Tigers Defense Stifles Maryland in Big Ten/ACC Challenge

By Zach Wagner

The Clemson Men’s Basketball Team handed the Maryland Terrapins its first loss of the season on Wednesday night, as the Tigers downed Maryland in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge inside of Littlejohn Coliseum 67-51. Clemson (4-0) shot 45% from the field and also drained nine three pointers. 

Senior Forward Aamir Simms scored 16 points, shot 2-of-3 from behind the three point line and also hauled in seven rebounds. Guards Nick Honor and Al-Amir Dawes both scored in double figures and were on the court together for a good portion of the second half, which proved beneficial for Brad Brownell as the Tigers outscored the Terrapins with the duo out. 

Brownell on the teams depth: "What were doing, and how we're playing, gives us the best opportunity to win. Some guys may not get the minutes they want, but they all understand what we're doing."#ClemsonSportsNews

— ClemsonSportsNews (@ClemSportNews) December 10, 2020

Brownell: "We want to represent our conference. We wanted our league to do well and our guys wanted to beat a good Maryland team."#ClemsonSportsNews

— ClemsonSportsNews (@ClemSportNews) December 10, 2020

The Tigers headed into the locker room with a 38-15 lead over Maryland. The ninth ranked Clemson defense held the Terrapins to just 25% from the floor in the first half and 1-of-8 from behind the arc. Simms led both teams in scoring with 12 first half points.

Aamir Simms: "This win is really important for us. We wanted to come out and focus on us and make a statement moving forward."#ClemsonSportsNews

— ClemsonSportsNews (@ClemSportNews) December 10, 2020

Newman: "Our depth is a huge reason why we play with such confidence."#ClemsonSportsNews

— ClemsonSportsNews (@ClemSportNews) December 10, 2020

Newman: "It would feel really good to be viewed as one of the best teams in the nation. We try not to get into that too much though."#ClemsonSportsNews

— ClemsonSportsNews (@ClemSportNews) December 10, 2020

Maryland cut the Tiger lead to just 12 points after Clemson went on a three minute scoring drought with under 10 minutes remaining in the second half. Back-to-back buckets by Nick Honor and a timeout-forcing transition three from Al-Amir Dawes bumped the lead back up to 17 and the Tigers never looked back. 

Clemson will travel to Atlanta, Georgia on Saturday for a neutral site matchup against the Alabama Crimson Tide before back-to-back road games against ACC foe Virginia Tech and in-state rival South Carolina next week.