season-best eight points. He hit all four of his field goal attempts and also collected five rebounds. He played a season-high 17 minutes against Long Beach State.
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