Scout.com: Taking Care of Business

Taking Care of Business

By Roy Philpott

CUTigers.com
Posted Nov 19, 2008

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CLEMSON - It wasn't supposed to be a close game and by the time it was all said and done ... it wasn't.

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However with the score tied at 14 with 9:16 remaining in the first half, the game was starting to look more like one of non-conference matchups played in Oliver Purnell's first two years at Clemson, as opposed to his last three.

It may have been just the wake up call the Tigers needed because from that point on, they started playing at a different level before eventuallying going on to an easy 93-40 win.

Consecutive layups by Terrence Oglesby, David Potter and Trevor Booker, combined with an intentional foul called against Wofford saw a tie ball game balloon to a nine-point Clemson lead in the span of just over two minutes.

"That's the kind of team we are," Oglesby said afterwards. "We are a team of runs and once we get going offensively, it's hard to stop."

Oglesby added a three-pointer just moments later to put the Tigers up by 14 and from that point on there was no looking back.

Rivers added a three as time ran out in the first half to give Clemson a comfortable 42-23 halftime cushion.

"The guys got better as the game went on, which was a good thing to see," head coach Oliver Purnell said. "They did a good job finding their rhythm offensively and they were able to force a lot of turnovers.

"Then we came out in the second half with a tough mindset and were able to carry it the rest of the game.”

The Tigers came out on fire after halftime, scoring the first seven points of the second half to prevent any thought of a comeback.

The highlight of the night came from freshman Tanner Smith, who threw a behind the back pass to Ray Sykes for a thunderous dunk with 8:26 remaining to make the score 72-34.

Even the free throw shooting, which has been one of the biggest hurdles for the Clemson basketball program to overcome in recent years is going well- the Tigers made 16-of-18 (88.9%) Wednesday night including all 11 attempts in the second half.

For the season Clemson is now shooting at a salty 72.4 percent clip from the charity stripe.

Oglesby scored 15 points to lead the way offensively. Sykes added 14 as well as eight boards and K.C. Rivers had 13.

Wofford made just 13-of-47 shots (27.1%) for the entire game, including just 2-of-17 from three point range.

"We had a good offensive night," Purnell said. "But we turned them over and turned those turnovers into points. We got into a real good rhythm offensively tonight."

With the win Clemson remains undefeated and improves 4-0 on the season.

The Tigers will now travel to Charlotte, N.C. Saturday evening at 7:00 PM to face off with the the Charlotte 49ers.

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