Potter, Young pace win No. 17

CLEMSON - In the first of three-straight home games, Clemson came away with much needed win Wednesday night, knocking off Florida State 77-67 at Littlejohn Coliseum.

Andre Young called it a must win.

“I think it’s important that we protect our home court,” he said. “We want to try and get these three home games in a row before we get back on the road.”

The Tigers improve to 17-7 overall (5-5 in ACC) while the Seminoles’ drop to 17-7 overall (5-5 in ACC).

In the final 3:33, hit 14-of-18 shots from the foul line, finishing 29-of-38 on the night (76 percent). Coach Oliver Purnell said that’s what saved the game.

“They were going to drive the ball, shoot two’s and we were concerned about the three…and they were going to put us on the line,” he said. “You make the free throws, you win. If you don’t make the free throws, you’ve got a good chance to lose.”

Young and David Potter each scored a career-best 19 points with Potter going 4-of-5 from behind the 3-point line while also grabbing seven rebounds. Young, who came off the bench, dished out five assists.

For Potter, who has put together better performances in the last couple of outings, was slumping through most of the conference schedule. He said it's been a matter of just staying aggressive.

“I was just taking what Florida State was giving me,” he said. “They were falling for me.”

It helps that his confidence is starting to come back too.

“I have a lot more confidence now in these past couple games, shooting the ball more,” Potter said.

With a length at all five positions, Florida State kept things compact in the paint, and even dropped into a 3-2 zone for about an eight minute stretch in the second half.

With Stitt still fighting off a foot injury, it was up to Young to slash into the lane and create.

“We’ve just been trying to be aggressive. The game plan in this game was to just run and attack on offense,” Young said. “Even if they scored, push it right back at them. That’s what I tried to do.”

Devin Booker also came off the bench to score 14, outscoring his older brother Trevor, who had 13. The elder Booker has been sick over the past couple of days, and required an IV before the game. He spent most of the night dealing with waves of Seminole defenders.

“All hands were on deck,” Purnell said. “Like I said, it was a high-stakes game. Everybody that was involved did what they could.”

The Tigers clung to a double-digit lead for most of the second half after leading 37-24 at halftime. The opening half ended with a bang when Potter knocked down his third 3-pointer with time ticking off the clock.

“I just kept the follow through up there because I knew it was going in,” he said.

Florida State shot 47 percent from the field and 27 percent from behind the 3-point line. Clemson hit 45 percent of their shots from the field and 40 percent from behind the arc.

Clemson hosts Miami at noon on Saturday.