Jake Wahlin scored a team-high 14 points, knocking down four 3-pointers on Tuesday, as Clemson posted an 83-56 victory over visiting Morehead State.
RJ Godfrey tallied 13 points and 11 rebounds, while Ace Buckner poured in 12 points off the bench for the Tigers (3-0), who shot 46.8%% (29-for-62) from the field and held the Eagles to a 33.9% (21-for-62) clip.
Davion Cunningham led Morehead State (1-3) with 18 points and seven rebounds. Tamaury Releford followed with eight points and Josiah LeGree scored seven for the Eagles, who dropped their third straight game to power conference opponents. The visitors also fell by 16 at Wake Forest and by 39 at Georgia.
After Morehead State trailed by 19 at halftime, Releford’s layup cut the Eagles’ deficit to 43-28 with 17:20 remaining. Wahlin’s 3-pointer and Carter Welling’s two free throws then pushed Clemson’s lead to 20.
Another Releford basket trimmed Clemson’s lead to 59-41, before Welling’s jumper and Dillon Hunter’s layup gave the Tigers a 22-point edge with 8:13 left.
Hunter, Wahlin and Jestin Porter connected on three straight triples to open up a 27-point lead, punctuating the Tigers’ third straight dominant effort.
Wahlin drilled his first two 3-point attempts before his layup put the Tigers ahead 16-5, forcing Morehead State’s timeout at the 14:42 mark of the first half.
Chase Thompson’s back-to-back baskets pushed Clemson’s lead to 15 and Buckner’s three-point play gave the Tigers a 26-7 advantage with 9:27 remaining.
After Zac Foster’s triple extended the margin to 21, George Marshall’s free throws and Jon Carroll’s layup trimmed the Eagles’ deficit to 33-16 with 2:09 left.
Wahlin’s eight first-half points led the Tigers, who took a 39-20 halftime-edge. Godfrey collected nine first half rebounds.
Clemson was stingy with the basketball, committing only five turnovers in the game.
–Field Level Media
