Tigers survive late scare from Terriers

CLEMSON - Brad Brownell didn’t claim to possess any secret to the improved free-throw shooting in Monday night’s 78-70 win over Wofford.

On the heels of a 25-of-46 performance in Friday night’s season opener against Western Carolina, the Tigers hit 22-of-30 against the Terriers.

“We didn’t do anything different,” Brownell said. “I’d love to tell you that I’m some sort of a great guru, but nothing changed.”

There isn't much that's changed from Wofford’s 2009-10 team that earned the school it's first-ever spot in the NCAA Tournament.

Head coach Mike Young has four starters back from last year’s team, including reigning Southern Conference Player of the Year Noah Dahlman, who scored 17.

“This is a good win that probably looks even better in March,” Brownell said. “That’s a very experienced group that expects to win. They play very well together—unbelievable poise.

“Obviously, it’s a team that, even when they got down, they weren’t going away. You could tell they were going to come right back at us.”

Clemson jumped out to a 22-8 lead with 11:50 left in the first half and led by as much as 16.

Down 40-30 at halftime, Wofford stuck around and managed to cut the lead to single-digits several times in the second half.

The Tigers' lead shrunk to six with 19 seconds to play.

“We knew this was a game -- if we smacked them in the mouth early, they’re not going to go away,” Brownell said.

Jerai Grant led the Tigers with 13 points on 5-of-5 shooting from the field.

After picking up a pair of fouls in the first four minutes of the game, Grant sat the rest of the first half with two points and a rebound.

“The whole first half I was thinking I’ve got to be ready. If I got in, I’ve got to be ready,” he said. “Then, I came out the second half and I was still ready. It’s all about the mindset.”

Four others reached double-digits in scoring for Clemson.

Demontez Stitt had 12. Andre Young and Milton Jennings each scored 11. Devin Booker chipped in with 10.

“It was pretty big for us to get the win,” Stitt said. “We didn’t play up to our potential either. We could have won the game by a lot more. We came out with the win. Give credit to Wofford for sticking in there and playing tough. Their guys are really tough.”

Clemson improved to 2-0 while Wofford dropped to 0-2.

On Tuesday, the Tigers will leave for the Virgin Islands to Paradise Jam. Long Beach State is up for Clemson in the first-round, which tips off Friday at 3:30.

“I feel like we’re in good shape. We’re learning the offense. We’re starting to gel and learn guys’ tendencies,” Stitt said.