High Point Panthers at Clemson Tigers

Blossomgame scores 27, Clemson beats High Point 83-74

Donte Grantham and Avry Holmes added 13 points each to help Clemson (3-2) end a two-game losing skid.

"A little harder fought win than we would've liked down the stretch," Clemson coach Brad Brownell said, "but I thought our guys played with really good offensive confidence."

After coming up short against No. 9 Xavier and Oklahoma in last week's Tire Pros Invitational, the Tigers shot 48 percent from the field and made 22 of their 24 free throws Friday.

The Panthers (3-3) got 22 points from leading scorer Andre Fox, who made two 3-pointers and eight free throws.

"He's a confident kid," High Point head coach Scott Cherry said. "These games are only going to help him get better as the year goes on."

Anthony Lindauer added 16 points for the Panthers, who trailed by 13 at halftime and as many as 16 in the second half.

High Point would get to within four points on Lindauer's layup with 6:17 to play, but a jumper by Marcquise Reed and a steal and dunk by Blossomgame pushed Clemson's lead back up to eight with 5:22 to play.

"Blossomgame, he's a problem and a heck of a player," Cherry said.

Reed and Gabe DeVoe scored 11 points each for the Tigers.

"We dropped two games in Orlando, but we're still a good team," Blossomgame said.

BIG PICTURE

High Point: The Panthers created some momentum after winning two of three games at the HPU Classic last week, but after a four-day layoff, High Point lost to an ACC squad for the second time this season. Virginia Tech thumped the Panthers 99-73 in Blacksburg, Va., on Nov. 15.

Clemson: Shelton Mitchell, who was expected to be the starting point guard before a Nov. 8 knee surgery to repair torn meniscus sidelined him, made his season debut off the bench Friday. The Vanderbilt transfer had two assists, zero turnovers and no points on two shot attempts in 11 minutes of action.

"It was good to have him back," Brownell said. "He certainly isn't where he was pre-injury."

STAT OF THE NIGHT: Blossomgame has yet to find his long-range game, making just three of his 16 3-point attempts this season, but he's now scored 20 points or more in consecutive games by making 18 combined field goals.

HE SAID IT: "We have some warts that need attention," Brownell said. "We also have some things that we do pretty well. The teams out there that are 5-0 or 5-1, maybe haven't been exposed to some of the things that they're going to be exposed to here the next month. We've got a chance to rectify those problems."

TIP-INS: High Point never led and the game was only tied for 15 seconds.Sidy Djitte grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds for the Tigers to record double-digit boards in consecutive games.Clemson blocked a season-high six shots.High Point outscored the Tigers in the paint 34-28.

UP NEXT

High Point plays its second consecutive road game when it visits Morgan State on Monday.

Clemson hosts Nebraska in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Wednesday.

How can I watch High Point vs. Clemson?

• TV Channel: High Point at Clemson 2021 College Basketball, week 3, is broadcasted on ACCNX.
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