Tigers Rout UNC Greensboro

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Fri Nov 20 23:04:57 GMT-04:00 2009

GREENSBORO, N.C. — The Clemson Tigers are making November look easy.

The Tigers recorded their 29th consecutive November victory, going on since 2005, and got a season-high 17 points from Trevor Booker as the 22nd-ranked Tigers routed UNC Greensboro 89-67 on Friday night at the Greensboro Coliseum.

Freshman Milton Jennings added 14 points for the Tigers (3-0), while Andre Young added 13 and David Potter continued his early-season scoring prowess by chipping in 11 points.

“We played well in spurts,” Clemson head coach Oliver Purnell said. “Definitely in the last eight to ten minutes of the first half, our defense started forcing turnovers and we got a bunch of points in transition. We can definitely rebound better, so that was little disappointing. At times, we didn’t take care of the ball as well as we should.”

The Spartans kept it close with the Tigers early, including tying the score at 15 with just under 10 minutes remaining, by scoring from the free throw line, hitting eight of their first 10 shots from the stripe while only hitting two field goals.

In the first half, the Spartans shot only 22 percent but hit 10-of-14 free throws to keep it close. However, the Tigers ended the half with a 17-2 run in which they hit three three-pointers and stretched their lead into double figures for good.

Young had six points during the decisive stretch for the Tigers, hitting a three-pointer on one possession, and then knocked down a layup and a foul shot on the next possession for a six-point swing. Booker capped the Tiger run with a free throw that made it 42-24 with 42.1 seconds left.

Clemson came away with points on 10 of its last 13 possessions of the first half while holding UNC Greensboro to one field goal during the final 5 minutes.

“We played well in spurts,” Jennings said. “Definitely in the last eight to ten minutes of the first half, our defense started forcing turnovers and we got a bunch of points in transition. We can definitely rebound better, so that was little disappointing. At times, we didn’t take care of the ball as well as we should.”

The Tigers opted for the chance to play the Spartans in order to get comfortable in the Greensboro Coliseum, the site of this season’s ACC Tournament.

The Tigers continued the onslaught in the second half, and Booker pushed the Tiger lead pas the 30-point mark on a three-point play with 7:49 remaining, allowing Purnell to play his freshmen and reserves the rest of the way.

Brandon Evans had a season-high 17 points and Ben Stywall added 13 to lead UNC Greensboro (0-3). All of the Spartans’ losses have come against ACC schools, and they fell to 1-29 all-time against the ACC.

Spartan head coach Mike Dement said he was impressed by the Tigers.

“They can really play,” Dement said. “One thing about their team is they play hard. Their practices must be great practices. Booker was awesome. We could not get him away from the basket in the first half, and then we got tired and could not get through their press easily.”