Grantham, Mitchell lift Clemson over Samford 81-59
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CLEMSON, S.C. -- Donte Grantham scored 16 of his 20 points in the second half to lead the Tigers to an 81-59 victory over Samford on Saturday.
All five of Clemson's starters scored in double figures. Shelton Mitchell also had 20 points, Gabe DeVoe scored 14 and Marcquise Reed and Elijah Thomas added 13 and 11, respectively.
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The Tigers (8-1), who shot 42 percent in the game, matched their longest winning streak of the season at four games and are off to their best start since the 2008-09 season.
Samford (2-8) outshot Clemson at 45 percent from the floor and led early in the second half before getting outscored 34-11 in the final 13 minutes.
Justin Coleman led the Bulldogs with 17 points and Demetrius Denzel-Dyson added 12. Samford lost the turnover battle 22-9, and Clemson scored 22 points off of those mistakes.
The Tigers overcame a rough night of shooting from behind the arc. Seven of Clemson's first eight shots were 3-pointers, with only one falling. The Tigers shot 4 of 20 from behind the arc and made seven field goals in the first half. They finished 9 of 36 on 3-pointers.
Samford confused the Tigers with a zone defense that forced Clemson to take so many long shots. But the Tigers were able to eventually wear the Bulldogs down with their defense and transition offense in the second half, when they made 14 of 30 field goals.
BIG PICTURE
Samford: The Bulldogs, who were picked to finish second in the Southern Conference, wrapped up their games against teams from major conferences on Saturday. They lost to Arkansas and LSU by an average of 29 points before the 22-point loss at Clemson.
Clemson: The Tigers played their best basketball of the season and raised their overall confidence with consecutive routs over Ohio State and UNC Asheville before having one of their more uninspiring performances of the season against Samford.
UP NEXT
Samford hosts Thomas University on Friday.
Clemson takes on No. 5 Florida in the MetroPCS Orange Bowl Classic on Saturday in Sunrise, Florida.
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