Clemson men’s basketball pushed its win streak to three on Tuesday night at Littlejohn Coliseum, dominating Morehead State from start to finish, 83-56.
Interestingly enough, the last time the Tigers faced Morehead State was in the 2023 NIT tournament, where they fell 68-64, to the Eagles. But after two years, Clemson and head coach Brad Brownell finally got their revenge.
“This is one game I had circled,” forward RJ Godfrey said post-game. “Not only for me but also for one of my mentors, Hunter Tyson. That game was his last game here, and I really wanted to come out and play hard for him because he means so much to me. I still remember the locker room after the last game, just seeing how he felt afterward. When the schedule came out in August, I was like, ‘Man, I gotta do it for him.’”
Clemson burst out of the gate on both sides, taking a 20-5 lead within the first eight minutes of the contest. While there was some streaky shooting to start, Godfrey anchored the defense, crashing the boards consistently to secure multiple second-chance points, recording nine total rebounds and six offensive rebounds in the first half.
He finished with 13 points, a team-high 11 rebounds, three assists and two steals. This is his first double-double since Nov. 12, 2024, and the first of his career in Clemson Orange and Regalia.
“RJ is at the point in his career where he needs to be a complete player,” Brownell said. “He’s got to do it all. He has to score, rebound, defend and be a leader. That all sounds good until it’s a responsibility. Everybody wants all those responsibilities, especially when they’re young, but when you have to go out and get 12 points and six, seven, eight rebounds every night. That’s the expectation.
“But, he’s off to a great start… he plays the game with great enthusiasm and energy. I think our system is really good for him, and he’s comfortable. I don’t think it’s a surprise that he’s playing well,” Brownell continued.
Morehead State would tighten the score going into halftime, scoring 13 points in the final 9:30 of the first half to make it a 39-20 game as the Tigers headed back to the locker room. While the lead was comfortable, Clemson needed to seal it in the second half.
Offensively, both teams exploded as the Tigers put up 44 second-half points to Morehead State’s 36. Defensively, neither side could get stops, leaving it a 20-point game for most of the contest’s remaining time. But in the final four minutes, Clemson found its spark and sent the Eagles back to their nest, finishing the game on a 14-5 run.
Utah transfer Jake Wahlin led the way for the Tigers, posting a game-high 14 points along with four rebounds and two assists in 24 minutes. The most impressive statistic from his performance was that four of his five field goal baskets were 3-pointers, a career-high for the junior.
“A lot of my confidence comes from the team,” Wahlin said. “I can trust my teammates that we’re all going to share the ball and it comes back to each other. We’ve also put in a ton of work, and I feel like my shot has gotten a lot better since coming to Clemson. A lot of that comes from the coaching and the culture we have here of working hard.”
Redshirt freshman Ace Buckner also contributed with an all-around performance, dropping 12 points, a career-high five rebounds, two assists and one steal before exiting the game early with cramps.
While the Tigers came out on top and left Littlejohn with things to be happy about, there’s still a lot more work to be done in all facets on the defensive side. Specifically, Morehead State topped the Tigers in rebounding, with 41 rebounds to Clemson’s 40.
“Tonight, it was a lot of offensive rebounding that hurt us,” Brownell explained. “Some shot contest stuff. We’ve just got to get better. It’s hard to prepare for everything, especially right now. There’s some action that we’re trying to walk through in practice, but we’re not football. We don’t get a week, we get about two days.
“It’s new for a lot of guys, so there are some screens that we’re getting hit on behind the next screen… just different actions that you have to deal with that I think we’re getting better at, but we’re certainly not all the way there,” he said after the game.
The Tigers will look to stay undefeated as they head to Washington, D.C. to face off against the Georgetown Hoyas at noon on Saturday at the Capital One Arena.
