Clemson cruised past Delaware State 58-37

Nov 13, 2013, 09:28 pm

CLEMSON, S.C. -- Defense has been a hallmark of Brad Brownell's tenure as Clemson head coach, and it was quite evident Wednesday night.

The Tigers used stifling defense and never trailed in cruising past Delaware State, 58-37, in non-conference action.

Clemson used a balanced attack led by junior guard Damarcus Harrison, who led all scorers with 15 points. Junior swingman K.J. McDaniels contributed 11 points.

Clemson improved to 2-0, while Delaware State fell to 1-2. The Tigers host in-state rival South Carolina on Sunday, while the Hornets travel to George Washington Tuesday.

Delaware State lost to its second ACC foe in three nights after falling at Georgia Tech Monday, and the outcome was never really in doubt. Clemson took control with a 17-6 first-half run and led 22-10 with 6:49 left, taking a 32-23 lead into the break.

Harrison scored seven points in the run, hitting four free throws and a 3-pointer. He led all scorers with 10 points in the half.

Leading 34-25 with 16:06 left, Clemson turned on its defense. A 16-6 run pushed the lead to 50-31 with 7:02 remaining, eliminating any hopes of a Hornet upset. The Tigers led by as many as 24 points.

Delaware State made just four field goals in the second half, and DeAndre Haywood's layup with 24 seconds left ended an 8 minute drought from the field.

The Hornets shot just 16.7 percent after halftime and 26.7 percent for the game.

Meanwhile, Clemson made 47.6 percent of its shots for the half and 41.3 percent for the game.

Five Clemson players scored at least seven points -- freshman forward Jaron Blossomgame had eight points and eight rebounds, and sophomore guard Jordan Roper had seven points and four rebounds with three assists.

Harrison's total was just behind his career-high of 19 points set last year against Virginia Tech. He made a pair of 3-pointers and hit 5 of 6 free throws.

Kendall Gray led Delaware State with eight points.

Clemson made 15 of 19 free throws -- a 78.9 percent clip. It was an encouraging sign, given the increased number of free throws expected due to increased enforcement of hand-check rules by college referees.

The Tigers also outrebounded the Hornets 40-25.