news-record.com

GREENSBORO -- UNCG completed the first half of the ACC portion of its schedule Friday night, and now it will assimilate what it has learned.

Clemson pinned an 89-67 defeat on the Spartans in their home opener before a crowd of 5,672 in the Greensboro Coliseum. That followed losses on the road to Duke and Virginia Tech.

"This ACC business, they're good teams and it's a good league," quipped UNCG coach Mike Dement. "I'm not sure an ACC team would be ready to play three ACC teams to open the season."

Dement liked the way his team battled in all three games, playing well in stretches.

"Now we have to learn to battle for longer periods of time," he said.

The second round of ACC games won't start until late December, when Wake Forest, N.C. State and Maryland visit the Coliseum. In the meantime, UNCG will play seven other games, the most important of which are against Southern Conference foes Samford on Dec. 5 and College of Charleston on Dec. 7.

"We've gained a lot of experience," said Spartan forward Ben Stywall, "and we'll be well-prepared for the people we face. This will make us better."

Clemson gave the Spartans a look they hadn't seen with its relentless full-court pressure. UNCG handled it well early, moving the ball with crisp passes.

But as the game wore on, fatigue took its toll. As the Spartans tried to dribble through the press, their turnovers mounted, and they finished with 23.

UNCG guard Brandon Evans faced the Tigers as a freshman at East Carolina, so he knew what to expect.

"I've never seen a team pressure the whole game," he said. "They did it pretty well."

Clemson, ranked No. 22, moved to 3-0. Coach Oliver Purnell said his team came out "a hair sluggish" but he liked the way it played the last 32 minutes.

"Hopefully we'll have a good feeling about the building, which was the major reason for us being here," Purnell said, referring to the ACC Tournament that will be played in the Coliseum in March.

The Spartans kept things close for 15 minutes by attacking the basket and drawing fouls. They led a time or two and were within 25-22 before the Tigers closed the first half with a 17-2 run.

Clemson pushed the lead as high as 31 points in the second half. Dement said he wanted his team to win the last seven minutes, and it cut the final margin to 22.

Evans had 17 and Stywall added 13 points, six rebounds and five steals. The Spartans hurt themselves by shooting 22.2 percent in the first half (6-of-27) but improved that to 54.9 percent in the second half (17-of-31).

CLEMSON (3-0)

FG FT Reb

Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts

Potter 26 4-9 0-0 1-2 2 1 11

TBooker 29 7-14 3-4 6-9 0 1 17

Grant 15 4-4 1-2 2-5 0 2 9

Stitt 21 2-6 0-1 0-0 5 2 4

Smith 20 4-8 0-1 0-2 1 3 9

Johnson 17 2-6 0-0 1-3 0 1 4

Anderson 3 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Baciu 5 1-2 0-0 0-1 0 2 2

Young 24 4-5 3-3 0-3 3 0 13

Narcisse 5 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 0

Jennings 16 5-6 2-2 2-4 1 3 14

DBooker 10 2-2 0-0 1-2 1 0 4

Hill 7 0-1 0-0 0-0 1 1 0

Petrukonis 2 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 2

Totals 200 36-66 9-13 16-35 14 17 89

Percentages: FG .545, FT .692. 3-point goals: 8-17, .471 (Potter 3-5, Jennings 2-3, Young 2-3, Smith 1-2, Stitt 0-2, Johnson 0-2). Team rebounds: 4. Blocked shots: 3 (T.Booker, Smith, Baciu). Turnovers: 19 (D.Booker 3, Young 3, T.Booker 3, Stitt 3, Potter 2, Smith 2, Jennings, Grant, Narcisse). Steals: 16 (T.Booker 3, Potter 3, Smith 3, Stitt 2, Young 2, Grant, Baciu, Johnson).

UNCG (0-3)

FG FT Reb

Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts

Stywall 31 4-7 5-8 3-6 1 1 13

Brown 27 2-6 2-4 3-5 2 2 6

Koivisto 25 1-7 4-4 1-3 1 2 7

Randall 27 3-10 0-0 2-4 1 4 7

Evans 28 6-10 4-4 4-5 1 4 17

Sellers 4 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 2

VanDussen 16 2-7 0-0 3-4 2 1 4

Smith 9 1-2 0-0 0-1 0 1 3

Toney 15 0-3 0-0 0-0 1 0 0

Bone 6 1-1 2-2 0-2 0 1 4

Cole 11 2-4 0-0 2-4 0 1 4

Jackson 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Totals 200 23-58 17-22 20-37 9 17 67

Percentages: FG .397, FT .773. 3-point goals: 4-13, .308 (Smith 1-1, Evans 1-2, Randall 1-2, Koivisto 1-4, VanDussen 0-1, Toney 0-3). Team rebounds: 3. Blocked shots: 5 (Stywall 2, Brown 2, Toney). Turnovers: 23 (Randall 5, VanDussen 4, Stywall 4, Evans 3, Brown 3, Smith, Bone, Koivisto, Jackson). Steals: 10 (Stywall 5, Randall 3, VanDussen, Toney).

Clemson 42 47 -- 89

UNCG 24 43 -- 67

A--5,672. Officials--Clougherty, Valentine, Stryffeler.