Thomas finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds against Samford

by Tony Crumpton - Assoc. Editor - Sat Dec 09 17:01:35 GMT-04:00 2017

The Clemson Basketball team (8-1) won 81-59 against a feisty Samford squad (2-8) at Littlejohn Coliseum on Saturday afternoon.

During the first half of action, the Tiger put up 20 three-point shots making only four against the Samford zone. For the game, they shot 9-for-36 on three-pointers.

Clemson took a five-point lead into intermission 35-30 despite only shooting 37 percent (11-3) from the field and 56 percent from the foul line (9-16).

All five of Clemson's starters scored in double digits: Donte Grantham (20), Shelton Mitchell (20), Gabe Devoe (14), Marcquise Reed (13), and Elijah Thomas (11). It was Thomas' fifth career double-double and third of the season.

The only points off of the Clemson bench was a single three-pointer by redshirt freshman A.J. Oliver. The Bulldogs had 24 points off the bench.

Clemson actually trailed by four points in the second half at 42-38 but finally got some separation from the Bulldogs with an 8-0 run to put them up 63-53 with 6:36 left in the game and then cruised to the victory with a 46-point scoring total in the second half. The Tigers ended the game on a 26-6 run.

The game was played in the half court with both teams only having two points each on the fast break.

The win improved Clemson to 8-1 on the season and it is the best start for the Tigers since the 2008-09 season.

Clemson will next play on Saturday, Dec. 16 at 4:30 p.m. in the Orange Bowl Classic against No. 5 Florida.

Clemson Notes: With the win, Clemson earns its best start to a season since 2008-09 … the Tigers improved to 4-0 all-time against Samford and 252-96 all-time against members of the Southern Conference … it was the Tigers fourth win this season by 20+ points … Grantham and Mitchell both scored the Tigers’ sixth and seventh 20-point outings this year … the 20 points for Mitchell was season high … Grantham is now 25 points shy of 1,000 for his career … Reed is now 18 points shy of 1,000 for his career … Elijah Thomas notched his fifth career double-double and third of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds … DeVoe matched his career-high with four steals … the Tigers assisted on 17-of-25 made baskets (68.0 percent) … the attendance of 7,434 was the second-largest of the season in Littlejohn Coliseum … head coach Brad Brownell is now just one win shy of his 300th career victory (299).