Clemson Basketball: Tigers bash Benedict in exhibition

Clemson basketball beat outmanned Benedict 91-45 in an exhibition Wednesday night in Littlejohn Coliseum on the Clemson campus.

Playing without P.J. Hall, the Tigers had 5 players in double figures, led by Hunter Tyson who scored 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds in less than 15 minutes of action.

Others in double figures were Ben Middlebrooks, Chase Hunter, Josh Beadle and Chauncey Wiggins.

Tyson was 6 of 8 from the field, including 4 of 6 from three-point range in leading the Tigers who finished at 40.7% from long distance as a team.

Clemson built a 47-23 halftime lead and was never challenged in the contest.

Despite the big win and it being an exhibition, a couple of things stand out, at least on the stat sheet.  The Tigers were 20-29 at the free throw line (69.0%) and had more turnovers (17) than assists (16).

Middlebrooks scored 12, Chase Hunter 11 and Beadle and Wiggins had 10 each.

Wiggins led the team with 8 rebounds with R.J. Godfrey having 7 along with Tyson.

Clemson opens the regular season Tuesday, November 7 against The Citadel at Littlejohn Coliseum.

The Tigers are expected to be without the best player on their roster, P.J. Hall for some time as he recovers from knee surgery.

December was once tune-up time for Clemson basketball, but this season the schedule is filled with landmines

In the past November and December have been the time of year to get experience and a few wins under your belt prior to hitting the heart of the ACC schedule, but not so much this year as Clemson will play three conference games before the New Year, starting with a home game against Wake Forest on December 2, a road contest against Georgia Tech on December 21 and back home to face the North Carolina State Wolfpack on December 30/31.

The Tigers also have games against Iowa, Penn State, either TCU or California and Loyola Chicago before the New Year, among others.

It’s a tough schedule for a team that is without its star player for an undetermined amount of time in a crucial season for the Brad Brownell era.