CLEMSON -- A pesky Towson team gave Clemson all it could handle late Wednesday night in Littlejohn Coliseum. The Tigers (8-2, 1-0), who held a two-point lead at halftime and trailed for over 23 minutes, picked up an 80-75 win.
The game, a 9:00 p.m. tip, was just the second meeting between the two programs and first since December 2, 1987.
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Four Clemson players reached double figures in scoring, led by P.J. Hall, who turned in a game-high 22 points. Hall was the only player in the game with double figures (10) at intermission.
A Charles Thompson layup and a Ryan Conway three-pointer put Towson out in front 5-0 to start the contest. Clemson then got on the board with Hall's first basket, a jumper from long range.
Towson held a six-point advantage twice in the first half, last leading 31-30 with just over four minutes remaining before intermission.
Baskets by Alex Hemenway, Chase Hunter and an R.J. Godfrey free throw conversion put the Tigers up 37-35 at the break where Clemson had already drilled 9-of-15 three-pointers.
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Just over six minutes into the second half, Towson enjoyed its largest lead of the game, a 50-43 advantage after a Cameron Holden layup.
With 7:29 left, a Hunter jumper from long range tied the game at 61. Hemenway would soon follow up with another three-pointer to give Clemson its first lead since the opening seconds of the half.
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Nicolas Timberlake's jumper with 4:44 left would pull Towson even with the Tigers at 66-66. 18 seconds later a Hall layup put Clemson up 68-66. The Tigers would not trail the rest of the way.
A Hunter free throw conversion with 10 seconds left would cap Clemson's scoring at 80 with a Conway three-pointer at the buzzer for Towson sealing this one at 80-75 in favor of the home team.
Clemson is now 21-5 all-time versus teams from the Colonial Athletic Conference. Towson, who fell to 8-2, had come into the game 4-0 on the road this season.
Towson shot 41.8-percent from the floor and hit 9-of-26 (34.6%) from long range. Timberlake led the Tigers with 21 points.
Clemson, now a perfect 7-0 at home this season, shot 53.8% from the floor and drilled 14 of 23 (60.9%) three-pointers.
Hunter Tyson continued to stay hot, adding 20 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Hunter and Hemenway scored 14 and 15 points respectively.
The Tigers are back in action on Saturday, December 10, in Atlanta (Ga.) to face Loyola Chicago as part of Holiday Hoopsgiving. The matchup will be played at State Farm Arena and is a 7:30 p.m. ET tip televised by the ACC Network.
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