The Clemson men’s basketball team continued its hot start to the 2022 season with a resounding 72-41 win over Loyola-Maryland on Nov. 21. The team moved to 4-1 on the season after the victory.
Clemson had its first signature defensive performance of the season, allowing only 14 points in the first half, which marked the first time this season that the team has held an opponent to under 50 points. 
“We did a nice job of making it hard on some of their better players.” head coach Brad Brownell said. “Forcing them into some tough shots knocked a few balls loose as well. (We) played very well in the first twenty minutes.”
The Tigers’ seniors commanded the Clemson offense tonight, with Hunter Tyson scoring 14 points on 10 shots and the sharpshooting Alex Hemenway putting up 13 points without missing a shot. 
Struggles to protect the ball plagued the Tigers as they gave away 15 turnovers. They still found success moving the ball, however, as 16 of their 27 made baskets came on assists. 
Star center PJ Hall only saw twelve minutes of action as he continues to rehab a knee injury. He scored four points, shooting 20% from the floor. 
Brownell believes Hall has a long way to go before he’s at full strength. 
“It’s just coming back. It’s really hard,” Brownell said. “Because our last visuals of him are him playing unbelievable at the end of last season. His expectations are really high, and I think it’s hard on him emotionally.”
Hall suffered a knee subluxation this past July and has yet to return to Clemson’s starting lineup.
“He’s had a lot going on in his world,” Brownell said. “I don’t know when it’s going to be that he looks like the guy he was last year. It’s going to take him a couple of months.”
The wide scoring margin allowed the fresher faces of the Clemson team to spend more time than usual on the court tonight. Freshman RJ Godfrey scored his first seven points of his career and grabbed a couple of rebounds as well. 
“It was great. We practice together every day, fight against the starters every day.” Godfrey said. “It was real fun to run with Dylan (Hunter) and (Chauncey) Wiggins.” 
Wiggins, a former three-star forward, scored seven points on four attempts. Hunter added four to the scoring column and pulled down four boards, and dished out a couple of assists in a well-rounded appearance. 
The Tigers will now travel to Florida for the 2022 Emerald Coast Classic, facing the Iowa Hawkeyes on Nov. 25 at 7 p.m. ET.