National Basketball Association
Clemson 67, Maryland 51
When: 5:00 PM ET, Wednesday, December 9, 2020
Where: Littlejohn Coliseum, Clemson, South Carolina
Officials:
# Ron Groover, # Ted Valentine, # Michael Stephen
Attendance:
1876
By Field Level Media
Aamir Simms scored 16 points as Clemson remained unbeaten at 4-0 with a 67-51 victory against previously undefeated Maryland Wednesday night in an ACC/Big Ten Challenge game at Clemson's Littlejohn Coliseum.
The Tigers improved to 4-0 for the third time in the last six seasons and have won all four games this season by double figures.
Simms, a senior forward and a preseason All-ACC pick, connected on 7 of 13 attempts from the field while grabbing a team-high seven rebounds. He led four Tigers in double figures as junior guard John Newman III and sophomore guard Al-Amir Dawes added 12 points apiece and sophomore guard Nick Honor chipped in with 10.
Maryland (4-1) got 11 points from sophomore forward Donta Scott, but he was the lone Terrapin in double figures.
Clemson took control from the outset in what was the first meeting between the former Atlantic Coast Conference rivals since the 2013-14 season, after which the Terrapins left the league for the Big Ten.
Simms scored 12 points in the first half as Clemson jumped out to a quick lead. The Tigers used a 14-1 run to pull ahead by 18, 25-7, with 8:17 left in the first half.
But Clemson wasn't finished as the Tigers extended their lead to as many as 25 points before settling for a 23-point lead, 38-15, at halftime.
Clemson's defense forced 10 turnovers in the opening half and held the Terrapins, who entered the game shooting 56 percent from the floor, to 26.1 percent (6 of 23) shooting, including making just 1 of 8 attempts on three-point shots.
It marked just the fourth time in the last decade that Maryland had been held to 17 points or less in the first half.
Behind Scott and senior forward Galin Smith, Maryland used a 17-4 run midway through the second half to pull within 12 points, 48-36, with eight minutes remaining, but that was close as the Terrapins would get. Dawes, who scored all 12 of his points in the second half, responded by scoring eight straight points as the Tigers regained control.
Both teams had 33 rebounds, but Clemson shot 44.8 percent from the floor and made 9 of 20 attempts from beyond the arc. Maryland shot 40 percent from the floor and made 6 of 18 attempts from three-point range.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Maryland |
|
Clemson |
|
Donta Scott 11 |
Scoring |
Aamir Simms 16 |
|
Reese Mona 4 |
Assists |
Jonathan Baehre 2 |
|
Darryl Morsell 6 |
Rebounds |
Aamir Simms 7 |
|
Aquan Smart 3 |
Free Throws Made |
Al-Amir Dawes 2 |
|
Darryl Morsell 2 |
Steals |
Nick Honor 3 |
|
Donta Scott 3 |
Blocks |
Aamir Simms 1 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Maryland
|
51 |
40.0 |
6-18 |
5-11 |
12 |
25 |
5 |
5 |
15 |
| Clemson
|
67 |
44.8 |
9-20 |
6-8 |
8 |
32 |
2 |
8 |
9 |
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